Société du parc Jean-Drapeau promotes safety in the use of Circuit
Gilles-Villeneuve

MONTREAL, May 10 /CNW Telbec/ - Over the next few days, the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau will be implementing various measures designed to ensure the safety of users and the fostering of a harmonious co-existence among everyone sharing Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is a main road that provides access to the major attractions on Île Notre-Dame. The road is used by cars, STM shuttles, tourist bus charters, service and maintenance vehicles, heavy vehicles related to the setting up and dismantling of the Parc's major events, including the Canadian Grand Prix, and hundreds of thousands of visitors that discover the site on foot, on their bikes, in-line skates and other means.

The Société has undertaken a series of measures to make it compatible for all Circuit users. As it has been since 2004, Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve will continue to be one-way for all users from April 15 to October 30. It will also have two separate lanes, with the right-hand one used for vehicles, while the left-hand lane is used as a bike path. Meanwhile, the new measures for 2010 include:

    
    - New signage urging users to be careful;
    - Three stop signs instead of six to ensure a smooth traffic flow;
    - A slow-down device at each stop (speed bumps on the vehicles' side and
      chicanes for the bike path);
    - Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve exclusively reserved for use by cyclists and
      other sports participants from 5 to 7 a.m., Monday to Friday (no
      vehicles, chicanes or stops);
    - An alternate bike path around the Olympic Basin, from 12:30 to 3 p.m.,
      Monday to Friday;
    - An awareness campaign, during the weeks of May 24 and June 21;
    - Creating on-site awareness among users, an initiative that will be
      carried out by the SPVM police cadets.
    

These new measures were presented to the people that took part in a meeting held this afternoon, at which representatives of l'Association québécoise des sports en fauteuil roulant (Quebec wheelchair association), the Fédération québécoise des sports cyclistes (Quebec cycling sports federation), Triathlon Québec, Vélo Québec, Société du parc Jean-Drapeau and the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (City of Montreal police services) were in attendance.

"The Société du parc Jean-Drapeau is responsible for ensuring the safety of hundreds of thousands of users, and it strives, along with this, to provide a training site for Montreal's cycling-sports practitioners by reserving two specific training areas for them," stated Serge Rémillard, chairman of the board of the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau. "The Société has also conducted all of the efforts required to implement safety measures and reduce the number of accidents. Between the months of May and October 2009, the Société recorded 21 accidents that required ambulance transportation, a 43% increase over the same span in 2008. Yet, all of these measures that have been undertaken require the collaboration of the users. Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is a multi-use public road, and everyone has to exercise caution. It should also be noted that Parc Jean-Drapeau welcomes more than 500,000 cyclists a year on its 25 kilometres of bike paths, and that five Bixi bike stations will be set up on our premises this summer, and we will be holding a discovery day on your bike on June 19."

The mission of the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau is to manage, administrate, develop, protect and program Parc Jean-Drapeau. For full details on the Parc's activities, please go to the following e-mail address: www.parcjeandrapeau.com.

For further information: Nathalie Lessard, Senior Director, Communications, Strategic and Sustainable Development, [phone], [email protected]