Quebec is officially launching its public consultation on mobility in the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches, with the main objective of surveying the population on the third link and tramway projects. However, the exercise will only be online only.
“It is essential to be connected to the needs of citizens in order to make the best decisions for today and tomorrow. We invite residents of our two regions to express themselves in large numbers as part of this simple and accessible consultation,” Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault said in a press release on Tuesday.
The third link was back to square one this fall. Less than 24 hours after his crushing defeat in Jean-Talon at the hands of the Parti Québécois, Prime Minister François Legault took everyone by surprise by announcing that he wanted to consult the population of Quebec about the third link and that all the options were on the table.
“We have to question ourselves. We must listen to the citizens of Quebec,” Mr. Legault then pleaded, recognizing that “citizens are not satisfied with the CAQ government.”
This about-face occurred barely a few months after Minister Guilbault announced the abandonment of the highway component of the project in favor of a tunnel reserved for public transport. The tramway returned to the drawing board in November, after being taken out of the hands of Mayor Bruno Marchand.
Online only
However, the consultation will only be done online, using a questionnaire and a survey carried out by the specialized research firm SOM. The latter also obtained a contract worth approximately $35,000 to carry out this probe.
In the said questionnaire, which will be available until March 22, Quebec asks citizens in particular whether they are in favor of a structuring transport network or rather the construction of roads, or even both. They are also asked to qualify the state of their travel, to identify areas for improvement and to assess the seriousness of the “mobility issues” in the region.
A priori, the questionnaire is mainly aimed at residents of the greater Quebec region, but all Quebecers can answer it. However, you must indicate how often you visit the area.
CDPQ Infra, which has obtained the mandate to propose a new third link and tramway project to the government by June, is still continuing its analyses. “The survey will allow us to invalidate or confirm trends, and we will make that public at the end of May after analyzing the results, then give that to the Caisse,” Minister Guilbault’s communications director, Maxime, said on Tuesday. Roy.
“I hope that many of them will make their voices heard,” said the Minister of Education and responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches region, Bernard Drainville. The Minister responsible for Infrastructure and the Capitale-Nationale region, Jonatan Julien, spoke of the need to “open the discussion” on the numerous “options to consider” for the third link project.
Among the Liberals, the parliamentary leader of the opposition and transport critic, Monsef Derraji, however deplored on Tuesday a “facade of consultation of the population” and “an illusion” The major consultation promised by François Legault […] ultimately boils down to an online consultation, far from meeting expectations of transparency and commitment,” he denounced.
With The Canadian Press