After the transformation of rue Saint-Denis to integrate a “highway for bicycles”, the Plante administration could repeat the experience on boulevard Henri-Bourassa, on chemin de la Côte-de-Liesse and on boulevard Lacordaire .
These are the axes studied for the second phase of the express bicycle network (REV), a network of unidirectional cycle paths protected on each side of the public road, revealed Monday a municipal manager.
“We are continuing our efforts in the REV, so obviously there is a phase 2,” said Valérie Gagnon, director of mobility for Montreal. She appeared before the City of Montreal’s Finance Committee, which is carrying out a detailed study of the 2021 balance sheet and the 2022 budget of each of the municipal services.
“We are talking about another section on rue de Bellechasse. Henri-Bourassa on a good proportion is part of the game plan, she said. And a little later, we look at the level of the west, the Côte-de-Liesse axis. And, of course, Lacordaire. These are potential areas that we are targeting. This information had not yet been made public.
These potential axes are added to the REV already announced in Viger, Saint-Antoine and Saint-Jacques streets, in the city center of the metropolis.
The construction of the REV on rue Saint-Denis raised an uproar in 2020, with some merchants worried about the impact on traffic and parking. The protests then subsided and the Plante administration claimed the project as an important accomplishment of its first term. The REV of rue de Bellechasse, in Rosemont, found itself at the center of the last electoral campaign when the defeated candidate Denis Coderre promised to reduce its scale.
Mme Gagnon specified that the development of phase 2 of the REV would be accompanied by “consultations in different formats”.
“There are a lot of requests since certain successes of certain axes [du REV] », Underlined the Deputy Director General Claude Carette, smirk. “There is a question of prioritization to be done with our services. ”
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Another cyclist on the REV on rue Saint-Denis
Consultations requested
The Plante administration refused an interview request for Press. We were unable to put questions to the officials.
“Different options are currently being studied for phase 2 of the REV,” said Marianne Giguère, head of mobility within the administration, in a written statement. “One thing is certain, the deployment of phase 2 will not happen without detailed public presentations and close collaboration with the stakeholders and the boroughs concerned. We will stay tuned at each step. ”
Mme Giguère added that “the REV will be integrated according to the various opportunities offered by the infrastructure works on certain streets”.
The mayoress of Montréal-Nord and official opposition spokesperson for public transport, Christine Black, demands that public consultations be held before the implementation of new axes of the REV.
“It takes an exemplary consultation, with transparency,” she said in a telephone interview with Press, specifying that she was in favor of the development of the cycle network. “The citizens of Montreal-Nord, Saint-Léonard or Saint-Laurent must be able to give their opinion. […] [Lundi] afternoon it was very confusing. ”
Mme Black intervened before the Finance Committee to question officials on the compatibility between a potential cycle path on Boulevard Henri-Bourassa and the metrobus project in the same artery. This is a campaign commitment from Projet Montreal. “There is some confusion at the moment,” said the elected.
Much more expensive roads in Montreal
Several other municipal services appeared before elected municipal officials on Monday to report to them.
The Water Department explained that its budget did not have sufficient growth to cover the natural increase in its expenses.
“The net indexation granted to the operating budget of the Water Service does not reflect the CPI [Indice des prix à la consommation] », Indicates the Service in its documents. “There is a recurring shortfall between 2017 and 2022.” Its officials estimate the maintenance deficit of the water and sewer network at 3 billion.
Moreover, the budget documents establish that Montreal still pays much more than the other large cities of Canada for its road works and that, far from closing, the gap is widening. Thus, each kilometer of asphalt road costs $ 27,000 per year in Montreal, compared to $ 11,000 in Winnipeg and $ 8,000 in Toronto, for example.
The City of Montreal blames formalities to explain the difference (the amortization period, in particular), but also the winter temperatures in Quebec.
“The frequency of freeze-thaw cycles in Montreal is also more numerous than in other Canadian cities, which leads to an accelerated degradation of infrastructure, therefore higher maintenance needs and costs,” said Hugo Bougoin, of the service. communications, in an email.
“The City of Montreal loads almost 90% of the snow and transports it to disposal sites, which also increases the costs per kilometer, while the practice of other Canadian cities is to blow snow on the land. ”
In 2020, only 46% of Montreal streets were considered to be in “good” or “very good” condition. However, this is a substantial improvement over the previous year.