Failing to please the government, the shared street envisaged by the City of Quebec rallies a majority of citizens in the city. Preliminary results from an online questionnaire show 69% support for the path proposed by the Marchand administration.
On the strength of this support collected from 2,099 respondents, Bruno Marchand promises to move forward with the shared street scenario. “It’s final, we’re going towards that,” insisted the mayor of the national capital.
Mr. Marchand thus refuses to bend his back to the conditions imposed by the heavyweights of François Legault’s cabinet. Several ministers fired red balls last week on the 500 m section shared between motorists, pedestrians and cyclists projected on René-Lévesque Boulevard, even making the adoption of a ministerial decree necessary for the realization of the tram conditional upon its withdrawal.
The exit from the government had earned him a salvo of condemnations. The Union of Municipalities of Quebec and the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, had notably denounced the intrusion of the provincial government in the fields of municipal jurisdiction.
On Wednesday in the National Assembly, the opposition tabled a motion demanding that the Quebec government “respect” the autonomy of municipalities “by supporting cities without interference in the planning of their projects”. Tabled by PQ MP Méganne Perry Mélançon, the motion was adopted unanimously.
The results of the questionnaire show that support for the shared street goes beyond the borders of the neighborhoods bordering the section. Among respondents located far from René-Lévesque Boulevard, support rose to 64%. Support for the shared street, among the few respondents located outside the city, rises to 75%.
“Everyone was able to mobilize their network”
The second opposition group at City Hall denounced an exercise “arranged with the views guy”. As proof, according to him: an email sent by an organization favorable to the tramway, Accès Transport Viable, inviting recipients to answer the questionnaire to counterbalance a campaign initiated by a private radio station.
“Radio X is mobilizing its listeners to invade the poll in order to disadvantage the shared street”, states the message highlighted by the municipal party Quebec 21. The organization then directs people to an information document prepared by J’ai ma happening, a group also in favor of the tramway.
“What you are holding in your hands is a real bomb,” warned Councilor Jean-François Gosselin, circulating emails among journalists.
Mayor Bruno Marchand sees it differently and does not see the scandal decried by the second opposition. “Everyone was able to mobilize their network. When the numbers go the other way [et sont défavorables au tramway]there we do not question the validity of the method or the legitimacy of the results”.
He recalled a survey presented in January by his administration and which granted only 41% to the tramway. “There is no one who has questioned the results. Everyone took the 41% to hit us. »
Mayor Marchand also noted that the publication of a study, published in The Journal of Quebec of March 17 and reporting a transit time likely to double on Grande-Allée and Laurier Boulevard after the arrival of the shared street, did not moderate the support in its favour.
“From the moment this event occurred, there was a significant change in favor of the city’s option,” said Martin Lefebvre, director of the citizen interaction service at the City of Quebec.
As for the resumption of talks between the city hall and the government, Mayor Marchand claims to have had contact with Quebec on Tuesday.
“We opened bridges in order to have a decree on the 6th,” he said. April 6 is the date set by the CAQ to give the green light to the launch of calls for proposals concerning tramway rolling stock.
With Isabelle Porter