Assomption-Sud–Longue-Pointe Sector | “There is a limit to what the City can do alone”

Montreal calls on Quebec and Ottawa to collaborate to make “gains in greening and mobility”

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

Montreal is calling for the creation of a joint working group, which would involve Quebec and Ottawa, to acquire more green spaces and “preserve the quality of life” for residents of Assomption-Sud–Longue-Pointe, an already largely industrial sector .

“We are constantly challenged by residents, but there is a limit to what the City can do alone. We need help. This joint group would allow us to talk to each other, to be more agile in making gains in greening and mobility. Everyone has to talk to each other, that we work in the same direction, because there, we feel a little left to ourselves, ”confides the person in charge of transport and mobility to the executive committee of the City, Sophie Mauzerolle.

There are many construction sites in Assomption-Sud–Longue-Pointe, their development involving debates on all fronts. From the REM de l’Est to the Ray-Mont Logistiques transhipment platform, via the extension of the Assomption-Souligny axis or the Hydro-Québec transformer station, there are many projects.

In his eyes, however, the City remains limited in its field of action, in particular because it does not have “land control of a good part of the sector”. “We don’t have, no, both hands on the wheel on just about everything,” she says, asking to be able to discuss “possibilities of joint acquisitions” of land with Quebec and Ottawa, but also of “financial arrangements that would give us a certain strike force in certain sectors”.

“We find ourselves having to maneuver and try to land projects without having full control of what is happening there. We feel that there is really a need for everyone to sit at the same table, ”insists Ms.^me Mauzerolle.

A complex nature park to create

In 2019, the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) considered the possibility of building a nature park in the area. The idea also emerged recently, in January, during a meeting attended by residents of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

The problem is that the land in question encroaches on that of the promoter Ray-Mont Logistiques, which has just begun work for the construction of its container terminal. In 2017, the borough initially refused to issue the permits. Two lawsuits followed, which Ray-Mont Logistiques won, forcing the authorities to issue these permits. “The City has still lost twice, so this request on this ground, it’s difficult to say,” admits Sophie Mauzerolle.

“However, we remain convinced that there are opportunities to come and improve certain green spaces, to create others, and above all to preserve them. The citizens are particularly attached to the Steinberg wooded area, and we are working very hard to ensure that the Assomption-Souligny extension project does not encroach on this wooded area,” adds the councillor, who promises a final project “that will limit trucking to the maximum” by preserving green spaces.

In this case, the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) remains vague on its intentions for the moment, refusing to say how it will extend Boulevard de l’Assomption, while the future of the REM de l’Est remains for the less uncertain, given the recent tensions between the City, Quebec and CDPQ Infra.

M^me Mauzerolle affirms that the City is doing everything to “land its own governance” in the REM file. “We share the concerns raised by the committee of experts. We have to be at the discussion table, we can’t just put up with this project. The REM can’t carry out its project and then the City arrives to sort out what’s around, which seems to be understood for the moment. It has to be concerted, and it will take money, ”she concludes.