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

Cutting off the road during the summer isn't the way to go. Many old people like my grandmother like to go visit the cemetery VERY often and a she can't take the bus alone and we can't take it with her. She either would take a taxi or we would drive her up there. She can barely walk already so car transportation is crucial up the mountain

Park Road - for everyone at all times. Allow motorists to cross the mountain - just slower.

Sharing the road - Bicycles and cars should share the road. Cyclists should be protected with a dedicated lane. on each side. Install speed bumps and traffic lights or stop signs to slow traffic.

Parking - Both lots must be accessible from both directions. Do not expand them. First come, first served. They are fine for safety as it is.

Roadways - Allow motorists to go east or west from the lookout. Otherwise those wanting to go west will make illegal u-turns - like the one killing the cyclist last year. Demolish the overpass on Cote des Neiges and turn it into a regular intersection with traffic lights.

Environment - Beautiful as it is. In winter protect ski trails from pedestrians who walk on them destroying the tracks.

We have been going to the mountain for many years esp. to Beaver lake. Every time we have visitors from out of town that trip to the mountain was always included. Closing the road is such an inconvenience . Yes we have taken the road to cross the mountainto go visit friends and shop. To make it safe for all have designated bike paths beside the regular road. This way we can all enjoy the mountain we love.

Leave the route over the mountain open to two-way traffic as it was before all this nonsense.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS THAT AFTER DECADES AND DECADES OF BEING ABLE TO DRIVE ACROSS THE

MOUNTAIN TO GET FROM COTE DES NEIGES OVER TO AVE DE PARC IN SUCH A SCENIC WAY THAT THE POWERS

THAT BE HAVE DECIDED TO NO LONGER MAKE THIS AN OPTION.

AND AM I TO BELIEVE THIS IS BECAUSE OF THAT ONE VERY UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT INVOLVING THE DEATH

OF A CYCLIST??

FATALITIES UNFORTUNATELY HAPPEN EVERYWHERE. IT IS A FACT OF LIFE AND THERE IS NO CONTROL OVER

THAT.

I HEARD RECENTLY THAT THERE ARE PLANS TO REOPEN THE SKATING AREA AT BEAVER LAKE.

WONDERFUL NEWS.

SO ARE THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE EAST OF THE MOUNTAIN SUPPOSED TO DRIVE ALL AROUND THE MOUNTAIN

TO GET TO THE SKATING AREA??

IT'S TIME TO STOP WITH THE ONE STEP FORWARD AND TWO STEPS BACKWARD TYPE OF THINKING

1 - In the case of Mt Royal, the "park road" is Chemin Olmstead which runs through the park.There are no private vehicles on Olmstead. We have always referred to Camillien Houde / Remembrance as "the mountain road". It primarily runs along the periphery of the Parc Mt. Royal, between it and cemeteries. It is peripheral to the park like ave des Pins, Cedar, Blvd Mt Royal.
2 - In order to share Camillien Houde safely between cars busses bicycles and pedestrians, a few simple steps would
go a long way! *SPEED LIMIT OF 40 KM/ hr*
* PHOTO RADAR speed cameras should be installed where lawbreakers tend to speed. * * Speed bumps and traffic calming devices like anywhere else in Montreal, have been very effective. Why not here?** A few traffic lights would enable pedestrians to cross the road. They also can have photo enforcement. The use of many stop signs does NOT help anybody but it impedes orderly flow. Why not simple traffic lights near Smith house , the lookout belvedere, and closer to ave. du Parc near the tiny area of park land that is across the road in Outremont? Real traffic lights where pedestrians can cross safely ! The pilot project ignored safety completely in these cases. **Clearly delineated bike paths and pedestrian paths **
3-The best promotion for Public Transit is for it to run regularly, fluidly and often. Otherwise, it is a negative. It is absurd that when a bus stops near Smith House, ALL traffic behind it must stop. This slows down the busses behind it (not just the cars) and creates unnecessary traffic jams pollution and noise. It also makes a mess of the parking lineups on busy days. This is NOT traffic calming. This just makes EVERYBODY unhappy on busy days.
4 - Parking problems and lineups on crowded days seem mostly exacerbated by the road layouts. Remote parking with shuttles are a major deterrent to those with families with kids, elderly parents, non athletes, anybody with picnics or sleds or skis etc. Who wants to wait with small kids and toboggan ski, skate equipment, strollers or small party food baskets in winter or hot days for a shuttle that may be overcrowded or not coming for a long time?
5 - Universal accessibility? What should be done first? MAKE IT SAFE ! That might be all that is really necessary. REDUCE SPEEDS for cars and bikes to 40 km/hr, Install photo radar to enforce speed limits, Install traffic lights to enable crossing the road, Install cement barriers to separate the traffic directions where it is an issue. Install traffic calming devices like elsewhere in Montreal. They work ! Speed bumps, bollards etc. Clarify pedestrian and bicycle paths.
6 - Preventing U-turns near the lookout is not rocket science. Cement barriers are effective. There is no good reason that they are absent where most needed. Near Beaver Lake the old roadway was much better than what it has now become. Perhaps with the new concepts of traffic calming, it could be safely restored to increase a calm fluidity for access to the parking lot and bus stops at Beaver lake
7 - Landscape, heritage and attractiveness? The less done the better. During the pilot, everything added to the mountain was detrimental in my opinion. The nature speaks for itself and does not require additional cafés and similar structures.
8 - Environment. Protect the Flora and fauna from people who bike in the woods ! I'm in Parc Mt. Royal regularly and the only attacks on the environment in the park seem to be some littering and bicycles on the paths that run through the woods inside the park. A little bit of enforcement would go a long way. In general, other than that, I find that the environment is well cared for by the municipal crews and the respectful users of the park. The belvedere could use a little extra care re. litter and noise.

