While the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, invited at the beginning of the week to favor telework to minimize congestion around the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and de l’Énergie (MEIE) is financing a promotional campaign for the return to the office, with the aim of reviving downtown Montreal.
• Read also: Closing of the tunnel: a reduction in fares at the Longueuil metro requested
• Read also: Renovation of the La Fontaine tunnel: the first week will be the worst
“The beneficial wishes of everyone are in contradiction, it seems to me,” reacted the CEO of the Quebec Trucking Association, Marc Cadieux, at the end of a first meeting Friday afternoon with Minister Guilbault. Just before his appointment, he heard the ad “I like working downtown” on the radio.
The advertising campaign was launched on October 12, 19 days before the closure of three of the tunnel’s six lanes. It is led by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and financially supported by the MEIE.
- Listen to Philippe-Vincent Foisy’s interview with Sophie Mauzerolle, responsible for transport and mobility on the City’s executive committee on QUB Radio:
Mr. Cadieux fears that the contradictory messages sent to the population will sow confusion.
On October 29, he even received an invitation from the Chamber of Commerce to attend the Strategic Forum entitled Succeed in the reorganization of work and strengthen the “city center” experience to exchange on November 18 with key players in the business community. It is a question of drawing inspiration from the winning strategies of other organizations. And discuss mobility and accessibility.
Otherwise, the Minister of Transport has not yet given the green light to the solutions proposed by the Quebec Trucking Association to reduce congestion and avoid delays in the delivery of goods. It was agreed to watch the development of the situation from Monday before taking action.
“However, she was very receptive, very open, and did not push anything away,” said Mr. Cadieux.
The Quebec Trucking Association is calling for an increase of more than 20% in loading capacity to avoid blocking the Port of Montreal and facilitate the transit of goods. It also calls for corridors reserved for trucks and heavy goods vehicles at specific times on key arteries.