Bike path FIASCO

Applebaum takes heat from Decarie merchants, Fielding homeowners

By Dan Delmar

Homeowners and merchants alike are wondering just “what was Applebaum smoking,” when the borough began eliminating parking spots more than a week ago, in favour of bike paths.

That’s what Ian Morantz, owner of Snowdon Deli, asked as he was trying to explain the sudden lack of parking space to his customers on Isabella Ave. at Decarie Blvd., outside his 63-year-old restaurant. What makes the decision so curious is that borough politicians and civil servants work directly across the street and often dine at the deli. Strange, area merchants say, that they didn’t foresee the consequences of their actions.

“I was shocked,” said Dave Spence, owner of Flex Nutrition on Decarie and Isabella. On May 29, he drove into work as he has been doing since 2002, “turned the corner and saw the ‘no-stopping’ signs. There’s no parking around here as it is. Customers won’t want to do business with you if there are no spaces.”

The borough had held public consultations on its bike plan, which was conceived with the help of Vélo Quebec, but didn’t go out of their way to publicize it. All the Decarie/Isabella merchants The Suburban spoke with said they never received an invitation to any such meeting. On May 28, borough mayor Michael Applebaum said no spaces on Isabella would be sacrificed. The very next day, no-stopping signs were posted, confusing merchants and customers alike.

Morantz said that Applebaum complained to him that he was misquoted in The Suburban and that the borough was still studying whether or not to put a bike path on Isabella; this despite the no-stopping signs having already been installed. After an intense backlash, it appears as though a solution is in the works and the borough is set to restore parking this week, moving the path to another location.

“I’m feeling optimistic. I hope it’s not false optimism,” Morantz said. With 45 employees, he also said parking in the area was bad enough, with the recent addition of permit parking on Trans Island Ave., parallel to Decarie.

He collected 500 signatures on a petition in the first 48 hours alone, in support of the restoration of all spots on Isabella. Morantz said he’s seen a slight reduction in business due to the new rules; Spence said there was a noticeable decline. Optometrists, notaries and others along the two-block stretch of Decarie complained it would be impossible for their clients to continue to use their services if the bike path were placed in a prime parking area.

“The city is promoting the use of public transit and active transport,” said councillor Marvin Rotrand, who represents the Snowdon district. “There has been increased investment in augmenting metro and bus service and the extension of the network of bike lanes.”

Rotrand said the decision to put the path on Isabella was taken by centre-city. The executive committee member responsible for urban planning and transport is André Lavallée, who was pictured with Applebaum inaugurating the borough’s new 12.4 km worth of paths two weeks ago. Fielding Ave. is among those which also saw parking spots taken away for the special lanes and residents there were just as displeased with the decision.

Last Wednesday, about a dozen irate homeowners met with borough director Stéphane Plante and communications director Michel Therrien on the corner of Fielding and Cavendish Blvd. In terms of both safety and logistics, that path is also a horrible idea, the residents said.

“It’s very dangerous here. A girl died a few years ago,” said Guy Duchesne, who lives on Fielding. “I would never put a bike path here. It’s fast enough with car traffic. They’re putting kids in danger.”

“How are my tenants going to unload their groceries?” asked Roco Domenico, who has lived on Fielding since 1974, and now can’t park anywhere around his home. “$5,000 in taxes! This doesn’t allow me to stop in front of my home?”

Dushesne and Domenico were among the residents who Plante tried his best to calm, saying that the borough would look at a compromise. He also pointed out that the decision was a political one and civil servants were only following orders. Parking was eliminated on both sides of Fielding between West Broadway Ave. and Côte St. Luc Rd.

“If you want to have a debate on bike paths, it’s not with me that you should be speaking with,” Plante told residents, in lieu of Applebaum. “The validity of bike paths as a debate has been thrown out there. We are confident that a solution can be found.”

The prospect of a total reversal in policy is less likely for Fielding residents. Applebaum told The Suburban on Friday that he was optimistic Isabella merchants would be satisfied with the outcome.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure we get back all the parking,” he said. “The director (Plante) is working with centre-city and the objective now is to move the bike path elsewhere and to give back parking for that location. In the end, it will all work out.”

Applebaum was also questioned on the need for the paths in the first place. The lanes do not resemble the de Maisonneuve Blvd. route, which is separated from car traffic by a concrete median. In some cases, the only way a driver or cyclist can tell that they’re on a “bike path” is if they see a logo spray-painted on the road every few metres. The route on Terrebonne Ave., for example, has no other safety measure in place; no solid lines nor any traffic-calming poles to separate cyclists from motorists.

“That’s how it works in a lot of areas in Montreal,” Applebaum said. “It’s just like reserved bus lanes. If it is painted there, it’s because it’s respecting the norms that permit a bicycle and also a car to circulate.”