The Montreal municipal government has repeated many questionable justifications and excuses for the proposals imposed during the pilot program. They have repeated that New York's Central Park and Prospect Park no longer allow cars . This is NOT TRUE. Flatbush Avenue runs Through Prospect Park. "The four Central Park transverse roads at 97th, 86th, 79th, and 65th Streets remain open to motor vehicles." (https://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/service/1355/central-park)
Even the extremely green Stanley Park in Vancouver has cars running through it.
Our "mountain road" Camillien Houde / Remembrance runs almost entirely peripheral to our Parc Mt. Royal. Chemin Olmstead that does run Through the PARK is entirely free of vehicles other than those essential to maintenance. Avenue du Parc runs through park land with 8 lanes of traffic but that's not what is being discussed.
For many Montrealers their patrimonial access to nature relies on an open to all Remembrance/Camillien Houde. For many Montrealers, their access to loved ones in cemeteries relies on Remembrance/Camillien Houde to get to the other side. The other day, I followed a funeral from the east of Montreal to the Cote Des Neiges Cemetery. It went over the beautiful mountain road at 40 Km/hr max and didn't have to go via downtown or along residential streets in Outremont. This benefitted EVERYBODY.
I cycle regularly in Parc Mt. Royal purely for pleasure. I'm in reasonably good shape given my age. It's beautiful. No busses, no cars, no speeding bicycles. I tried to cycle up Camillien Houde during the pilot project. It was an impossible incline. I had to walk most of the way.There were busses, speeding bicycles (all quite expensive and ALL the other cyclists wore spandex), and cars (even though they could not get through to the other side). It was not pleasant. When I got to the Belvedere, it was dangerous to cross the road (no traffic light or safety enforcement)and the café suspendu was closed and ugly. Where were the thousands of clients? I tried on one more occasion and then decided to no longer use Camillien Houde for cycling. I am NOT an athlete. I am an average Montrealer. I am not an elite.
I worry when knowing the facts and realities, reading the pilot project's documentation and results, seeing the contradictory and misleading numbers, attending the OCPM information meetings and consultations, I am very worried when the Municipal authorities make statements saying the pilote was successful. It makes me worry seeing the disconnect between fact and fiction, and the disconnect between municipal authorities and less fortunate and non elite Montrealers. For many, this is our access to nature, peace, and each other's parts of the city. There is no need to take this away from Montrealers. Fact Check, Tell the truth, Can it still be justified using complete clear honesty and not misleading spin of reality? Will we ever know? The petitions were clear and clearly ignored. The response at the consultations was interesting. The response of the pilot architects and analysts was obfuscating and seemed deliberately so - They wouldn't be that obtuse. The numbers were horribly twisted and constantly comparing situational results to nothing solid. Bad Science from alleged analysts. Many Montrealers have lost hope in the consultation process. I keep telling those to whom I have spoken, that so far, the OCPM appears to be genuinely interested in Montrealers' needs and opinions and the process.
Merci

Please leave the road open at all times. It is very unfortunate that a young man died but accidents happen on all streets. Under no circumstances should the throughway be closed. It was all fine (parking, accessibility etc. ) before it was closed as a pilot project. No need to change anything. Thank you for listening.

