If nothing is done by 2025 to substantially reduce global GHG emissions, the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts the irreversibility of climate escalation. Thus, in the “debates” that are taking place between the various levels of government concerning a possible third link in Quebec City as well as the choice of public transit mode for the Old Capital, I note that between the actors who govern these two files, we are witnessing more of a fight than a real debate: the objective seems more to know who will win than to know the most beneficial option for the whole of the community as well as for the environment, even if the he climate emergency should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind.
First of all, when it comes to crossing the river, the primary question is not how to get the greatest number of cars across, but rather how to get the greatest number of people across. With this paradigm shift, the option of favoring public transit rather than urban sprawl and the solo car becomes immeasurably obvious. Moreover, in the light of serious studies on the subject and not basely electoral imperatives, if we agree that it absolutely takes a third link, why not build a bridge? The latter would be much less expensive and more ecological than a tunnel or two, and achievable in a more reasonable time than a gigantic infrastructure under the river.
Regarding the proponents of the fashionable concept of the tramway in Quebec, why not consider the electric bus, which is less expensive than a rail infrastructure? Less damaging to the environment and more versatile than a tram restricted to rail lines, the electrified bus can be made now, without delay, and, to top it off, be manufactured in Quebec.
Finally, being from Gatineau, I would add that the same questions arise in our region, where some elected officials are anachronistically and absurdly promoting a sixth link between the two shores of the Outaouais. There are also plans for a tram in the west of the city. On this subject, my arguments with an ecological connotation in favor of the electric bus remain the same as those mentioned for the Old Capital.
We must rethink our cities according to climate imperatives. Without making bad puns, I think we have to get out of this tunnel vision that is the stubbornness of the Legault government for the third link, that we also have to get out of this one-way street of the tramway at all prices and that we must collectively discuss the ins and outs of each of the options in order to see the light at the end of the tunnel.