"damyth" wrote in message ...

I took a look at Google streets and I think I may have figured out
what you're talking about.

HBO has no visible lane markings (westbound). Period. (It does
eastbound though.) It's no wonder drivers there would be all over the
"lanes." They have no frame of reference. That's something all
citizens of Montreal, motorists and cyclists, should take up with the
DOT there. I don't think your situation is at all representative of
"other cities."

This particular road is probably not representative of the city
as a whole but it's not uncommon for industrial parks and
such. I only posted this to try to show someone that without
bike lanes, cars will drift to wherever they want. Couple that with
a speed limit of 50km which gets you most traffic either at 70km
or stopped and it's an interesting bike ride.

On a slightly different note, as great as Google streetview is, due
to the height of the camera and the fisheye lens, it's very hard to
judge lane width. I know it makes even wide streets here look
absolutely claustrophobic. So I don't know even if they painted lanes
on HBO, that there is sufficient width to ride bikes safely.

If you continue over the overpass for Highway 13, you see that it approaches
an intersection. In this particular picture, there are trucks in the left lanes
and an SUV in the right lane. The SUV is about 1/2 foot from the curb
and about 2 feet from the center lane.

What they could do, and this has been suggested, is to take the sidewalks and
flatten them and make them a bike lane. I've never seen anyone walking on them
so that may make sense. But I think that if they just widen the lanes without
marking off the bike lane, the cars will spread out.

This thread is degenerating into some perverse contest of "worst
streets to ride." As such, it no longer has much relevance to whether
bike lanes would be a good thing or not. Regardless how you feel
about bike lanes, the first prerequisite to decent cycling is well-
maintained roads. Judging by what I see on Google streetview of
Montreal I'm rather dubious that I'd even want to drive there, never
mind bike.

Yet the city has one of the largest cycling populations in Canada.
My point is, that the city is spending a bunch on facilities. Bike lanes,
paths etc. And the effort seems to be increasing the number of cyclists.
Much of it is in response to roads like Henri Bourassa.
To have someone say categorically that this is bad without
even seeing the alternatives is ridiculous.