Bruno Marchand’s tramway project is in the dark. The Legault government does not want to know anything about a shared street on René-Lévesque, the scenario favored by the mayor of Quebec, which could increase the travel time of many motorists, learned The newspaper.
• Read also: Tram: travel time would double on Grande Allée and Laurier
• Read also: Tramway: Marchand admits that traffic figures should have been made public
According to our information, the long-awaited decree allowing the City to call for proposals should be adopted on April 6. But beware, it will be subject to new conditions.
At the CAQ, we believe that the latest developments in the tramway file are difficult to reconcile with the government’s vision of the capital’s express network. The projects must benefit the entire metropolitan population of Quebec. They must also benefit both motorists and public transit users.
“It is not true that the Quebec tramway will be made only for the inhabitants of Quebec City and to the detriment of motorists who leave the suburbs or the outskirts to get to the city center”, insists a source well informed.
In the government, we have not digested the recent declarations of Bruno Marchand about the neighboring municipalities.
“We are not building a tramway for the people of Portneuf […]from Château-Richer [ou de] of Saint Apollinaire […] And if they are disappointed that maybe their time [de déplacement] lengthens, it will be like this because we are building a tramway for the inhabitants of Quebec”, argued the number one of the City just a few days ago.
Boulevard Laurier is a vital economic artery for the greater Quebec City region and one of the main approaches to the bridges. Adding traffic to the already saturated queue to get to the South Shore is not the right solution, according to the government.
“The transfer of 80% of René-Lévesque’s traffic to Grande allée and Laurier Boulevard is not acceptable,” we argue behind the scenes.
The main funder of the tramway project, the government feels it has to impose new conditions on the City, especially since social acceptability is not optimal. Last January, a Léger poll showed that support for the tramway peaked at 41%.
Citizens will also have the opportunity to position themselves on these new conditions of the CAQ in the general elections in the fall, underlines a source.
Let us recall that a document produced by the City of Quebec and recently unveiled by The newspaper shows “a significant increase” in traffic volumes and travel times on the Grande Allée if the scenario favored by the Marchand administration is applied.
The municipal administration anticipates that the number of vehicles on René-Lévesque Boulevard will be reduced by half and will drop from 12,600 to 6,400 daily. On the other hand, the City calculates that “79% of traffic flows leaving René-Lévesque Boulevard (will) be reassigned to Grande Allée”.