The Quebec-Lévis tunnel will no longer allow motorists to exit in the Saint-Roch district, according to a modified version of the project which aims to encourage more commuters to swap the car for public transit.
In the press scrum Tuesday, the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel, said he wanted to “respond to concerns” about the project.
With these adjustments first revealed by Radio-Canada, it will be much less advantageous for a resident of the South Shore to drive to work in downtown Quebec, conceded the minister. “Saving time for the motorist is to change their behavior and adopt public transit. “
The government previously wanted to allow vehicles from the South Shore to be able to take an exit east of rue du Pont to reach boulevard Charest. This outing would henceforth be reserved for public transport.
Another exit is planned on the Dufferin-Montmorency highway and the main tunnel exit must be set up near the Videotron Center.
In the Saint-Roch district, the project gave rise to a significant mobilization on this subject, residents fearing a massive influx of cars in their environment. Recently, even mayoral candidate Jean-François Gosselin – a notorious supporter of the project – had expressed concerns about this.
A project still harmful, according to experts
However, this change does not make the project acceptable, according to land use planning professor Marie-Hélène Vandermissen. “The rest of the project remains a project of the past. It will not solve congestion problems at all, on the contrary, ”says the researcher based at Laval University.
“This is a step in the right direction,” observes his colleague Jean Dubé from the Center for Research in Planning and Development at Laval University (CRAD). “We are still far from the solution. […] As long as we will limit ourselves to solving congestion problems by adding freeways, that will not work. “
Further details will follow.