Les voies d'accès au mont Royal (Camillien-Houde / Remembrance)

Through-traffic on the mountain should be permitted at all times. I do not feel it is acceptable to ban through-traffic on the mountain under any circumstances. As a frequent visitor to Mount Royal for its running paths in all types of weather (but never rain!), I couldn't help but notice the emptiness of the mountain. I cannot imagine how the café survived. It always appeared to be barely frequented or empty. This is not a business that is worthy of a subsidy to maintain its presence. As a pedestrian, it felt silly to be confined to a little walking path on the east side of the mountain road when very few bicycles were using the ENTIRE road for their leisure. The mountain was inaccessible to anyone other than physically-well individuals. I do not feel as if high level cyclists need a reserved biking path at the expense of the entire city of Montreal. The entire atmosphere seemed void and depressing, and was intended to serve the needs of only one group, who could very well find other places to train on their bicycles if that is what they desire.


A way to ensure safe sharing of the road (ex: no U-turns) would be to install a guardrail or a median through the length of the road. Let us not forget that this entire debacle started with a visitor to Montreal performing an illegal driving maneuver. Maybe the best solution is to enforce the Highway Safety Code as much as possible.

We have friends and family members from out of the city and abroad who regularly come visit our beautiful city, and we have shown the mountain to many of them. We now have to drive around the mountain to show them the two sides, which is a big waste of gasoline and time. To have elderly people take the bus is unrealistic, long and uncomfortable.
I would suggest to allow through-traffic and build separate and protected bicycle and pedestrian lanes a bit away from the road (a few meters) so as to not destroy too much green space.
There should be speed limits for both motorists and cyclists. I have seen cyclists go down the road at break-neck speed which is just as dangerous as a speeding car. There should also be measures to make sure speed limits are respected, like speed bumps, radar, indicators of speed, and some police presence.
The mountain belongs to everyone, let's open it up, not close it or make it difficult to access.

The routes to and across the mountain must be kept open to cars to both enhance and promote universal accessibility to the various features of the park and cemeteries. There should be separated lanes for motorized and non-motorized traffic and traffic calming infrastructure incorporated into both.

The entire access to the road shouldn't be overhauled because an out-of-town tourist performs a dangerous and illegal u-turn resulting in the death of cyclist. It would make as much sense to ban driving by tourists or ban elite cyclists on that road.

Why doesn't the city close every road where a law-breaking motorist has killed a cyclist or pedestrian? Because it doesn't make sense and would result in the closure of most of the city.

Camille-Houde is an important connection between the East and West parts of the city, and closing it creates a divide between English and French, makes it difficult for young families coming from the east to picnic and enjoy Beaver Lake with barbecues and the like, makes it difficult for English parents to send their kids to truly French schools, and creates nasty traffic tie-ups in all the adjacent streets during the week, creating unsafe conditions for pedestrians and cyclists all around the area.

It does not reduce emissions since the cars stuck in this traffic are emitting more fumes than the cars that used to drive peacefully over the mountain on one of the few roads in the city that it was a pleasure to drive on. If you want to reduce emissions, invest in public transportation, fix the broken down buses and have them run on time, and judge your performance by whether ridership is going up not down. It's hypocrisy for the city government to say this is about the environment when its failure to invest in buses forces people who live off the Metro lines to drive.

