For the last two years, Montrealers living west of Atwater were forced to lumber around on two legs, feeling like chumps while their freewheeling downtown counterparts whizzed around on Bixis, their hearts filled with glee.

With the third season of Bixi set to begin on April 15, residents of western Montreal will finally be a part of the bike-share network, with the addition of five stations in Westmount and at least two likely in NDG.

Westmount had resisted joining the Bixi network (something about  fat cats in Hummers not wanting to give up parking spaces for humble bike racks), which meant NDG was left out in the cold, as Bixi stations need to be close enough to facilitate cycle drop-offs and pick-ups. This year, Westmount relented, perhaps inspired by the lyrics of last year’s viral hit The Bixi Anthem by Da Gryptions, which called for Bixi to come to “NDG and Park Extension.”

In Westmount, five new stations will be installed: De Maisonneuve and Mount Pleasant; Sherbrooke and Côte St. Antoine Road; Ste Catherine West and Redfern; Sherbrooke and Strathcona; and Sherbrooke and Prince Albert. The location of NDG stations will be announced on Tuesday, no word yet on Park Extension.

Bixi subscription fees for 2011 are $78/year, $28/month, $5/24hours. Subscribe online here. 

~ Heidi Craig