As a retired senior citizen, I often like spend a few hours of the day on Mount Royal (walking around and enjoying our beautiful mountain and the city below). I then like to make my way to a bagel shop before returning home. It's really sad that the present administration prohibits Montrealers from driving along Remembrance Road. Is it not our right as tax payers to use this road as has been the case in the past?

If the concerns are related to people's poor behaviour while on Mount Royal, then sensitizing and educating Montrealers is the way to go.

Mme Plante and her administration must recognize the needs and wants of the people.

Keep the mountain road open, please!

The road must be kept open to cars.
Until such time that the city delivers a responsible and efficient bus/metro/train system we must rely on cars to get around. Too often buses are stranded because of lack of fuel and maintenance.
The economic vitality of any city is decreased if the citizens movement is restricted.
If nothing good, economically happens, then nothing else that is good can happen!
The road must be kept open to cars!

I regularly use Camillien Houde as a cyclist for exercise, as well as Mont- Royal ski trails in the winter for the same reason. I found that the pilot project returned Camillien Houde to more of a "park like" environment.
I was able to hear the birds over traffic noise, which was impossible previously.
Also, much less exhaust to breath over the course of 3 hours of climbing/descending.

However, I feel the project did little to eliminate the dangers from the traffic.
The U-turns still happen. Primarily from UBER drivers and taxis picking up fares at the belvederes.
During the course of 3 hours on any given day in the summer, I will witness at least 3 of these U-turns.

Following the death of the young cyclist, I recommended to the City to install the movable-type cement barriers full length along the median, top to bottom on Camillien Houde to prevent any U-turns. It would not have been necessary to close through traffic, to ensure cyclist safety if they had adopted this approach.

For some reason they closed through traffic instead.

I do not agree with closing the road and I find it insulting that the previous petition was essentially ignored.

Park Road - allow people to go through (car/bike/bus/etc) but at a reduced rate of speed. Possibly commercial traffic (trucks/couriers(car and bike)/food deliveries/etc) could be restricted.

Sharing - all users have equal right to the road. If we restrict access for cars can we then further restrict it for bicycles in favour of roller-bladders and then further restrict them to only people walking? How would it sound to say that users who paid a special fee should be given priority access and others should move aside for them?

Public transit - Free transit to the mountain? Otherwise no other suggestions. I use public transport daily for work and like it very much.

Parking - no suggestions. It's been frustrating sometimes but I recognize that any solution is a compromise.

Universal access - no suggestions.

Road layout - road barriers.

Landscape - no suggestions.

Environment - If possible, people should be encouraged to stay on the paths. Perhaps simple rope barriers would suffice. It would not block animals and wouldn't forbid people from going in to the woods but having a simple visual cue like a rope would discourage most people.

Please do NOT ban the car traffic over the mountain. People over 50 DO NOT bike, period. Don't make older people life difficult by cutting the thru traffic over the mountain. Roads are to be shared.

Montreal is a beautiful city, loved by all who live here. When first-time visitors come any true Montrealer starts the introductory tour with a drive over the mountain. In summer or winter we are proud to point out the historic cemeteries, Beaver Lake, the lovely parks and certainly always enjoy the gasps of delight when our friends see the magnificent views of the city in all its glory from the lookouts and the chalet. To take away this pleasure from the many citizens who cannot ride a bike (seniors, families with young children, physically challenged individuals, etc.) is simply wrong. Making access so difficult for Montrealers who want to walk, picnic, ski, slide, skate to reach the mountain is wrong. An experiment which reduces the number of people who can enjoy these pleasures is not a success; it is one more example of lack of concern on the part of the administration for everyone except their chosen few.

Q: Under what conditions would you consider it acceptable to allow through-traffic on the mountain?
A: I believe that thru traffic should be allowed at all times. However, we do not want speeding or reckless driving by cars or bikes (or pedestrians), so there are some changes that probably should be made.

Q: Under what conditions would you consider it acceptable to ban through-traffic on the mountain?
A: When there is a festival on the mountain expected to bring many people. In these cases shuttle buses should be run from nearby parking lots. Depending on the bicycle parking available, perhaps these also should be at parking lot (similar to what is done for jazz fest).

