More than ten months after the end of the work to refurbish it, the Rosemont metro bus terminal finally reopened its doors to public transport users on Monday. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) attributes the significant delay in this file to “design challenges and alignment of needs.”
“We couldn’t wait to open it,” says the spokesperson for the Montreal carrier, Amélie Régis.
Since the start of this case, initially launched in 2019, the problems have multiplied. First, in recent history, the asphalt loop was completely closed for a year and a half, until last December, to allow the construction of social housing above the metro. A new public square was also built by the borough.
Then, “security issues” linked to the risk of falling ice kept it closed throughout the winter. Mme Régis affirms that the STM had nevertheless completed as early as last May “almost all of the additional security work required” on the structure’s waterproofing membrane.
At that time, the STM planned to reopen in June, but new pitfalls appeared. The carrier says it “had to wait” for “transfer of ownership” documents from the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM), which built the large seniors’ residence located above the premises.
Above all, the negotiations were particularly long because of “the number and [de] the complexity of the easements due to the interweaving of the terminus through the OMHM building,” according to the carrier.
“This type of integrated project including a partially covered terminus had never been carried out in Montreal before,” Amélie Régis explained on Monday, citing “design challenges and alignment of the needs of all partners, hence the need to make certain adjustments.”
However, everything is not yet settled. The STM is still awaiting “receipt of the protective net for the south canopy, which will be installed later this fall, but which does not prevent the opening of the terminus now,” said Ms.me Regis.
More accessible, more punctual
The opening will undoubtedly be a relief for area residents who, due to the prolonged closure, had to wait at stops along Rosemont Boulevard, often without bus shelters. Users with reduced mobility also had to detour to one of the temporary bus stops installed on sidewalks in the surrounding area.
At the Regroupement des activists pour l’inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ), spokesperson Linda Gauthier still has a bitter taste about this whole affair. “The opening, we welcome that, that’s for sure, except that it took so long. It’s a total shame for the STM and for the City,” she said.
However, RAPLIQ welcomes the fact that the new terminus will now be fully accessible to people with reduced mobility. It “will also offer better comfort for customers and will also improve the punctuality and regularity of the bus lines using it”, argues the transport company, without giving further details.
Not only will customers find their stops in the same place as before the work, but above all, “new bus shelters have been installed on the two platforms on the south side for the comfort of customers,” adds Mme Régis, also praising signage that is “modernized and harmonized with that of the metro”.
With the collaboration of Philippe Teisceira-Lessard, The Press