The committee of experts set up by Québec to ensure the urban integration of the Eastern Metropolitan Express Network (REM) expresses serious concerns about the impact that future aerial structures, equipped with noise barriers and catenaries, on the districts crossed and the risk of urban fracture that they could create. According to information obtained by The duty, the progress report submitted to the Government of Quebec by the committee recommends, in particular, favoring steel pillars rather than poured concrete in order to improve their visual appearance. The committee also warns that a major redevelopment of René-Lévesque Boulevard and that a reduction in automobile traffic on this artery will be necessary.
The committee headed by engineer Maud Cohen would not have been able to take cognizance of the final result of the proposals of the designers of the future REM de l’Est. Some elements are not even sufficiently developed for the experts to be able to decide, indicates a source at the Homework.
The REM de l’Est could be a “key element” in the development of eastern Montreal, but its urban integration would still have to be “exemplary”, it is emphasized.
Pillars and noise barriers
The main concern of the committee concerns the aerial portions of the project and the risks of urban fractures, not only in the city center, but also in the eastern section.
Remember that the REM de l’Est project, announced in December 2020 at a cost of $10 billion, must connect downtown Montreal to the Pointe-aux-Trembles district, with an antenna to Cégep Marie-Victorin, in the northeast of the city.
To comply with noise climate regulations, the decks will be lined with noise barriers up to four meters high and partly opaque, particularly in the city centre, which worries the committee, which would not have seen the final concept of these walls.
The issue of catenaries is also of concern to the committee. CDPQ Infra allegedly argued to the experts that the catenaries were the only appropriate technical solution given the Montreal climate. The committee therefore urges CDPQ Infra to take care of their appearance and their integration to avoid the massive structures of the REM de l’Ouest. He even suggests planning measures to be able to remove these catenaries in the future if technological progress allows it.
immutable elements
As for the pillars, the committee is of the opinion that CDPQ Infra should opt for steel or precast concrete — and not poured on site — for their design in order to ensure better architectural quality of the structures. The experts are said to have formulated a series of “guiding principles” for aerial structures so that they are as narrow as possible and that their range is extended in areas deemed sensitive.
However, several elements are immutable and CDPQ Infra would have reiterated this during meetings with committee members. In addition to catenaries and noise barriers, the choice of René-Lévesque Boulevard to run the REM downtown cannot be questioned, CDPQ Infra would have warned. A long tunnel cannot be dug there, although last September, CDPQ Infra agreed that a section of 500 meters, east of Central Station, could be built underground. Similarly, a tunnel in Mercier-Est, in the Tétreaultville sector, cannot be envisaged.
René-Lévesque Boulevard
The committee would have preferred the train to run underground downtown, but since CDPQ Infra judges that this option is not technically possible, the designers must review the geometry of the boulevard, significantly reduce the space given to traffic and favor public and active transport, it is estimated.
Despite some progress, the aerial structures must be improved in order to achieve a “satisfactory” result, it is said.
The hopper, the structure that emerges from the ground between Bleury and Saint-Urbain streets when the train moves from underground mode to the surface, will require special attention, as will the layout of the stations, experts believe. These stations will have to be adapted to the neighborhoods crossed and to their social fabric. The committee would be particularly concerned by the attention given to heritage sites along the route, such as Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Morgan Park, Chinatown or the former Misericordia Hospital.
According to the information obtained, CDPQ Infra plans to build a promenade along the aerial structures with pedestrian paths and cycle paths, as well as public squares and green spaces. The committee, which is in favor of this idea, recommends integrating a dedicated cycle path as well as urban developments from the design stage.
Experts believe that this promenade could become a “flagship element” of the REM de l’Est in the city center and even bring “added value”, in addition to sending a message in favor of a modal shift towards public transport and active.
Connection with the green line
Last fall, the committee pointed out that CDPQ Infra should consider other solutions than an aerial structure in the axis of rue Sherbrooke Est, given the narrowness of this artery and the residential buildings bordering it.
On January 25, CDPQ Infra finally announced a modification to the route to run the train along the axis of rue Dubuisson. This decision, however, means that the REM loses its connection with the green line of the metro and the Honoré-Beaugrand station, deplore the experts who are urging CDPQ Infra to evaluate various options, including that of a tunnel in this sector to ensure a link with the metro station.
Governance
The committee insists on the fact that the REM de l’Est must be considered as an “urban development” project and a “transformation lever” for the metropolis, and not only as a transportation infrastructure.
It makes several recommendations to improve governance. Collaboration between the various authorities, whether CDPQ Infra, the Government of Quebec, the City of Montreal, its boroughs, the City of Montreal East, as well as the Regional Transport Authority metropolitan (ARTM), is essential, it is emphasized.
In this regard, the experts recommend the establishment of a mode of governance in which the City of Montreal will be a stakeholder, especially since a large part of the public domain crossed by the future REM does not belong to the Ministère des Transports or at CDPQ Infra. In addition, CDPQ Infra will have to clearly determine everyone’s responsibilities and specify the sharing of project funding. According to the committee, the overall budget for the project should also include improvements to the public domain.
The recommendation in favor of an increased role for the City of Montreal is in line with the request expressed for weeks by Mayor Valérie Plante, who wants a decision-making role within a project office.
Transparency and citizen participation
The committee of experts also deems that the Caisse must show great transparency in the development of the project and recommends that it keep the population informed of the main principles adopted in terms of architecture and design.
The committee also insists that CDPQ Infra give a large place to urban and architectural quality criteria — rather than the sole criterion of the lowest bidder — in the calls for tenders that will be launched for the construction of the REM de l’Est.
Finally, he cautions CDPQ Infra against moving too quickly and believes that CDPQ Infra must give itself more time to complete the conception and design process.
The committee, which brings together 15 experts from various fields, was set up by Quebec in May 2021 to calm growing fears about the Eastern REM and support CDPQ Infra in developing the guiding principles for the architectural framework of the future network.
The Eastern REM, which provides for the development of 23 stations over 32 km, must also be submitted to the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) in the coming months.