Three weeks after 18-year-old Clement Ouimet was killed while cycling on the Voie Camillien-Houde, there are suggestions that little has changed in terms of safety measures on the mountain path.
Ouimet, an aspiring competitive cyclist, was killed on Oct. 4 when a trucker tried to make an illegal U-turn on the mountain. Ouimet's death reignited debate about cyclist safety in the city, putting the issue front and center in Montreal's municipal election.
A Plateau resident named Mirsada told Your Story that she takes the mountain path every day to take her kids to school in Westmount. She says very little has changed since Ouimet's death — and the commemorative events demanding measures to ensure safety on the mountain.
"I can tell you that last week, I haven't seen any police cars. I have seen police on horses, but not with cars patrolling, or with radars, checking traffic," she says.
She also suggests motorists are still pulling U-turns in the middle of the road, with impunity — and even in view of cyclists trying to make their way on the path.
"I fear for other people's lives," he says. "I am traumatized. I think of that kid's parents every single day."
Montreal police say patrol officers don't have a set route when they go on their rounds, but they aren't ignoring the mountain.
The city, for its part, says it has put some temporary measures in place in response to the death. It says it added 30 metres' worth of concrete dividers, as well as signs — in French only — reminding people that U-turns on the path are illegal.
The city also intends to reduce speed limit to 40 km/h on the path — though that measure is expected to only be made official once city council reconvenes after the Nov. 5 election.