Boulevard Henri-Bourassa | “It’s quite revolutionary, what’s coming”

A major transformation is underway on Henri-Bourassa Boulevard, in the north of Montreal, where the City plans to build within a few years a long lane reserved for buses and another for bicycles, from east to west. One year before the start of the work, traders are already fearing numerous impacts.

From 2024, a significant portion of the boulevard will be redeveloped between avenue Marcelin-Wilson and rue Lajeunesse. We will add a light rapid bus service (SRB), in the sense that the track will not be elevated like the Pie-IX SRB, as well as another branch of the Express Bike Network (REV).

Ultimately, the “sustainable mobility corridor” that the City wants to achieve by 2027 – still combining the SRB and the REV – will be 18 kilometers between Highway 13 and Boulevard Lacordaire. Three districts will therefore be crossed by this major project.

This will result in the removal of two lanes of traffic on each side of the boulevard, in addition to removing several parking spaces. There will therefore only be two lanes left for the car in each direction.

The idea of ​​a lightweight SRB, also called a “metrobus”, emerged during the last municipal campaign, in October 2021. The City then integrated the idea of ​​the REV, these bicycle highways which are already multiplying on the island for several years. On Henri-Bourassa, the pedestrian crossings will also be reviewed to facilitate walking, especially at intersections.

Little revolution?

“It’s quite revolutionary, what’s coming,” says the head of mobility on the executive committee, Sophie Mauzerolle. “The Henri-Bourassa axis is already the busiest with more than 50,000 travelers per day. In the morning and evening, there are long lines in front of the buses. The need to act is already there,” persists the elected official.

At the Henri-Bourassa metro station, resident Jean-Guy Charette applauds the initiative of the Plante administration.

“The city changes, and so does the weather. We can no longer do anything but move in this direction,” adds Mr. Charette, who maintains that soon, the use of individual cars “simply will no longer be viable.” “It’s basically a waste, when you know that a vehicle spends 90% of its time parked,” he breathes.

François Lamontagne is more skeptical, but only asks to be convinced. “It just needs the world to take it and make it worth it. If people use the future SRB in droves, I think it can be a good project. But otherwise, it still cuts two lanes of traffic, ”he recalls.

“Disguised expropriation”

In the commercial sector, however, the project is going rather poorly. For several weeks, the owner of the Salaison St-André butcher shop, André Savoie, has been circulating a petition asking the City to reconsider its intentions. “We are not anti-cycling, we are not opposed to progress and public transport, but we find it a shame to remove all the parking spaces. For us, it’s a bit like a disguised expropriation,” says Mr. Savoie.

His son Steve Dupuis, who will soon take over the butchery, supports him in his fight. “What we are asking for is a public consultation. We have things to say and the business side seems to escape the City,” continues Mr. Savoie, who proposes, for example, that the lane reserved for buses be in effect during rush hour, in the morning and evening, but that the rest time, parking is permitted.

The project “will put a lot of businesses on the street”, also fears Rémi Lafleur, a locksmith established on Boulevard Henri-Bourassa for several decades.

“It may well be that we close the counter here,” says the manager of Vitrerie St-André, François Rousseau, who is also opposed to the City’s project. According to him, combining a REV and an SRB is excessive “when we know that Henri-Bourassa is the only street at the moment that is doing well”.

“You take Saint-Laurent, Berri, Sauvé, Fleury, Prieur: there is work everywhere in the area. Here, it was the only street still flowing and people came to see us for that, among other things,” maintains Mr. Rousseau.

In the City, Sophie Mauzerolle assures that a dialogue will be in place to “support these traders in change”. “We are really going to take the time to visit each of them to target their service and delivery needs. There is a way to manage parking on perpendicular streets so that they are not too impacted on a daily basis,” she believes.

“When we did the REV Saint-Denis, we also heard this speech, whereas currently, the vacancy rate has never been so low and it is quite the artery which is doing the best out during the pandemic. It is never the slaughter predicted and we end up seeing the added value,” concludes M.^me Mauzerolle.