Montrealers Can Now Fix Their Bikes For Free In Ville-Marie
Montreal cyclists will no longer have to buy repair tools or take their bike to a shop and pay to have it fixed, because you can now do it yourself, for free, in Ville-Marie. As part of a pilot project started by the borough, 3 different bike repair stands have been installed at the corners of Place Émilie-Gamelin & Maisonneuve E, Berri & Champ de Mars (behind city hall) and McGill & de la Commune W.
The stands, which go by the name Biciborne, are about double the height of a fire hydrant and include screwdrivers, tire changers, Allen keys, a wrench, and an air pump, all of which are attached to the stand with a cable so that nobody goes stealing them for themselves.
The borough, and the city in general, is trying to encourage the use of bikes in Montreal and promote an "active lifestyle." They're also planning on improving bike paths to make it easier for cyclists to ride in Ville-Marie, which would be awesome.
Since these new repair stands are part of a pilot project, they're being used as a test group to gauge public interest, and if there's enough we may soon start seeing these all over the city.
