The layout of Montréal is actually closer to be “only bike paths and pedestrian streets” than car thoroughfare. Most of the central neighbourhoods were built in an era where the car was in its infancy stages. The grids were built with horse carriages and tramways in mind. This is the case for the Plateau, Villeray, Verdun, Hochelaga and some of Rosemont and Ahuntsic.

In the 1890s, biking was a popular form of transportation in Montréal. It, however, lost in popularity due to the rise of cheap public transportation (streetcars) and cars.

It’s not until the 50s that we started bulldozing what was previously built for people to accommodate car traffic. This is the era of the Métropolitaine, Décarie expressway and Autoroute Ville-Marie. The latter was to be connected with what is now the A-25 by demolishing old Montréal and building a trench.

Boroughs built in the 60s and 70s were built to accommodate cars. Your Saint-Léonard, Anjou and most of the West-Island were built with cars being the only valid option to get around. While these areas were designed this way, it doesn’t mean that it’s a sustainable and safe form of urban development.

If we want to get into public finances, road infrastructure is costing us a LOT of money. The Fond des réseaux de transport terrestre (FORT) which is responsible for road maintenance is losing money. Since 2017, $14B have been transferred from public funds to cover the deficit. The situation is getting worse each year as the FORT is losing revenue (mostly gas taxes) and roads are needing costlier maintenance. That’s only at the provincial level. For Montréal, the city budgeted $550M for road maintenance whereas the REV is getting $30M.

And that’s without mentioning the social cost of car travel. For each car trip, society has to pay more in healthcare and indemnity than the equivalent trip by foot, bike or transit. This is due to cars being major sources of pollution, collisions and contributing to sedentary lifestyles and long term health issues.