The viral video of a little girl being violently hit by a cyclist Thursday morning while she was crossing the street towards a school bus shows the importance of respecting the signs, says Vélo Québec.
• Read also: VIDEO | Cyclist hits girl walking to her bus
“It’s shocking, it’s completely unacceptable,” adds the program director of the non-profit organization (NPO), Magali Bebronne.
“We really need cyclists to take their responsibilities in terms of behavior and there is no concession to be made on the priority of pedestrians,” she points out.
Ms. Bebronne recalls that the road safety code also requires cyclists to “stop at least 5 meters away” when a school bus has its flashing lights on or its stop deployed.
Furthermore, in this context, the cyclist was traveling on a cycle path against the direction of motorists, which raises the question about the safety of this type of configuration on the streets of Montreal.
- Listen to Isabelle Maréchal’s editorial via QUB :
However, the Vélo Québec representative believes that the question is “of little relevance because it is a collision which could have taken place on the right, on the left, without a cycle lane”.
“Contraflow cycle lanes like you see here have the advantage for cyclists of offering safe paths on streets that are less busy than the arteries,” explains Ms. Bebronne. We know that the arteries are much more dangerous for cyclists, so it’s rather a good thing to have these routes.”
Although rue Jeanne-Mance – where the accident took place – is in the city center and therefore many motorists take this route, “it remains a local street [qui] does not compare at all to Avenue du Parc for example,” maintains the guest.
“I would much rather see cyclists riding in a cycle lane designated for them in the wrong direction on rue Jeanne-Mance than just one street further west on avenue du Parc, which is deadly,” points out Ms. Bebronne. We know it, we even have a ghost bike installed on this avenue.
However, she remains categorical on the importance of respecting priorities on the road, whether for cyclists, motorists or pedestrians.
“It’s non-negotiable,” she maintains. You know, cyclists are more fragile than motorists and therefore, motorists have a responsibility towards cyclists, but that also applies to cyclists towards pedestrians and we are extremely sensitive to that.”
***See the full interview with Magali Bebronne in the main video***
