Coderre accused of inaction on bike safety

The death of a cyclist, who was struck by a dump truck in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrieon Monday, has renewed a familiarbutincreasingly intense call for better road safety in Montreal.

The cyclist, 24-year-oldJustineCharland St-Amour, was going north onIbervilleStreet when she collided with a right-turning truck that was driving alongside her.

• Montreal cyclist dies after collision with truck

Her death coincided with the one-year anniversaryof the death of 27-year-oldBernard Carignan, who was killed nearbywhen he swerved to avoid being doored and was struck by the vehicle behind him.

On Tuesday,ProjetMontral demandedMayor DenisCoderretake urgent action to improvecyclists' safety.

"I cannot understand the reaction of the mayor," saidLuc Ferrandez,ProjetMontral'sinterim leader.

"I cannot understand that he sees his citizens dying and being hurt badly hurt everyday and he doesn't react."

Ferrandezwas stupefiedthat the mauling death of an east-end woman earlier this summer could have prompted widespread reforms from city hall, while little had been done for cyclists.

"Look what he's done with the dogs. One person dead. One. And he changed all the rules about dogs," hetoldCBCMontreal'sDaybreak.

"We have 650 cyclists per year, 1,200 pedestrians a year, that are carried in ambulances to hospitals."

• Dangerous dogs to be euthanized under proposed Montreal bylaw
• City of Montreal unveils bike safety plan for 57 underpasses

'A bloody catastrophe'

Ferrandezrecommendedtrucks not be allowed to go over 40 kilometres per hour in the city. But he alsoadded that as long as large vehicles lacksafety features, cyclists would still be in danger.

"We have to change a whole lot of things because it's a bloody catastrophe," he said.

Vlo Quebec'sMagali Bebronne agrees with Ferrandez, saying that trucks are too often the cause of cyclist deaths and injuries.

"Of course we all need trucks for deliveries, but do they need to be so large? Do they need to be up in the streets in peak time? How can they be designed in ways that the drivers can actually see what's around them?" she said.

• Drunk cycling a 'major concern' for Montreal police
• 'Everybody blames the other person': Sharp rise in cycling deaths, injuries

Bebronne pointed to Europe where trucks oftenhave detection devices that beep when someone is around them.

She added that the very notion of who hasright-of-wayneeds to be changed.Cyclists, too, should be able to cross on pedestrian lights to give them a head start.

Beware of blind spots

But before the necessary changes are made, Bebronne advised cyclists to be aware of a driver's blind spots.

"The rule of thumb is basically, if you're standing next to a truck and you can't see the driver's eyes, that means they can't see you either. So if you are around a large truck, stay behind or stay way [in] front where they can see you," Bebronne said.

Though incensed atthe mayor, Ferrandezsaid he had sympathy for truck drivers who are stressed,stuck in traffic all day long andeager to pass.

"We have to give them the tools to help them be respectful of the lives of people around them," he said.

Aside from the victim's family, he added, "the saddest person on earth this morning is the guy who smashed this poor girl yesterday."