Republic of the Philippines

College of Architecture and FineArts

Department of Architecture
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
NDC Compound, Sta.Mesa, Manila

The Bike Rental and Underground Pedestrian

Systems of Montreal

ALLAS, FREDERICK M.
B S A R C H V- 3

ARCHT. MANALO

MONTREAL, CANADA
There are several nicely walkable cities in Canada, including Vancouver, Toronto,
and Quebec City. However, Montreal is perhaps the most pedestrian-friendly and

bike-friendly. There are over 20,000 restaurants

and cafes in the city that are all in short walking
distance from one another. Its easy to hop from
bar to bar and shop to shop while exploring this
region of Canada with strong French influences.

PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY
The Underground City (officially RSO or La Ville Souterraine in French) The name
refers to the underground connections between the buildings that compose the
network, in addition to the network's complete integration with the city's entirely
subterranean rapid transit system, the Mtro. Moreover, the first iteration of the
Underground City was developed out of the open pit at the southern entrance to
the Mount Royal Tunnel, where Place Ville Marie and Central Station stand today.

The lower floors of the Eaton Centrebetween

the McGill and Peel Metro stations
Though most of the connecting tunnels pass
underground, some passageways and all the
principal access points are located at ground
level and it has a few skywalks. In this regard,
the Underground City is more of an indoor city
(ville intrieure) than a truly subterranean city,
although there are vast commercial sectors
located entirely underground.
The network is particularly useful during Montreal's long winters, during which time
well over half a million citizens are estimated to use it every day. The network is
largely climate controlled and well-lit, and is arranged in a u-shape with two
principal north-south axes connected by an east-west axis. Combined, there are 32
kilometres' worth of tunnels over twelve square kilometres of the most densely
populated part of Montreal. In total, there are more than 120 exterior access points
to the network, not including the sixty or so Mtro stations located outside the

official limits of the Rso, some of which have their own smaller tunnel networks.
Some of the city's larger institutions, namely McGill University, the Montreal
Museum of Fine Arts, Concordia University and the Universit de Montral, also have
campus tunnel networks separate from the Underground City.

BIKING AT MONTREAL
Downtown bike lane on De Maisonneuve
Boulevard.
The amazing thing about all of this is that a
little over 20 years ago Montreal had the
opposite reputation, and it lagged far
behind Ottawa and Toronto for being a
bicycle-friendly city. It wasnt long ago that
Mount Royal Park was the best Montral
had to offer cyclists looking for an
interesting place to ride. If you want to do
some hill climbing, or get a fantastic view
of Montreals downtown core, Mount Royal is still a great place to go cycling.
However, the city now has so much more to offer.
One example is the recently completed bicycle lane which transverses the entire
length of Montreals downtown area. Here we are not talking about painting a white
line and a few bicycle symbols on a narrow strip of pavement. This bike path takes
up a whole car lane on De Maisonneuve Boulevard, and it is separated from the rest
of the street with a substantial cement curb. There are also lots traffic signs to help
ensure that cyclists can safely navigate through the busy downtown intersections.
Moreover, Montreal is serious about keeping this bicycle facility open all year round.
At one point motorists were actually complaining that the city was removing snow
from the bicycle lane faster than the roads.

Idea: Montral bike city

In addition to its network of bike paths accessible year-round, Montral plans to
double its 400-kilometre network of bike lanes within seven years and to create five
times the number of bicycle parking spots. (Map: Chris Brackley/Canadian
Geographic)
Take a stroll along Montrals Boulevard de Maisonneuve on a cold January day, and
you might wonder whod be hardy enough to cycle along this popular strip in winter.
But since the city started clearing snow from this busy cycling thoroughfare, winter
ridership has taken off. In 2007, Montral completed a flagship bike path along the
boulevard, about 3.5 kilometres of separated lanes that take pedal-powered
commuters east-west through the heart of downtown and the wealthy Westmount
neighbourhood. Known today as the Claire Morissette path, named after the late
Montral cycling advocate who passed away in 2007, the bike lane is one of the first
to be open year-round a section of the citys Rseau blanc (white network) that
will one day total up to 63 kilometres of bicycle paths maintained for winter cycling.
Its part of a larger effort to increase active forms of transportation and to decrease
automobile use. With the release of Reinvent Montral in 2008, an ambitious
transportation plan that outlines a host of sustainable transportation initiatives, the
city made a strong commitment to reinforce its image as the most bike-friendly
urban centre in North America.
In addition to its white network, Montral plans to double its 400-kilometre network
of bike lanes within seven years and to create five times the number of bicycle
parking spots. To further integrate bicycles with its transportation system, the city is
also adding more bike racks on city buses and taxis and plans to build indoor spaces
near busy transit stops, where hundreds of bicycles could be parked. These bicycle
stations would offer a variety of services for cyclists, such as lockers, repair shops
and toilets.
One of the most innovative projects in the citys transportation plan, and certainly
the most well-known, was the creation of a system of self-serve bicycles for rental at

key locations. BIXI Montral, launched in 2009, offers residents and tourists the
chance to rent more than 5,000 bikes from over 400 stations throughout the city.
Status BIXI Montrals success is based on its automated payment structure. With
an easy touch-screen interface at stations throughout the city and online credit card
payments for year-long memberships, regular users can ride any bikes in Montral
for 30 minutes or less with no additional fees. They can also get up-to-date stats on
how many bikes are available at each station by visiting the BIXI website.

Sources:
https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/clean-commute
http://gobiking.ca/quebec-rides/cycling-in-montreal/
http://www.tripstodiscover.com/travel-by-foot-most-walkable-cities-around-the-world/5/
https://www.wired.com/2015/06/copenhagenize-worlds-most-bike-friendly-cities/
montrealundergroundcity.com/