Montreal borough’s first-ever ‘ghost’ scooter honours fallen rider
Al Housseini Diacko, his siblings and their mother were making their way across Lachapelle Street intersection towards the park at around 5 p.m. that day. As they crossed, the 14 year-old was struck by a car. He was on a scooter.
For one family in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, the tragic events of June 24th near Parc Mésy remain deeply painful.
Around 5 p.m. that day, Al Housseini Diacko, his siblings, and their mother were crossing the Lachapelle Street intersection heading towards the park. Diacko, who was riding a scooter, was struck by a car and died instantly.
“He just lost his life immediately,” said Sophie Lavoie from the road safety advocacy group Souliers et vélos fantômes Québec (SVFQ).
On Saturday, SVFQ, known for marking the deaths of cyclists and pedestrians with “ghost” bicycles and shoes painted in white, added their first “ghost” scooter at the accident site. Diacko is the youngest victim the group has ever honored. Family members, too distraught to speak on camera, were visibly grieving during the ceremony.
Mohamed Sylla, a family friend living nearby, noted that the section of Lachapelle Street, where the speed limit is 50 km/h, is notorious for speeding. “Every year they have an accident here,” he told Global News. “Most times nobody dies. This is the second time somebody has died.”
Sylla and other locals have long advocated for traffic changes in the area. “You just have to read the borough meeting transcripts to see how many citizens complain that during the day this street is like a highway and at night it’s a racecourse,” said Severine Le Page, SVFQ spokesperson and local resident.
Despite a 23 percent reduction in pedestrian fatalities across Quebec from 2022 to 2023, road safety advocates stress that the 2022 fatality numbers were the highest in over a decade, highlighting ongoing safety concerns. They criticize governments for being slow to address these issues.
“Because you can act quickly, it’s really doable,” Le Page said. “Many countries have done it.”
Residents are pushing for a reduction of the speed limit to 30 km/h, citing the park’s proximity and the number of children who use it daily. Sylla and others have started a petition to advocate for this change. “We’re going to the city, calling on all community members, and doing our best to reduce the speed on this street,” he stated.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante recently called for 300 photo radars from the province to help slow traffic, particularly in school zones.
In a statement to Global News, Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough mayor Émilie Thuillier acknowledged that a photo radar could be an “immediate and effective solution to reduce speeding.” She added that the request to lower the speed limit on Lachapelle Street will be seriously considered by the borough and city but must be discussed with Quebec, as it falls under the transport ministry’s jurisdiction.
