Closure campaign smoothed road for bike race

Organizers of Montreal's Tour del'Ile say better publicity about road closures during this year's bicycle racehelped quell driver discontent.

Nearly 30,000 cyclists took part in the 50-kilometre race Sunday.

Traffic was affected in the city's east end where several major roads were closed,Joelle Svigny told CBC News.

The $40,000 the race spent on publicizing the road closures this year made a difference, she says.

"When we design the road for cyclists, we also design the road for automobilists, and you know it's once a year that cyclists take the city for their own," she said.

Both the race's website and a hotline provided drivers with information about which roads would be closed, she says.

Velo Quebec also took outnewspaper ads with closure details.