Montrealers, prepare for 'major disruptions' as city gets ready to host world's best cyclists

Montrealers, prepare for 'major disruptions' as city gets ready to host world's best cyclists

Parking, bus routes, trash collection will all be impacted by road closures

Montrealers are used to navigating road closures, detours and orange construction cones — and with the upcoming road cycling world championships, that kind of expertise might come in handy.

From Sept 20 to 27, the best cyclists in the world will descend on Montreal and take over city streets — in some cases, literally.

As announced in April, a section of Park Avenue between des Pins and Mont-Royal avenues where all the races will end, will be closed to traffic for one month from Sept. 5 to Oct. 4.

Organizers says the month-long closure is necessary to allow for the construction and subsequent dismantling of a temporary stadium on Park, able to accommodate up to 200,000 people.

The events themselves will impact seven boroughs and the City of Westmount, across 36 kilomteres of the island's road network — with some races also bringing riders to the South Shore and beyond.

While Park Avenue will be completely closed off for the duration of the championships, other streets will be temporarily closed on race days, and reopened once the riders go through.

Brace yourself Montreal — major road closures coming for international cycling event

During a briefing on Thursday, city officials said it's important for residents to be prepared for what's coming.

"That's why we urge folks to go on the website to make sure that they understand how that will work," said Jim Beis, a member of the city's executive committee.

The championship's website lists useful information for getting around and features interactive maps with real-time information for each race and affected regions.

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The closures in some neighbourhoods will affect everything from parking, to bus routes and municipal services like trash collection, with the Ville-Marie and Plateau-Mont-Royal boroughs most affected, according to executive committee member Christine Black.

Some bus routes in Montreal will be diverted while others will be cancelled, with officials saying people should favour the Metro and active transportation, when possible.

Pedestrian walkways and crossways will be installed to ensure access to affected neighbourhoods and parking alternatives will also be available for impacted residents.

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) outlines what services will be impacted, including the most affected bus lines, on its website to better help people plan their trips.

Public transit to and from the South Shore and in the Montérégie will also be affected on Sept. 21, 22, 26 and 27. The Réseau de transport agglomération de Longueuil has details on its website, while Exo is directing clients to check the Chrono app. Beis admitted the event will lead to "major disruptions" but said it's par for the course when hosting events of this magnitude.

And while having cyclists taking over city streets will create some inconveniences, it's also part of the draw.

"With cycling, we're lucky enough to have a championship race passing right by our doorsteps here in Montreal — you just have to step outside," said Joseph Limar, general manager of the UCI 2026 Road World Championships.

Limar said event organizers are working hard to make sure Montrealers get the most of the experience.

The last time Montreal hosted the road cycling world championships was over 50 years ago, in 1974. Last year's event took place in Kigali, Rwanda.

Annabelle Olivier is a digital journalist at CBC Montreal. She previously worked at Global News as an online producer. You can reach her at anne.isabelle.olivier@cbc.ca.