I am not an expert in fauna, traffic control or safety, etc.; I am not a cyclist, a jogger, a bird watcher, etc. I am a citizen who works on Peel near Pine and who commutes from the West Island. I rarely use Camillien-Houde Way/Remembrance RD. thoroughfare to get to work but I have done it. It was an alternative during road work on Côte- des-Neiges. Even though traffic moved slowly, it was a pleasant and effective alternative bringing back pleasant memories. It might have been an alternative during the Peel roadwork which started this summer (but it was closed to through traffic).
Mont-Royal has always been a part of my life experiences: when I lived in mile end as a child and we often visited Beaver Lake; when we later moved to the Côte- des-Neiges/Snowden area but I still attended high school on Pine and I would see the mountain as I traveled on Bus #80 along Park Avenue; when my husband and I went skating on Beaver Lake when we were dating and then later when we took our children there to skate or toboggan; when I used to walk up Peel from my office and then take a walk on the mountain at lunch time. But the memory which stands out the most, is when my father who held several jobs, one of which was a taxi driver, would give me and my friends a special treat as part of my birthday celebration and drive us to the look-outs or when we took family from out of town to the look-outs to share our pride in our beautiful city.
As a citizen, whether from the suburbs or the city, whether a cyclist, a pedestrian, a driver, a public transit user, a tourist, someone visiting a loved one at the cemetery, we are all entitled to the use of the road and the enjoyment of the mountain. We all contribute via taxation and other fees to the up-keep of the mountain and the road, therefore, I don’t accept that specific groups should be penalized by preventing access or making access difficult and stressful. City Hall should represent all constituents.
I have found that the Mayor Plante and Mr. Ferrandez are not giving accurate information and spinning the facts to suit their wants such as comments regarding Prospect Park and Central Park. It is fine to look to other cities for ideas, but we have to keep in mind our own realities. I believe that the OCPM should highlight the inaccurate information being disseminated by City Hall. Experts and not bureaucrats should be consulted for ways to make it safer, more accessible, more user friendly while protecting the mountain. Maybe look into free shuttles, more lookouts, creating a bike bath and so on but keep the road open from east to west to any and all types of through traffic. How can one not listen to over 36,000 citizens?

I think it is a bad idea to ban traffic on the mountain. It only serves as a barrier for movement from one side of the mountain to the other, and does not solve the problem of cars and cyclists sharing the same space. Driving over the mountain is a beautiful scenic drive that I have enjoyed innumerable times with my family, and with many visitors who have come to see our city. It is also a nice route for cyclists who are in excellent shape and have the skill to navigate the steep slopes going up and down. The road over the mountain is the most logical way for those in the West who want to enjoy the eastern side of the mountain and for those in the east who want to enjoy the Western side, regardless of their mode of transportation. There are many ways to share the space and increase safety, but banning one mode of transportation should not be one of them. I am completely opposed to this project.

Blocking off the road across the mountain has been a hardship for countless Montrealers who have been deprived of easy access to all parts of the mountain this past summer.

Meanwhile, vehicles and cyclists continue to share Camellien Houde Parkway all day, everyday. Cyclists are no safer than they ever were.

A better solution would be to restrict cyclists to the old carriage way that runs from near the top of the mountain down to Ave du Parc. There they would be safe, and we could all enjoy our beautiful mountain.

Thank you,
Joanne Morgan

Please re-open this classic, historical and beautiful Camilien-Houde road to vehicles so that we may continue to enjoy it and share the roads of Montreal together for the next generation. Let us be cautious of each other (cyclists and motorists), but co-exist in a a safe and pleasant way.

I oppose restrictions on travel via this road. The state of the roads in Montreal is not good enough to eliminate this route. During the recent experiment the closure often increased travel time from my home to my daughter's by as much as = ten minutes each way. That has consequences, not only for me but for the environment.

Closing or strangled the road will not only cause me to lose time, it will also deprive me and my family of the great pleasure of viewing the beautiful scenery as we travel.

The recent closure, at a time when alternate routes were frequently closed, was irresponsible

I am not an urban planner so I cannot give well informed advice on the questions above. What I can say is that the larger picture must be taken into account. Reducing the discussion about closing Camillien Houde to through traffic to just about the park is wrong in my opinion. The traffic nightmare caused by the temporary closure of Doctor Penfield shows how important Camillien Houde is to the flow of east-west traffic in the city. If you think about it the mountain is a major obstacle to east-west flow. Please find a way to keep this route open while increasing safety!

I have lived near Camillien Houde for most of my adult life. When it was closed to vehicles, I found I didn't go the mountain at all. I stuck to walks on the lower slopes. I know I'm not alone in this. Our mountain is for everyone. Closing it to through traffic makes the access problematic and most will choose to forego the problems. I don't think closing it solved the issues of safety. My suggestion would be to dedicate a separate bike path and use electronic surveillance with slower traffic signs (such as is used when approaching Côte des Neiges going south). People would get ticketed going over the speed limit and would quickly learn to maintain a safe speed or pay for it with a speeding ticket. Do not close Camillien Houde again! We all deserve to use the mountain, and all deserve to traverse it, albeit safely.

