From the outset, we would like to warmly applaud the decision of the City of Montreal to put an end to automobile transit traffic on Mount Royal. There is no reason for this park to serve as a shortcut to transport thousands of private vehicles. It was the decision to make and it will be a legacy of this administration. Well done !
However, we deplore the lack of consideration given to public transportation in the announcement of September 13. Although the City’s press release indicates that “the STM will also, in the long term, improve its service offering in order to ensure rapid and efficient access to the Mountain”, nothing has yet been announced, as the service is still at the stage of the study. The current promises are vague to say the least. In our opinion, as long as accessibility by public transport is considered an important criterion, solutions exist, even for access from the east, provided that the STM and the City allow themselves to think outside the box.
If there is still time to adjust the situation between now and 2027, this neglect is part of a worrying trend to reduce public transport in favor of emerging or old concerns, as legitimate as they may be: greening, active travel, terraces , parking, etc.
In the capital, Old Quebec has gradually lost its service over the past 15 years in the name of modest summer pedestrianization. Even today, we are preparing to forever weaken the service in Saint-Vallier, in the Saint-Sauveur district, in the name of greening which, however, takes care to preserve parking spaces. If this is the type of decision that Old Montreal was to face in the desire, which we welcome, to give more space to pedestrians, the future is worrying.
However, public transportation is the fairest and most accessible mode of transportation, in addition to being very ecological. It allows those who have physical limitations to drive or walk to still have access to the city and nature. If the most vulnerable among us are truly a priority, we cannot neglect public transportation. Above all, the world of tomorrow, that of the necessary socio-ecological transition, must provide public transport options everywhere, for everyone. We can certainly do better to ensure coexistence between pedestrians, cyclists and public transport, without neglecting terraces and greening.
Because we cannot repeat it enough: if public transport must become an excellent option for everyone, for the most vulnerable, it is very often the only option. The right to the city is the right to mobility and public transport is its centerpiece.
For Mount Royal, the most important decision has been made: Camillien-Houde will no longer be a semi-motorway transit route. Well done again. For all future space sharing projects, we must have even more ambition and find solutions that will give access to each person, regardless of their physical or financial capabilities, to these lively and friendly places that we created when we take back space from the car. As for public transportation access to Mount Royal, we still have time to work on designing better solutions. Let’s take it, and leave no one behind.