A Montreal man took the opportunity during his chance encounter with the mayor this afternoon to vent about her administration's cyclist-friendly policies that may be making cyclists even more dangerous on the roads.
After bumping into Mayor Valérie Plante at the Rosemont library, Alexandre Laflamme told her that by prioritizing cyclists, the city is creating an imbalance that hurts pedestrians and motorists.
Laflamme, a self-proclaimed pedestrian, motorist and cyclist, said he sees cyclists disrespecting road rules every day and that they are the most dangerous ones out there.
Plante told Laflamme she understands his perspective but added that they can't generalize and that they try to make everyone aware of the road safety rules and to share the roads.
Laflamme said he believes that by multiplying measures that favour cyclists, the city is emboldening many of them into thinking they own the road.
"Many of them are spoiled," said Laflamme, adding that the city should slow down all these cyclist-forward projects.
Laflamme cites the new ban on through vehicular traffic on the mountain, calling it a ridiculous measure that doesn't address the problem of dangerous u-turns and that unnecessarily blocks traffic in a public area.
"They should rethink them," said Laflamme.
"The thing that we don't have in the streets of Montreal right now is harmony."
Rosemont man took advantage of encounter w/ Mayor Valérie Plante to vent about all her administration's cyclist-forward measures that may be emboldening them, making them more reckless. (He rides a bike, walks, drives) Thinks they should slow down bike projects. #CJAD #polmtl pic.twitter.com/pcl91mLlB9
— Shuyee Lee (@sleeCJAD) February 14, 2018