Hello,
I think that the road through Mount Royal should be kept open to traffic all year. I feel elite cyclists are more dangerous to pedestrians than cars. I think that the whole mountain should be accessible to everyone. If you can’t find parking at beaver lake you should be able to access the upper lot. I didn’t like the temporary lookout it was ugly and there are enough places on the mountain where you get views of the city. I don’t think you should allow competitions of cycling or skiing where they have to make trails on Mount Royal. It was extremely upsetting to have the road closed so we couldn’t drive our guests over the mount when touring them around our beautiful city. Please keep our mountain open to traffic. Sincerely, Jeanne LeBlanc

I oppose banning the through-traffic on the mountain. I think reducing speed limit is acceptable; building a pedestrian overpass could be useful.

I am strongly in favour of keeping Remembrance Road-Camillien-Houde available for automobiles to drive through. This roadway affords a reasonable and most direct way of crossing from the southwest of the city to the east side without overburdening other routes with have had to deal with more traffic.
I have a great concern for so many individuals who would not be able access Mont Royal/Beaver Lake, or the cemeteries because of handicaps, limited mobility - people who need wheelchairs, walkers, canes, parents with young children in strollers, people needing assistance, so many citizens of all ages who have been overlooked in this plan to limit access, or not be able to cross the entire roadway.
Having driven over this route after a snowfall this week, with very few cars along the way, I had the great pleasure of enjoying the breathtaking view of a totally snow-covered route (with a perfectly cleared road). This is one of the joys of driving this route.
Sensitive to the concern of u-turns, I would strongly encourage signs in English, in addition to the current French signs. I would recommend erecting a concrete blockage to prevent u-turns, especially from the lookout.

Not everyone rides a bicycle! We have a winter climate which limits cyclists from using their bicycles many months of the year. And how many cyclists are interested or able to manoeuvre this steep route.

I am experiencing great frustration with a municipal government which has its own agenda, without really considering the will of all the citizens of this great city.

I hope that common sense will prevail, and that all of our interests will be considered.

My family is 5 generations born in Montreal. We love our mountain and we all want to be able to have easy access to it. Some of us are now old and some are very young. We need to be able to visit by car.

Also, my family is buried at Mount Royal Cemetery and my husband's family is buried at Cote des Neiges Cemetery.
When we go we want to be able to easily visit one cemetery and then the other since they are so close.
We should not have to go all the way down and around and up again, when we are already there.

Please keep the road open to cars. Make it so that all, cars, buses, bikes, pedestrians can use the road safely. It can be done.

We don't want to lose easy access to our mountain, which we love. We are older now and it would be difficult.

Thank you

Under no circumstances or conditions do I find it acceptable to ban through-traffic on the mountain. It's a beautiful passageway from one section of our City to another that should be maintained and accessible. I would be in favour of ways to make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians, such as video radar that will certainly keep speeds at a reasonable level.

Please do not ban cars on this road. Just make it slower and less will use it. Let people who want to come to visit the mountain still be able to do so by car and have a separate bike path.

I will be very sad if I cannot go through as I live on one side and will want to go visit the other side also.


Allow the cars but make the speed slower.


Thank you

I am totally against the closing of the Camillien-Houde Way/Rememberance Road thoroughfare to car traffic as a means of "protecting" cyclists and pedestrians.

The inconvenience of having to go around the Mountain to gain access to the Eastern side of the city is not "a few minutes" as Plante and Ferrandez say, but more like 30 - 45 minutes of sitting in traffic, whereas going over the Mountain is much simpler, quicker, and more relaxing.

My tax dollars go to funding the roadway, as do my car license and registration fees, unlike unlicensed cyclists and pedestrians.

With regards to sharing the roadway, I have no issue with this as long as the cyclists respect the rules of the roadway as well.

Driving over the Mountain at night is a staple is showing off our beautiful city to visiting guests, and the ability to be able to navigate to the Park or the cemetery without having to circumnavigate the mountain is essential.
Putting in a dedicated bike lane/path would be better than excluding cars.

Further,the number of cyclists who "exercise" by going over the mountain are few.

