Montréal gives pride of place to the development of public transit, but also to the maintenance of road infrastructures. By 2032, the City plans to invest $6.4 billion in its road and bicycle network. It also intends to accelerate the development of the Réseau express vélo (REV), in addition to setting in motion new sources of taxation to finance sustainable mobility.
About 4.2 billion will go to road “asset protection” and 2.2 billion to the “development” of new infrastructure, reveals the City’s Ten-Year Capital Assets Program (PDI) 2023-2032.
More than 58% of these investments – approximately 3.7 billion – will be devoted “to the protection of assets relating to paths, streets, roads and sidewalks”, including 880 million only for leveling aimed at avoiding a “proliferation” of nests- of chicken. Some 158 million will go into “Vision Zero” to reduce the number of fatal accidents.
Strictly on the road network, 5.9 billion will be invested by 2032, a sharp increase compared to the 4.8 billion in the last Ten-Year Capital Assets Program (PDI). Montreal is therefore more than ever under construction. As of May 2022, there were 63 projects of 5 million or more that were underway on the island of Montreal, for a total of 22 billion.
The road network is under tension, it is at full capacity. And necessarily, the fact that we have not invested in public transit from year to year as it should have been done, […] it means that we are in catch-up mode.
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal
Several major projects in progress make up the major expenditures for the next decade, including the Turcot interchange complex ($131 million), work on the Metropolitan highway ($44 million), the redevelopment of rue Jean-Talon Est in sight the extension of the blue line (132 million) or the extension of boulevard de L’Assomption and avenue Souligny (104 million).
Other sectors under redevelopment, such as the connection to Boulevard Cavendish (434 million) or the Bridge-Bonaventure sector (163 million), also weigh heavily on finances. The work surrounding the MIL campus will also require 122 million in the next decade. In the shorter term, a total of 476 million will be spent from 2023 on the road network. This is also a significant jump compared to the last three years, marked by the pandemic situation.
Focus on public transport
Public transit accounts for nearly 10% of City spending this year, which will add nearly $20 million more just this year. Montreal has already announced that it will make the use of public transit free for people aged 65 and over as of July 2023, a measure that will cost $40 million annually.
Unsurprisingly, three major projects make up the bulk of the City’s spending: the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), whose western segment will cost $133 million in development within 10 years, the extension of the blue line, for which Montreal is evaluating its overall attendance at approximately 68 million, and the Pie-IX Rapid Bus Service (SRB). Inaugurated at the beginning of November, the latter will nevertheless force expenditure of almost 35 million more until 2025.
No mention is made of the “REM de l’Est” in the budget, except for the City’s desire to initiate “reflections with a view to developing a structuring transport axis for the east” . We also want to carry out an “opportunity study for the establishment of a mode of public transport in the Grand Sud-Ouest sector”; in other words, the path of the pink line.
The Plante administration, which hopes to increase the number of cyclists by 15% in three years, will also reserve 507 million by 2032 for the development of the cycle network. The majority of this envelope, 300 million, will go to “accelerating” the establishment of the Réseau express vélo (REV). Several axes of the latter are still under development, including Henri-Bourassa and Saint-Antoine-Saint-Jacques.
In addition to $100 million for the “maintenance” of current bike paths and $91.7 million for the metropolitan “Véloroute”, the City will also inject an additional $15.4 million into the BIXI bike-sharing service. Montreal plans to add 100 electric bikes and 36 more stations next year.
Extended parking tax
The territory of application of the tax on parking lots will also be expanded next year to better fund public transit. This will include “all outdoor parking lots in non-residential buildings” with an area greater than 20,000 square meters.
In addition to the additional revenue – it is estimated that it will be able to generate up to $5 million more annually with this measure – Montreal says above all that it wants to “encourage the owners” of outdoor parking lots “to reflect on the use of their land” by town. With this addition, the tax on parking lots should bring in nearly $27 million for the City in 2023.
Finally, the City’s contribution to the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) will increase by 32 million next year, the commissioning of the REM forcing a rebalancing. However, the City will pay 12 million less to the program of the local infrastructure financing company (SOFIL), due to a “decline in the pace” of eligible investments by the STM.