Tour de l'Île cyclist files complaint saying roads reopened too early, endangering her family

Montreal Gazette

3 days ago

By
Marie Gisselle Mina, her husband and their nine-year-old daughter were under the impression they had plenty of time when they stopped for a hot chocolate during last weekend's chilly Tour de l'Île.
The family was about 34 kilometres into the annual 50-kilometre cycling event when they took a break around 2 p.m. Sunday near St-Jean-Baptiste and René-Lévesque Blvds. They were in the park when Mina said her husband suddenly noticed a heavy police presence and they realized the area was reopening to traffic.
'I was flabbergasted,' she said, adding she has participated in about 10 Tour de l'Île events.
This occurred about an hour earlier than the posted time of 3:15 p.m. on both signs and online for that section in Pointe-aux-Trembles, according to Mina. She said volunteers also appeared to be confused.
Thinking police made a mistake and saying she hoped they would realize that, her family scrambled to get going and biked alongside other participants. Concerned about traffic, she called 911.
'I'm seeing that the roads are open in front of us. Cars are starting to pass, I have a little one with me, and I'm getting really worried,' Mina said.
She said the 911 operator told her Sherbrooke St. had to reopen by 2:30 p.m. and that she would pass on the message, but Mina explained she was located farther east, where signs indicated 3:15 p.m.
They continued until they couldn't, Mina said, adding some cyclists had no choice but to go on sidewalks. She said police officers told her they had to reopen the area.
'We're in the refinery section, so we're getting pretty much nowhere,' she said. 'And there is a whole bunch of cars that are next to us and they start saying, 'The event is finished, you guys need to be riding one behind the other.''
Volunteers at the back were trying to 'scramble and pick up as many people and explain to them the event is done and you're on your own,' and that security and bike repairs will no longer be provided, Mina said.
Her family stopped near some volunteers. They had to be picked up by a shuttle bus around the 35-kilometre mark, she said.
'I can't do this. I mean, I'm scared for my daughter. There is another family, their kid is bawling their eyes out and, I'm like, we can't do this,' Mina said.
Mina estimates at least 150 participants were in the same situation. Although she said volunteers were helpful, she didn't understand why police would open streets while cyclists were still present.
Police followed reopening plan, organizer says
Vélo Québec president and CEO Jean-François Rheault said in a message Monday to The Gazette that 'after verification, the SPVM complied with the planned reopening schedule.'
The process of reopening streets is 'complex and requires extensive co-ordination to enable multiple tasks to be completed,' and the police's collaboration was 'exemplary,' he added.
'The time indicated on the yellow signs refers to car access to the street, not to the last passage of cyclists,' Rheault wrote.
When asked specifically about the signs and about cyclists like Mina being stuck, Rheault said 'the process has not changed, but it is clear that we need to communicate closure times more clearly.'
Montreal police said in an email Monday that it 'did not reopen the streets before the times planned by the promoter, Vélo Québec.'
'Some sections of streets were even reopened to traffic later than expected,' police said.
Mina filed a complaint with Montreal police and said the area shouldn't have been reopened while participants with young children were still there.
'There is a lack of judgment, and I think it could have been really dangerous,' she said.