Rosemont updates traffic lights at intersection where cyclist died
Cyclist Justine Charland St-Amour was killed at the corner of d'Iberville Street, Rosemont Boulevard in 2016
The borough of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie has reconfigured the traffic lights at the corner of d'Iberville Street and Rosemont Boulevard nearly nine months after a cyclist was stuck and killed at that intersection.
Borough officials say by adding a delayed green light, the area should be safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
In August 2016, 24-year-old Justine Charland St-Amour was fatally struck by a truck at the intersection.
Charland St-Amour was on her bicycle waiting at a red light next to a truck on Aug. 22. When the light turned green both moved forward at the same time and the right-turning truck didn't see her.
Montreal police said no one was at fault.
A white "ghost bike" was installed at the intersection following the incident.
Ghost bikes are bicycles that are painted white and placed at the scene of fatal or near-fatal collisions between cyclists and motorized vehicles.
'I hope this will avoid other deaths'
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie city councillor Marc-André Gadoury told CBC Montreal that the changes were made with Charland St-Amour in mind.
"We have pedestrian lights at every direction," he said. "We've changed the left turn from the beginning of the cycle to the end of the cycle."
Lise Rebout, who works at a daycare near the intersection, said she feels the change is a step in the right direction, but more could be done.
"I hope this will avoid other deaths," she said.
Why not a bike path?
Gabriel Morissette, a friend of Charland St-Amour's, said he'd like to see a bike path installed along the street.
"Putting [a] delayed green light, this is just a way to delay the moment where a big truck could turn right onto a biker or even a pedestrian."
The problem however, says Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie city councillor Érika Duchesne, is that d'Iberville Street has many factories and is frequently used by truckers.
Duchesne said, if anything, Montreal may need to rethink how its roads are used.
"We are starting in North America to think about these trucks," she said.
"They are big trucks, maybe they are too big for the city. Maybe we have to make changes about the size of the trucks that come in the city."
With files from Navneet Pall