Montreal NDG residents petition to keep the Terrebonne bike path year-round as winter removal looms

MONTREAL — A protected bike route in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG) neighbourhood is at the centre of a residents' petition over its winter future. According to cycling outlet Momentum Mag, the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (CDN-NDG) borough administration announced at its October 6, 2026 council meeting that sections of the Terrebonne Street route would be removed for the winter to make room for winter parking.

Which sections: both sides of Cavendish Boulevard

Under the plan, the protected westbound lane north of Terrebonne Street, west of Cavendish Boulevard, and the eastbound lane south of the street, east of Cavendish, would be removed for the winter. The Terrebonne route, opened two years ago, features two protected one-way bike lanes separating cyclists from motor traffic; a borough counter at Kensington Avenue recorded 135,000 bicycle trips over the past year, and the route has become an important everyday link for many families.

The petition: keep it year-round, for children's safety

The NDG Pedestrians and Cyclists Association (Association des piétons et cyclistes de NDG) launched a petition titled Keep the Terrebonne Bike Path Year-Round for the Safety of Our Children, calling on borough officials to reconsider. It argues that removing even portions of the route undermines the safety benefits the infrastructure was designed to provide, and warns of a risk the affected sections might not be reinstalled in the spring — though the reporting notes the borough has made no such decision, and that is the petition's warning, not an announced plan.

898 signatures toward a 1,000 goal, borough residents only

As of October 28, the petition had collected 898 signatures, approaching its goal of 1,000. It is restricted to CDN-NDG residents and will be presented to borough council. The dispute reflects a familiar cold-city dilemma: balancing snow removal, winter parking and cycling infrastructure — the borough's case rests on winter parking needs, while residents argue safety infrastructure should not be treated as seasonal.