I'm not an urban planner but these are the people-friendly amenities that I enjoyed while in Montreal this summer 🧵(inspiration for #seabikes)
Blocking off entire streets from car traffic throughout the summer, and turning them into areas where people walk/bike/skate, relax on specially designed seats, meet up in parks and cafes and generally enjoy being outdoors without the threat of motorized vehicles
The delivery trucks can drive through these bendy barriers when necessary
Speaking of which, many deliveries are by cargo bikes, thanks to the connected bike network.
Protected bike lanes in many parts of the city. Not with useless flex posts but with a permanent concrete barriers, often planted with trees and greenery
Many wide sidewalks that invite you to explore the neighborhoods on foot. Also NO RIGHT ON RED for cars is the law, and makes it safer to cross the street.
Grade separated lanes where possible, this particular one goes all the way to the downtown area
On the side streets that have slower traffic, rather than sharrows it's often dedicated lanes for bikes
The Bixi service, municipally operated (I think), shared bikes with a station found every 2-3 blocks all over the city. Use them for free for 45-minute stretches, or pay a little bit for the e-bikes. Even as a visitor I was able to have my own account and enjoy this amenity.
Where there's street construction, they safely divert the bike lanes. They don't ask them to merge with car traffic
They had just repaved this street, they missed out on building a PBL they but painted the bike lane before they painted the car lanes. They got their priorities right!
Every parking post doubles as a bike rack and accommodates locking your bike.
If there's no parking post, they have these posts/bollards. In general you rarely have to worry about where to lock the bike (you still have to be cautious against theft though)
An active local community of bike enthusiasts created this service: borrow a bike trailer for free for the occasional need to transport big items cc @jacouzi
Many streets are converted into people-friendly quiet spaces.
Work or relax in these sheltered parklets. Equipped with power outlets and wifi connections.
A lot of public spaces for the community to gather and appreciate this nice city
Giant murals that turn the city into an art gallery, and encourage you to take random detours to spot these art pieces
Four lines of metro
Something interesting to look at everywhere you turn...
Even the airport has pedaling stations, which you use to charge your electronic devices if you want to.
Need these in the #seatac airport
Thank you #montreal for becoming a 21st century city, prioritizing spaces for people. We will be back!
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.