Name at least three things wrong with this picture

Corner of St. Grégoire and Christophe Colomb near Laurier Park

Corner of St. Grégoire and Christophe Colomb near Laurier Park

(At least, from a cyclist’s point of view)

UPDATE: Plenty of people got right answers below.

  1. The most obvious problem is that the bicycle chevrons painted on the road are backwards. Most people ignore them, but it wouldn’t be hard to imagine an unthinking cyclist veering into the oncoming lane.
  2. The traffic signs clearly indicate a mandatory left or right turn. Because there is no specific bicycle signage, cyclists are by law required to obey traffic signs and not pedestrian signs, which would make the obvious course technically illegal. Cyclists should not use pedestrian signals unless specifically told to do so.
  3. A cyclist on the other side is blocking the oncoming lane, perhaps confused by the chevrons.

11 thoughts on “Name at least three things wrong with this picture

  1. Joel

    Well first, the paint indicates bike traffic should be on the left (not the right.) And despite the backwards flow indicated, cyclists are still going the normal way.

    I like to think bikes are vehicles – NOT pedestrians. (Call me crazy.) This kind of red light – walk/don’t walk fosters the idea that cyclists ARE pedestrians. For the bikes to go on the vehicle green, they’d have to be coming up the middle lane of Colomb.

    I walk the sidewalk in this photo to work everyday. As a pedestrian crossing this “bike road”, it’s worth being heads up. The threat of traffic inspires cyclists to feel little patience for pedestrians.

    Reply
  2. Christelle

    the lines are not right, it’s telling the bikes to ride like in the UK :P
    the sign is also telling bikes to either turn left/right while the path is in front..

    these lines are new… i walked there almost daily when i lived in the city to go to the doggy park with Happy… Miss it.

    Reply
  3. Christian

    1) That squirrel near the fence looks to be in pretty bad shape.

    2) Those “turn-left-or-right” signs are redundant, the one at the bottom is just adding to the noise.

    3) Just kidding about that squirrel.

    Reply
  4. DAVE ID

    1. The lines are pointing the wrong way
    2. If I look at Google Maps, there doesn’t seem to be a bike path beyond that point.
    3. I have no clue.

    Reply
  5. Karine

    I’m guessing you’re talking sarcastically so I will guess that one thing is the cyclists waiting at the red light instead of just going through without missing a bit… I also see the bike traffic arrow on the ground contradicting the sign indicating a mandatory left and right turn. And looking at it again I’m noticing what Christelle is saying about making the cyclist ride on the left UK style…

    Reply
  6. mare

    Another thing that is wrong (but that can only be seen if you have one of those zoom-in-on-the-picture-and-sharpen-it gizmos that they have in bad movies) is that on the other side of the park cyclists can’t cross when pedestrians have green light because it’s a scramble crossing where all pedestrians, so also the ones going East-West, have green at the same time. So there is an extra light for the cyclists there. That is of course ignored and/or overlooked and cyclist regularly (almost) hit the pedestrians. And this is the busiest bike-path on the whole island of Montréal. Bad design.

    Reply
  7. Bryan

    1- UK/Japanese road painting. (brilliant way to keep the cyclists on their game!)
    2- Heading into the park would be breaking the law, as they should only be turning right or left.
    3- … they’re all blocking the sidewalk over yonder… (can’t stand biker’s on sidewalks, unfortunately they have little choice at this intersection)

    4- if they ever have to break hard in the rain to avoid a collision here, they will slip hopelessly under the car/bus/truck due to the frictionless aspect of those paint chevrons. If they’re on fixie…well say goodnight Gracie.

    Reply
  8. Jill

    Oh, Steve, you forgot the ET connection. Those bicycle chevrons weren’t meant for human eyes — they’re for aliens looking in from . . . out there somewhere. Geesh! Didn’t you read Chariots of the Gods? Or listen to Coast to Coast AM?

    Ditto for the traffic signs.

    Cheers

    Reply

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