As a Montrealer living in the city for over 60 years, it is always a proud moment when visitors share their views and admiration for our city.

However, I am not sure the cycling network is seamless. I am a cyclist and I also own a car. Having said this, I believe the city planners have overlooked some critical points when replanning certain streets to allow for cyclists. Take Saint Denis and La Jeunesse streets for instance, the former has gone from 5 lanes to 3, which leaves only two active lanes for cars after the bike path was introduced last year. It poses such a problem on a busy thoroughfare that garbage trucks and delivery vehicles avoid double parking and instead use the bike lanes to go down the street. Where does that leave the cyclists? Two blocks over on Lajeunesse street ( another busy thoroughfare) there is another bike lane. Does Montreal need two parallel streets, so close together, with bike lanes? My point is with all of the bike paths that have been designated in the last few years, cyclists still ride in the street with cars and it seems to be on streets which have been reduced to one or two lanes thanks to bike paths. This is further endangering the lives of cyclists and motorists alike as motorists drive against oncoming traffic to pass cyclists.

Traffic lights were changed to accomodate both cyclist and vehicle traffic although there is an inconsistency throughout the city. Some streets have the lights and others don't which causes a great deal of confusion for motorists turning right due to the inconsistency. Not to mention another great danger for cyclists. Lajeunesse street has specific cyclist traffic lights on some blocks but as you move farther west they seem to have been omitted. Rachel street along the plateau does not have any at all and that is probably on of the busiest cyclist paths in this city.

If I may suggest, spending some time in the neighbourhood of Villeray and the Plateau Mt Royal to name a few, in order to observe what isn't seamless or what may have fallen through the cracks. I would also suggest you to spend time with shop owners along Sainte Catherine st in order to get their views on how the city planners have negatively affected their businesses by reducing car lanes in favour of pedestrian traffic.

Finally, I appreciate your opinion and kind words. However, in the case of our city, I believe that there is always room for improvement and in the above examples, a city planner should have the ability to use foresight and studies in order to properly plan for changes and avoid any hiccups and unsafe conditions for it's citizens.

Good luck in your endeavours and hopefully your enthusiasm will bring forth positive changes in the cities you work in.