On May 5, CDPQ Infra withdrew from the REM de l’Est project. Six months later, the public learned that a process for issuing contracts for the planning of the structuring public transit project for the east end of Montreal had been launched. This raises legitimate concerns for anyone interested in this file.
A first contract awarded by the MTQ will update a variant of the REM de l’Est project which could extend towards Rivière-des-Prairies, Laval or Lanaudière while eliminating the section between Dickson and the city center. At the same time, two calls for tenders were launched by the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) with a view to setting up teams of professionals to carry out feasibility studies and prepare preliminary concepts.
The ARTM was reassuring about its desire to develop a consensual project. However, until now, no information has filtered out to know if the other modes of transport such as the tramway, the metro, the electric bus or the tram-train will be evaluated at their fair measure. It is impossible to know if the planned routes are part of a global vision of public transport and support the sustainable development of the territory of eastern Montreal.
Skipping the fundamental steps by pretending to go faster is a surefire recipe for wasting time, energy and money. The failure of CDPQ Infra is proof of this. Two years and $100 million lost.
There is consensus on the idea of investing massively in structuring public transport to better serve the population of eastern Montreal. Let’s take the means to make the new project a success by being transparent and rigorous, based on comprehensive studies to characterize needs, traffic, routes and modes of transportation, including a cost-benefit analysis of the best options. It should be remembered that the vast majority of travel by citizens of the East is within the territory.
An aerial mode will considerably compromise the environments crossed. An automated train, whether overhead or underground, will be less universally accessible, will have far fewer stations and will offer very little flexibility in its future development compared to ground-based modes such as surface light rail, tram or the tram train.
Travel time analyzes should not be limited to travel between endpoints of the route. They must reflect the actual travel times of citizens from their homes to their places of work or leisure and to access services and shops. This analysis must also take into consideration the potential for connectivity between the East project and that, for example, of a tramway linking the city center with Lachine and LaSalle.
Montréal must equip itself with a public transit network comparable to the best in the world. The latter must first be at the service of the citizens who live on its territory. Consequently, in order to meet the real needs of the population, it is essential that the ARTM be able to analyze in depth a wide variety of modes and routes rather than being forced to make CDPQ Infra’s REM less indigestible.
The public transit project in the East must sustainably consolidate our living environments while respecting the populations. This is why its development process must be transparent and include broad participation by citizens and organizations, well in advance of a future BAPE. This is one of the essential keys to the success of this major project for Montreal.
* Also co-signed this text: Arnaud G. Veydarier, President, Imagine Lachine-Est; Catherine Houbart, director of GRAME; Jean-François Boisvert, President, Montreal Climate Coalition; Florence Junca-Adenot, Associate Professor of Urban Studies, UQAM; Gérard Beaudet, Emeritus Urban Planner and Professor, School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture, UdeM; François Pépin, transport planning expert; Michel Lincourt, emeritus architect and urban planner