I am not in favor of the closure of the mountain to through traffic. As a biker I feel it is a total mistake to close the
mountain to through vehicle traffic. A much simpler solution would have been to just extend the concrete barriers,
that we already own from the E Race, up and down the center of the road. The shoulders are wide enough for bikers
and the road is perfect for cars to share.
Of course the way it was handled by closing before consultation was a disgrace and to think we need people to walk
along the roadway is crazy when there are all the paths in the woods, as is being suggested. We are also cutting off
two sides of the city and making it even harder for the east and west to access each other.

Everyone involved in closing off transit across the mountain proudly proclaim success.
Success defined
1 Alternate route Dr Penfield blocked at Peel going east.
2 . Alternate 2 Cote st Catherine too congested Half an hour to reach Park from CdN.
3 Picnic benches empty & few people in the park
4 Cyclists travelling over 60 kmh a danger
5 Smith parking empty while Beaver Lake congested
6 ugly structures blocking scenery on the north & east lookouts
7 Cemetary access limited if approached from the wrong side of the mountain
8 Bus not user friendly. Stop should be nearer Beaver Lake & Smith House, service from downtown?
9 Frustration of visitors & tourists with no clue how to approach the mountain.
10 unused connection road between parking lots, Reconfigure road & parking
11 Have not heard or met anyone happy with the restrictions.

Since the emphasis seems to be for exclusivity to super cyclists
Provide a two lane-way for cyclists, but give back the mountain to Montreal.

Basil Jenson

I would suggest a new bicycle and pedestrian path adjacent to, or where not possible, as part of the main road, which would remain open. Educational efforts and cooperative projects with Les amis de la montage and other organizations could keep the mountain clean and protect it's fauna and flora. Parking lots adjacent to the mountain and free shuttles would go a long way to improve accessibility. I am not in favour of closing the road.

Dear OPCM.2

--This corrects a major auto correct error in an earlier version.--



There is almost nothing "right" about the current configuration on Camillien Houde Way. The pilot project to close the route to traffic addressed none of these concerns and achieved none of the claimed goals.

There once were two divided road surfaces from Cote des Neiges to the Smith House. We scrapped one roadway and forced the cyclists to share the single remaining and slightly narrow road surface with cars and fill size buses. Nowhere in the developed world are societies continuing to force cyclists on to such road surfaces.

Fix it and bring back a divided road surface with one surface reserved for cyclists.

After spending a glorious stop at the famous lookout, tourists drive down the east slope and see a long row of temporary construction dividers often called "Jerseys". Ugly and not fully functional as they only protect one curve on the descent.

Fix it and build a proper, decent looking, divider that goes from the lookout to Mount Royal Boulevard. Clearly we can't rely on motorists or cyclists to refrain from make illegal u-turns along the route.

Debris is washed on to the road surface after heavy rains, forcing cyclists to wander off the paved shoulder and in the traffic lanes, again, shared by full size STM and tourists buses!

Fix it once and for all build proper curbs that will hold back this constant stream of debris on to the road surface. The road is wide enough in the Mount Royal Boulevard to the lookout section to build a second curb to separate the cyclists and the motorists. That is the right thing to do and what is being done in most of the developed world. The route is wide enough to support this for all but 0.3 kilometres directly across from the lookout.

Cyclists often decent the mountain at twice the posted speed limit, or more. As we now know, sometimes with disastrous results.

Fix it and build small speed bumps on the descent. If this were motorists constantly driving twice the posted speed limit in a park zone, there would be speed bumps! Protect the cyclists from themselves, install modest speed bumps on the two decedents. Mount Royal is a national urban treasure for all the citizens and tourists to enjoy, not an Olympic style training ground for the select few.

Closing the route to car traffic does not produce some wonderful environmental step forward. It pushed out overload levels of traffic, burdening streets like Pins, which became a parking lot as cars idled in traffic and created even more overall pollution as a result of longer idle times. Adding to this, the relocation of the STM bus stop for tourists and Montrealers alike boarding at the Smith House could not have been placed in a worse spot. While people board the bus, cars line up behind it creating artificial traffic jams as the opportunity to continue on the route during boarding has been removed by the poor placement of the bus stop. This also stresses the bus riders as some feel they must board quickly as traffic piles up waiting on them.

Fix it and move the bus stop so STM buses can pull off the main road surface, allowing the flow of traffic to continue and reduce the noise and pollution on the mountain by ending those ties up.