Q: In your opinion, what would be possible alternatives to removing through-traffic? What would be the conditions for their application?
A: Center barricades that can be as easy as a small fence that will stop cars and bikes from u-turns. Only have pedestrian passages in these where it is safe. Car/bike passages only where required to turn off and only if safe. Frequent speed bumps could help control the speed. A bike lane on both sides should be mandatory. I know that this is difficult so, perhaps make the road 1 lane for cars in the difficult spots with a traffic light to control which direction for cars at one time.

Q: In your opinion, what is a park road and who should be allowed to use it?
A: The route through the park and all should be allowed to use it. It is a beautiful part to our city.

Q: In your opinion, which groups of users should currently be protected as a priority?
A: All equal, however daily commuters should recognize that this may not be the easiest, fastest route to take,

Q: What developments should be made to Camillien-Houde Way and Remembrance Road to achieve that objective?
A: see 3rd answer for ideas

Q: Do you have any suggestions as to how to promote the use of public transit to get to the mountain?
A: Many people and families who use the mountain come laden with picnic baskets, strollers, walkers and wheelchairs. These are hard to transport with public transport. This year I saw many of these people struggling to get to their dream spot on the mountain. Shuttle buses from various spots/parking lots may help. Or, at the bus stops on the mountain have a "ballad type " vehicle to take them from the bus stop to the picnic area.

Q: What do you think of the current parking offering on the mountain?
A: On Smith house side there is a fair bit of parking, although a bit of a trek to Beaver lake. See ballad idea. On Beaver lake side, I think that there used to be more parking, however I may be wrong.

Q: what do you think of the idea suggested by some participants to make parking lots adjacent to the mountain available to users of the mountain? Either by improving the traffic signals in their vicinity, for example for pedestrians, or by establishing a shuttle linking them to various points of interests or other nearby parking lots?
A: See comments. One thing that I know that a lot of us do is to bring visitors to the mountain to see the views of the city. I do not know if there are situations where people park in those lots and then go for a hike. This should not be permitted and perhaps the shuttle buss idea would decrease this.

Q: How can we ensure universal accessibility? What should be done first?
A: Median with limited passages. Making part 1 way controlled by signal to give sufficient room for bike path.

Q: How can we protect the mountain’s fauna and flora while making it accessible to all those who want to enjoy this green space at the heart of the city?
A: Ensure sufficient place for people to discard trash. Dog poop bags. Well marked trails and paths. In other words try to keep people in certain areas. That may mean increasing the number. I love the places with information plaques (both languages please as we have many out of town quests) as well as places to rest.

I want to see through-traffic on Camilien-Houde accessible at all times. This is the only road with a view to the north in all of Montreal, and I miss those peaceful crossings. I believe your assertions about safety are self-serving, and that residents are now more poorly served.

I do not appreciate the authoritarian way in which this was handled by your administration. I will only briefly mention the utter deafness to our needs during the repairs on Dr Penfield, even though you were aware that the alternate route back to the Plateau on Cote-Ste-Catherine added as much as 40 minutes. How is that eco-friendly? And I personally had no choice but to use a car as I was constantly tending to my father, who has since died.

Despite what you may think, you don't necessarily know what's best for us. The attempts at spin by Mr. Ferrandez and others is insulting.

I truly hope you will listen.

I don’t know why the idea of having a toll at the top is not a popular one. It would dissuade people from using the road on their daily commute – if you want to get to the other side of the city over the mountain, pay a toll. Cyclists are still not fully separated from cars, so I don’t see how that helps their safety. Older people and people with children, strollers, picnics cannot use public transit, it should stay open for cars, and not make people drive around to the other side to access one side or the other. I’ve been going to Mt Royal cemetery for over 40 years – now I can’t access it during the summer because I don’t want to go through Côte des Neiges traffic to access the other cemetery entrance in Outremont. I’m only 10 mins away but can’t reach the cemetery entrance near the Smith House because of the configuration at the top which, by the way, is very confusing.

I think that this ill advised plan to close Mt. Royal is being foisted on the public by people who are putting their own interests, wants and desires above the general public. Luc's statement that this trial run was a great success is very similar to the attitude and tone of Donald Trump. Luc/Valerie know best. The idea of holding public consultations after the fact is very insulting..

All the mountain belongs to all the people of Montreal, not just a few healthy cyclists.

In the past, it was a joy to show visitors all aspects of our wonderful city viewed from the mountain - no more.

Montreal has a large elderly population with a long history of enjoying the mountain of which they are now
deprived in the Summer time.
For many cycling or the bus is not an option.

