How learning to bike can lead to more peaceful roads

This communicative is simply a collaboration betwixt Concordia University's journalism section and CBC Montreal.

On a frigid Sunday day successful Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, a twelve women hopped connected bikes for their archetypal wintertime thrust ever, helped by experienced trainers from Vélo Québec.

Apart from crystal and snow, the biggest situation participants faced was sharing the abstraction with different roadworthy users, particularly cars.

Zineb Bettayeb was 1 of the wintertime store attendants. Through the workshops, Bettayeb has not lone learned however to navigate the streets arsenic a cyclist. They person besides made her a amended driver.

"Being a cyclist, I effort to beryllium much liable erstwhile I drive," Bettayeb said, explaining that she's present much conscious of pedestrians and different susceptible users connected the road.

Vélo Québec, an enactment that promotes cycling successful the province, launched a aviator task called Toutes à vélo successful 2021.

The programme helps women — who are little apt to rhythm than men — larn however to thrust a bike. Participants and organizers accidental that Toutes à vélo has the added bonus of promoting consciousness erstwhile it comes to sharing the road.

A booming request for motorcycle lessons

The programme has proved popular, with a waitlist of astir 1,200. Earlier this year, the national authorities invested astir $900,000 successful backing to Toutes à vélo.

Magali Bebronne, a manager and trainer with the program, had been hoping for the other backing for a agelong time. She said the programme would usage it to "offer this full assortment of complementary activities truthful that participants tin determination further successful their way towards adopting cycling arsenic a mode of transportation."

WATCH | Workshop teaches hundreds of women however to bike: 

The programme is astir fashionable successful Montreal. In summer, it includes 11 hours of acquisition implicit the people of a month. Organizers person held wintertime biking workshops for the past 2 winters.

While the extremity of Toutes à vélo is to thatch women however to motorcycle for the intent of leisure oregon transportation, it besides has an interaction connected cohabitation betwixt car drivers and cyclists connected the road.

There person been long-standing tensions betwixt bicycle users and car drivers successful Montreal, which person lone heightened nether Mayor Valérie Plante.

Residents person voiced their frustration, particularly astatine the nonaccomplishment of parking, portion others praised the emergence successful dedicated motorcycle infrastructure.

Social media has been the epicentre for displaying polarization betwixt roadworthy users. During past winter's snowstorms, for instance, determination were an immeasurable magnitude of comments connected societal media that blamed the motorcycle paths for the dilatory removal of snow.

Marianne Giguère, the Projet Montréal metropolis councillor liable for Montreal's cycling plan, said that 1 of the solutions to this polarization is to marque radical recognize the world of some groups.

"The infinitesimal you've ridden a bike, connected a state lane oregon a metropolis road, you recognize however bully it is erstwhile idiosyncratic goes astir you," Giguère said. "When idiosyncratic slows down, erstwhile idiosyncratic gives you abstraction portion overtaking you, erstwhile idiosyncratic looks successful the reflector earlier opening their door."

Learning to beryllium a biker — and amended driver

According to a 2024 Toutes à vélo survey, 52 per cent of the 120 participants they polled utilized a car arsenic their superior mode of transportation.

But done their workshops, Toutes à vélo increases the proportionality of drivers who are besides cyclists.

One of the founders and instructors of Toutes à vélo, Catherine Plante, believes the programme contributes to a amended knowing of cyclists' reality.

As a trainer, she said she has seen it with her ain eyes, with immoderate participants saying "I recognize present wherefore the motorcycle paths are large!" and "I recognize present wherefore radical privation much cycling infrastructure!"

Aissata Bangoura, different participant, drives each time to her occupation successful downtown Montreal. She said she's much cautious now. "There are different roadworthy users that person the close to beryllium there."

Originally from Algeria, Bettayeb achieved a life-long imagination by learning however to motorcycle with Toutes à vélo.

"I travel from a nine wherever determination isn't truly a cycling culture, truthful I couldn't bike, particularly arsenic a woman," she said. "When I moved to Canada, I recovered that everyone was biking and it truly made maine happy."

Since completing the cycling programme successful the summer, Bettayeb has started to commute to enactment each time by bike.

Now, Bettayeb said, she knows not lone however to thrust a bike, but to bash truthful "in a harmless mode portion sharing the lane with motorists."