I visited my parents at Mount Royal cemetery far less than usual last summer. The restricted access, with the only permitted entrance being via Mount Royal Boulevard, has turned visiting the cemetery in to an entirely different ordeal. My parents wanted to buried on Mount Royal because of its unique, serene and yet still completely accessible grounds. The city has removed the accessible element to a 116 year old Montreal historical site, the cemetery.
There is only one entrance/exit to the entire cemetery!

Remove the invisible fence that was created by this pilot project, which appears to reserve this national treasure of a park for the select few from adjacent boroughs that are blessed to be able to walk to the park. Mount Royal was created with the dream of being inclusive park for all Montrealers, from the large Filipino family BBQs we often see on weekends, to families strolling the cemetery, cyclists, sunbathers near Beaver Lake and lovers who walk the small trails of the mountain to escape the city density albeit for a brief moment.

Mount Royal is the centre piece of the city, and yet Camillien Houde Way could not be designed in a worse manner. Can we please take the time and spend the money to do this right and make all Montrealers proud and keep it accessible to all.


If we can not rework Camillien Houde Way to the benefit of all Montrealers, we have totally failed as a society and we may as well begin building borough border walls now and divide communities.

This was not Frederick Law Olmstead's dream for Montreal's crown jewel park.


Best regards,

Allen McInnis

I have been a Mount Royal user for many years and I especially enjoy the winter cross country skiing. The closure of the road between Pavillon du Lac-aux Castors and Smith House is not ideal as the best place to start skiing is at Smith House and if you live on the west side of the mountain, this involves a long detour (which also adds more traffic to the already busy streets of Montreal).

I am also a cyclist and have on occasion cycled to the top of Mount Royal. However, the type of cycling that favors the road closure is that of the elite cyclist that go at very high speeds and are dangerous for everyone concerned. The fact that the temporary road closure is to promote elite cycling versus the general well being of all Montrealers is clearly a wrong decision.

I strongly suggest that Mount Royal through traffic be continued and let the very few elite cyclists find another venue.

The mountain is amazing - it would be a shame to limit usage by closing the through way.

I sincerely hope that this is considered in the decision making process.

Thank you

I think the mountain should ALWAYS REMAIN OPEN to through traffic. Perhaps dedicated bike lanes can be added - one in each direction. It is tragic that a cyclist was killed on this route but there have unfortunately been cyclists killed all over the city, and we cannot and do not close all the roads where this has happened! It seems Projet Montreal was using this terrible accident as an excuse to implement their wishes to close the road. I am a cyclist as well as a car driver, and I always drive defensively when on my bike since any errors on the part of motorists can result in severe injury or death for the cyclist. I used to visit the mountain once a week to meditate when on my way from one of my daily commitments - driving kids to school/activities or to or from work. During the closure I was not able to go at all due to the extra time and complication it would have added to my busy schedule. I am sure there are many others like me who were deprived of taking advantage of such a wonderful city asset due to the added difficulty and complications of access during the closure. I am a tax paying citizen and should not be deprived of this!

Less than 24 hours after it came to an end, the able-bodied mayor of Montreal and her cycling side-kick, Lucky Luc Fernandez, announced that their pilot project was "A GREAT SUCCESS". Such sanctimonious arrogance. For them and a few hundred elite cyclists, I guess it was a success. For the rest of us: NOT.

Many of us did not make it up to our beloved Mountain at all during your pilot project. For Fernandez and friends, sharing the Mountain with fewer people may have been enjoyable. Most likely, you did not even notice the exclusionary effect of your project. That is the nature of exclusion.

In turning a deaf ear to the pleas of so many--the funeral mourners, the elderly, the physically challenged, their caretakers--you have embraced a politics of exclusion. And, it would appear, proudly so. Why else would your city administration have done little or nothing to find ways to limit traffic, protect OUR Mountain, and ASSURE ACCESS FOR ALL? That would take creative expertise, caring for ALL MONTREALERS, and a commitment to inclusionary practices.

And by the way, Jeanne Mance Park used to be our amazing inclusionary place for a weekly pick-up baseball game. Lucky Luc squashed that too.

Angry? I sure am. Also sorrowful. Such hubris.