These Montreal streets will go car-free for Tour la Nuit and Tour de l’Île this weekend

Montreal's biggest bike festival is back, and it could wreak havoc on your weekend plans if you’re driving. Tour la Nuit will shut down major streets on Friday, May 31, turning parts of the city into a cyclist’s playground from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Then, Tour de l’Île will follow on Sunday, June 2, extending the road closures and detours into the weekend.

Jeanne-Mance Park will be the starting and finishing point for both events. Tour la Nuit will see cyclists weaving through Plateau Mont-Royal, Ville-Marie, and Sud-Ouest, leading to street closures on:

• Streets near Jeanne-Mance Park
• Rue Saint-Urbain
• Ave. du Parc
• Boul. Saint-Laurent
• Ave. Mont-Royal
• Rue Berri
• Rue Sainte-Catherine Est
• Boul. René-Levesque Est/Ouest

The Tour de l’Île will feature two courses: a 25 to 50 km regular course and a 75 to 100 km discovery course. The event will also see extensive road closures as thousands of cyclists take to the streets, impacting areas throughout the city.

For drivers, that means steering clear of these areas and finding alternative routes. Traffic congestion is expected on adjacent streets as vehicles are rerouted.

Public transit isn’t immune either. The STM is rerouting several bus lines, including:

• 11 Parc-du-Mont-Royal / Ridgewood
• 14 Atateken
• 15 Sainte-Catherine
• 24 Sherbrooke
• 29 Rachel
• 30 Saint-Denis / Saint-Hubert
• 51 Édouard-Monpetit
• 55 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
• 97 Avenue-du-Mont-Royal

Increased congestion is expected on the Green and Orange metro lines, especially at stations like Saint-Laurent, Berri-UQAM, Square-Victoria-OACI, and Mont-Royal.

Cyclists, on the other hand, can enjoy car-free streets with services like bike mechanics, first aid, and support vehicles on standby. Jeanne-Mance Park will also have amenities like toilets and refreshment stands.

To keep up with the changes, visit the STM website for real-time updates on bus detours and metro schedules. For everyone else, consider this a heads-up… or a nudge to get on your bike.