Promote walking and cycling to improve the liveability of our community and our planet.
Holistic Approach to Pedestrian and Cyclist Issues
As more residents walk or cycle, rather than drive, the interaction between pedestrians and cyclists will grow. The APCW seeks holistic solutions, but recognises that harmonious interaction can only be achieved if both parties have safe infrastructure and respect the rules of the road.
Priorities
The APCW advocates the promotion of walking and cycling primarily through investment in infrastructure by the City of Westmount to provide safe passage for residents choosing to walk or cycle, rather than driving their cars to work, to school or for errands. The APCW’s current priorities are listed below.
- Preparation of a Westmount Walking and Cycling Master Plan compatible with adjacent boroughs
- Safer pedestrian crosswalks
- Traffic calming and motorist awareness measures
- Special attention to vulnerable pedestrians (elderly, children, disabled)
- Year-round sidewalk maintenance and snow clearing (esp. major arteries and school zones)
- Play-safe streets
- Bixi stations in Westmount
- Keeping bike path on de Maisonneuve but improving pedestrian/cyclists interaction
- More bike paths to ensure safe passage for cyclists throughout Westmount
- Year-round bike paths
- More bike parking
- Improved maintenance of bike paths
- Cycling safety education focusing on courtesy towards pedestrians
- City budget lines for walking and cycling
For each initiative, the APCW will help identify issues and solutions, and will then try to help ensure prompt implementation. The activities of the former Westmount Cycling Association have been folded into the APCW.
Contact
Website: APCW
Contact: apcw.advocate@gmail.com
L'association des piétons et cyclistes de westmount (APCW) Association of Pedestrians and Cyclists of Westmount 
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I ran into Daniel Lambert today and he introduced me to the Association. I fully support all the priority activities limited but want to add one other for consideration. There is good research evidence that for cycling as for walking, their is ‘safety in numbers’ i.e. the more cyclists there are the safer they are. But, paradoxically, because so many view cycling as there could or should be. Thus one other priority that needs some discussion is finding ways to make cycling safer and this means controlling drives who speed, turn when they should not, and who ignore red lights.
What about bike couriers and the working conditions imposed upon them by the courier companies that pressure them to ride constantly fast and recklessly, ensuring that the streets are as unsafe as possible?
I’m glad your mission includes cycling safety education focusing on courtesy toward pedestrians, and I think you should add courtesy towards motorists as well. This is crucial for the safety of cyclists and everyone else on the roads and sidewalks. As a cyclist who rides to work daily, I am seeing more cyclists stopping and waiting at red lights – a good thing . And I feel that impatience we all share, sitting at a light, knowing it would just take a few seconds to dash speed across to keep that wonderful feeling of forward motion going. (I’m sure motorists felt the same way when the red light was invented.) But I know a couple of cyclists who’ve had serious accidents when they looked left and right, somehow didn’t see the oncoming car, and were hit as they dashed through a red light. We cyclists need to learn patience, accept that city riding CANNOT be the same as cycling on the open road, and follow the rules of the road.
Thanks Karen, we will be reviewing our mission statement this coming year.