A single road for vehicles traversing the mountain is not endangering the flora and fauna.
Denying access to a segment of the population is reprehensible and unacceptable.

Thank you for this opportunity. I am 81 and I have loved visiting the Mountain for more than 50 years.

The summer of 2018 made it impossible to take visiting friends to visit the Mountain - or to visit the cemetery. Unfortunately, I no longer ride a bicycle and I envy those super healthy cyclists, but they are a small minority. The Mountain should be available for all citizens, young and old!

Please drop this pro-cyclist policy and give us our Mountain back!

Thank you.

I have been living in Montreal for the last 35 years. I use the mountain to cross from Ave. du Parc to Chemin Cote des Neiges on a regular basis. I don't race my car on the mountain. I drive the speed limit. And so do the other 99% of cars that I see crossing the mountain. I enjoy the scenery both winter and summer. I do realize that we should allow acces to the mountain for cylists. I am a cyclist myself that does about 5000 km a year on a bicycle. I think that cyclists and cars can share the road very well. They also need to respect the speed limits and be respectful of cars just as they expect cars to be respectful to them. Accidents will happen as they do on St. Denis and on Ave. du Parc. a cyclist needs to ride at a speed that if an emergency comes up they should be able to stop. Why would you close the mountain for cars when it is enjoyed by so many people that only get a chance to enjoy it when going and coming from and to work.
Dividers between cars and bicycles may help. Narrower lanes for cars won't hurt either. It may just make the 1 % drive a little slower. It won't bother the other 99% of drivers that already drive in a safe fashion. Speed cameras on Camillion Houde parkway would be a great way of controlling the speed. We see how people slow down when there is a sign that there is a speed camera. (Maybe only signs will do the job, even without actual cameras).

I think if the aim was to improve safety then it is only by luck and the fact there was less traffic that no one got hurt this past summer.
The bicyclist that was killed last year was a tourist from California. All the signs implemented this year were in French only, except for no Uturn symbols. Québec provincial law permits bilingual street signs yet there are none on the mountain or Old Montreal, two of the most visited areas. Obviously politics trumps safety. Eventually this will be challenged in court, especially after a fatality, and taxpayers will pay price for governments negligence and cowardice to do the right thing.
Also, route should stay open all year as alternatives are often closed for repairs, construction, plus heavy volume traffic on peak periods.

To whom it may concern:

Please do not close Remembrance Road to cars at any time. It is used by thousands of citizens for their daily commute including myself.

The quality of the roads in Montreal are extremely poor with never ending detours and closures.

Closing the mountain to through-traffic eliminates one of the most efficient routes for getting from one side of the mountain to the other.

My daily commute immediately became 15 minutes longer (in each direction) as soon as the mountain road was closed. Living in the Sud-Ouest and working in Little Italy, Camillien-Houde is one of the most efficient ways to get to work and back. Now that the road is open I spend way less time in the car and contribute less to air pollution.

Please leave Remembrance Road open to cars at all times.

Thank you.

Greetings,
I am a 72 year old male who, until recently retired, enjoyed cycling to work as well as purely recreational bike outings.
I have seen cyclists descending from Mount Royal at (what to me looked like) dangerous speeds. I do know of accidents and serious injuries which happened there without any motorists/cars being involved.
I would not like to see the Mountain to be open to a small group of very fit cyclists, but closed to families, and yes, to those of us not fit anymore to pedal up that hill. I urge you to keep the mountain open; if we (as a City) can afford making a designated bike lane with the solid median to separate the cars and bikes let's do it, but if impractical or too expensive than please keep it open to the majority.

Marian

In my opinion the accident with the cyclist last year was caused by the excess speed of the cyclist.People make illegal
U turns , but when they do this, great care is taken not to have an accident ( or make sure there is no police nearby because we all know we could get a ticket)
With no doubt the car that was hid by the bike must have checked for coming traffic, Anybody going at a normal speed could certainly have stopped and nothing would have happened.
I feel it is wrong that because of one accident the road is closed in the middle ,

Why not make a bike path separated from the road by cement blocks, The bikes can go at their speed and do not interfere with the motorists who are going slow.

When I drove last year on the Camille Houde road the bikes were always going faster than me which really scarred
me ,because they do not go straight down but swerve from left to right

I hope the administration will listen to the people from Montreal and keep the road over the mountain the whole year open

Allow through traffic all year round.Create bike paths in each direction crossing the mountain,if possible.
Thank you