RMCC presentation 8: Conclusion
Membership in the LAW had peaked in 1897 years at over 100,000 members. Then it went into steep decline, and by 1902 the LAW dissolved and had only 8,000 members left. Many of its functions such as travel promotion and building better roads were replaced by the American Automobile Association which was founded that same year. The CWA gradually faded away about the same time. Its last annual Meet was in Winnipeg in 1898.
The last annual report of the Montreal Bicycle Club was for 1901, although the club continued in a diminished form until the first world war. When the war ended surviving members did not restart the club.
Bicycle sales remained strong in the early 1900’s but the bicycle’s founding organizations which had boomed during the bicycle craze of the 1890’s went bust. The bicycles as a primary mode of transportation in Montreal was not replaced by cars as popularly thought, but rather by the electric streetcar. Developments in electrification of streetcars were occurring at roughly the same time as the bicycle development, with the first electric streetcar in Montreal in 1892. After the 1890’s bicycle craze the main mode of transportation in Montreal became the electric trolley until after the second world war. The Montreal streetcar rails were all removed by 1959 to allow more space for automobiles.
Today bicycle infrastructure is far more developed in Europe than in North America. I think it is interesting to speculate that if these early North American bicycle organizations had not disappeared, would North American and European cities be more similar today.
In Conclusion, by the 1960’s the bicycle seemed doomed to be used only as a child’s toy or by professional racers. Yet it has staged a remarkable comeback in many cities throughout the world. Montreal is ranked among the top 20 cycling cities and the best in North America. However Montreal competes against many cycling communities that want their city to become part of a select group that are considered truly world class. Added to this desire is an urgency to do something to reduce GHGs, the need to promote lifelong fitness, and the growing need for livable public spaces in our cities. I believe that a revised Montreal Bicycle Club can aid in these goals and increase the awareness of the social history of this city, some aspects of which have been almost completely forgotten.
The last annual report of the Montreal Bicycle Club was for 1901, although the club continued in a diminished form until the first world war. When the war ended surviving members did not restart the club.
Bicycle sales remained strong in the early 1900’s but the bicycle’s founding organizations which had boomed during the bicycle craze of the 1890’s went bust. The bicycles as a primary mode of transportation in Montreal was not replaced by cars as popularly thought, but rather by the electric streetcar. Developments in electrification of streetcars were occurring at roughly the same time as the bicycle development, with the first electric streetcar in Montreal in 1892. After the 1890’s bicycle craze the main mode of transportation in Montreal became the electric trolley until after the second world war. The Montreal streetcar rails were all removed by 1959 to allow more space for automobiles.
Today bicycle infrastructure is far more developed in Europe than in North America. I think it is interesting to speculate that if these early North American bicycle organizations had not disappeared, would North American and European cities be more similar today.
In Conclusion, by the 1960’s the bicycle seemed doomed to be used only as a child’s toy or by professional racers. Yet it has staged a remarkable comeback in many cities throughout the world. Montreal is ranked among the top 20 cycling cities and the best in North America. However Montreal competes against many cycling communities that want their city to become part of a select group that are considered truly world class. Added to this desire is an urgency to do something to reduce GHGs, the need to promote lifelong fitness, and the growing need for livable public spaces in our cities. I believe that a revised Montreal Bicycle Club can aid in these goals and increase the awareness of the social history of this city, some aspects of which have been almost completely forgotten.
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