A Coteau-du-Lac citizen concerned about the safety of young and old using the bike path on chemin du Fleuve contacted Néomédia earlier this week. He denounced a situation that is gaining in popularity on municipal territory: the obstruction of the bike path by contractor or municipal vehicles. 

Met this Monday, September 23 in Yvon-Geoffrion park, located behind Coteau-du-Lac town hall, the retiree, who prefers to remain anonymous, wishes to denounce the situation so that things can change. 

“I'm an avid walker and cyclist. When I'm not walking my daily six kilometers with my dog, I'm pedaling. I often use the bike path on Chemin du Fleuve, which starts at Parc Thomas-Monro and takes you to the intersection of Chemin Saint-Emmanuel, then to Les Cèdres and Pointe-des-Cascades. Over the past few weeks, I've noticed a number of contractor trucks and even city vehicles parking on the bike path, which poses major safety issues for cyclists and pedestrians using it,” he sums up. 

The most problematic areas, where such behavior is most often noticed, are those under the Monseigneur-Langlois bridge, on Chemin du Fleuve, and at the corner of Chemin du Fleuve and Chemin St-Emmanuel. 

“Just before school ended in June, I noticed a lawn-mowing truck parked on the bike path under the bridge. I was on my bike and had to help a mother get around the equipment left on the bike path by the contractor. She was holding the hand of a young child and pushing a baby in a carriage. What would she have done if I hadn't been there to help her? It's really dangerous.” 

Reporting the situation to the City 

As soon as he noticed these situations, the citizen informed the City by e-mail. “I wanted to inform them that it is illegal to park on a bike path. I was told that the subject would be discussed at the City's Road Safety and Traffic Working Committee on July 15, but the meeting was postponed. Since then, I've heard nothing more about it. Every time I see a violation, I send an e-mail to the city,” says the 60-year-old. 

On September 11, the man was nearly hit by a City vehicle assigned to municipal lawn maintenance, under the Monseigneur-Langlois bridge. “The lawn care truck was parked on the eastbound bike path under the Monseigneur-Langlois viaduct. The driver got into the truck without looking and backed up when I was just a few metres from the truck. I had to get out of the way quickly to avoid being hit. The truck stopped only when I knocked on the passenger window. He explained that he hadn't seen me, despite the three mirrors and the rearview camera. I couldn't help but imagine the worst. What would have happened if the mother had been there with her stroller and young child? The city would have had deaths on its conscience,” he explains.

The man also reported two other findings to the municipal administration by e-mail. “The markings, indicating a ban on parking, are deficient on certain sections of the bike path. In addition, I've noticed that the contractor in charge of the various collections on our territory sometimes deposits empty bins on the bike path instead of returning them to the citizen's property. Workers have told me they do this to save time and finish their route more quickly. It's deplorable.”  

The citizen hopes that denouncing the situation will lead the city to reflect on the problem. “Can we put up signs to warn offending drivers that they are breaking the law? I've been told that the city is working on something to raise awareness. I really hope that the subject will be addressed and above all that it won't happen again.” 

Raising awareness rather than punishing 

Following this meeting with the concerned citizen, Néomédia contacted the City of Coteau-du-Lac and District 1 Councillor Alain Laprade to ask them about the subject. 

“I've raised this issue several times in recent months with the municipal administration after noticing that it was on the rise on the territory. I know that a document is being prepared to raise awareness among offending drivers. It would be placed on the windshields of offenders' vehicles. Personally, I'm more interested in raising awareness than in punishing offenders by issuing tickets and the like. Of course, we can ask the police to intervene and do more checks, but that may take longer than intervening directly to raise awareness,” he told the author by telephone. 

For his part, General Manager Jacques Legault agreed to answer Neomedia's questions.  

Are municipal trucks allowed to park on the bike path at all times? “Municipal vehicles are exceptionally allowed to park along Chemin du Fleuve only when the work they have to do requires them to do so, i.e. in an emergency, otherwise we ask our employees to stay off these areas. We are aware that we have a duty to ensure the safety of users, but also the safety of our employees at all times in compliance with CNESST obligations.”

Is there a procedure in place when they do this? For example, does someone ensure safe traffic flow for the duration of the obstruction? To these questions, the general manager answers in the affirmative: “Yes, absolutely. It all depends on the period and the type of work they have to do, procedures are put in place according to the requirements of the highway code as well as the CNESST since we have to provide safe work for both our employees and users.”

Are signs or leaflets being produced by the city to raise offenders' awareness?  “I can confirm that we are in the process of printing flyers that will be placed in the catch baskets of people who are parked in no-parking zones.”

Are there any other measures that will be put in place to solve this problem? “We are studying signage and even reviewing the layouts of our flowerbeds to eliminate the presence of our vehicles in these problematic locations,” he writes. 

In closing, Mr. Legault assures us that the well-being of citizens is important to him and the municipal administration, just as it is to the employees. “We are doing everything we can to provide the best possible service to our citizens, paying particular attention to their demands, while training our employees to respect the rules in force, including the Highway Code and the CNESST. We understand users' concerns and are constantly working to improve our working methods to ensure the safest possible cohabitation,” he concludes.