Creation of a “mauve line” of the metro between downtown Montreal and the east of Laval and more than 80 km of tram lines: Québec solidaire (QS) unveiled on Wednesday the Montreal section of its plan “to revolutionize transportation.
In Montreal, the largest city in Quebec, “ the number of vehicles is increasing faster than the number of people,” said QS co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “We’re going into the wall, it can’t go on any longer. “The lack of” ecological and practical “options that can replace the car is in question, he raised, of passage in the metropolis on the eleventh day of the electoral campaign.
To remedy the situation, Mr. Nadeau-Dubois promised to inject $47 billion between now and 2030, i.e. in two possible terms, to carry out his public transit plan.
In front of a sign announcing the extension of the green metro line, the solidarity leader announced that it would go to Tétreaultville, in the east of the metropolis. For its candidate in Camille-Laurin, Marie-Eve Rancourt, this project would repair a “historic error” committed against this neighborhood by connecting it to the rest of the city of Montreal.
The western branch of the orange line would be extended to Laval. A “mauve” line, an “enhanced version of the pink line” proposed by Mayor Valérie Plante, would leave from the Place-des-Arts station to reach Laval, via Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Rosemont, Montreal- North and Rivière-des-Prairies, explained Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
More than 80 km of tram lines
The political formation also intends to create a vast tram network of more than 80 km. The route would include “an east-west axis between Lachine and Pointe-aux-Trembles”, with branches towards Repentigny and Terrebonne, in addition to a north-south route in the axis of boulevard Lacordaire in Montreal.
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois went on to say that the South Shore would also be entitled to its tramway network, which would pass through Taschereau and Roland-Therrien boulevards. This is a “request from the City of Longueuil to finally provide a structuring offer of public transport on the South Shore”, he specified.
Finally, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois also wants to implement a hundred kilometers of new lanes reserved for buses throughout Montreal. In Montreal, Laval and on the South Shore, the rapid bus service would cover nearly 100 km.
The western REM (Réseau express métropolitain) would also be extended between the airport and the Dorval station “to facilitate access to the train”, detailed the QS co-spokesperson. A project that would be entrusted to the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec.
The “biggest construction site” from the metro
If QS is brought to power, it would be “the largest public transport project since the construction of the metro in 1967”, argued Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “You have to have the same kind of ambition” as that which carried this project of the 1960s, he argued, flanked by some of his candidates from the Montreal region.
But we must not delay, added the leader in solidarity. “We must plan and start financing these projects now if we want to see them succeed in the coming decades. People are tired of waiting. »
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois specified that the routes proposed under this plan could change. They would not be “micro-managed by civil servants” in Quebec, but on a regional scale, he assured. The latter insisted on the importance of consulting both experts and citizens.
“Good” for the quality of life, “good” for the environment
“Being stuck in traffic, nobody likes that,” illustrated Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. The “transportation revolution” would therefore allow Quebecers to spend more time with family, while fighting against climate change, he argued.
Last week, QS presented its transportation plan for the Capitale-Nationale region. The political party intends to bring back the initial Quebec tramway project by extending the route to Charlesbourg.
The government of the Coalition avenir Québec had abandoned this section by presenting the Réseau express de la Capitale project in 2021. Under a united government, a correspondence at Jean-Lesage airport would also be added to the tram route.
Last Sunday, QS unveiled its $36 billion climate plan. One of the key measures would be the ban on the sale of gas-guzzling vehicles in 2030 and the registration of these cars in 2040.
With Francois Carabin