Another tile worth several hundred million dollars could well impact public transportation in the greater metropolitan area. According to information obtained by The dutyQuebec has still not financed the new phase of the Accessibility Program (AP) which would allow the installation of new elevators and other measures to facilitate the movement of users in Montreal metro stations.
The 2024-2028 plan, the third (PA 3) since the launch of the program in 2017, would require at least 300 million for work in five new stations. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) requested the funds as part of the 2024-2025 pre-budget consultations. The request was also made as part of several discussions with the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD) in the last two years, still without response.
“As of today, we have no indication that phase 3 of the Accessibility Program would be included in the 2024-2034 PQI,” summarizes Amélie Régis, corporate advisor for the STM, in an email. “ […] Obviously, a disengagement from the government in this regard would have a significant impact on all metro users in Montreal and, particularly, on customers with functional limitations. Confirmation of funding would result in the maintenance of expertise developed within the STM as well as the continuation of activities prior to construction starts. »
The Regional Metropolitan Transport Agency (ARTM) affirms that it supports the STM in its efforts to achieve universal accessibility. “This is an issue that remains a priority for our two organizations,” writes Isabella Brisson-Urdaneta, ARTM media relations.
“The mobility arrangements will therefore not be made, and for us this is very bad news,” summarizes Marie Turcotte, member of the Consultation Table on the Universal Accessibility of Public Transport on the Island of Montreal.
The Table asks to respect the commitments and continue the investments of the PA. A mobilization campaign will be launched soon to put pressure on Quebec.
Words, words…
Quebec announced Thursday the creation of the new Mobilité Infra Québec agency to manage new major projects. The Union of Municipalities organized its national meeting on the future of public transport on Friday. The stagnation of the Metro Accessibility Program, however, shows the enormous financing challenges and the apparent lack of state will, if only to bring an existing structuring network up to standard.
A subsequent phase (PA 4) for work in five other metro stations by 2030 would require an additional 270 million, according to projections, and could also well be abandoned by Quebec. In this case, however, the formal request for funding has not yet been made, since AP 4 is still in planning.
In total, 570 million were therefore to be devoted by the MTMD to bringing an additional part of the network up to standard by the end of the decade. These two projects, now threatened, would make it possible to increase to 41 the number of stations respecting international accessibility standards which benefit all users. With the work to be completed by 2026, less than half of the stations (31 out of 68) will be equipped with elevators.
The MTMD explains that its final decision will be announced in a few weeks. “With regard to the financing by the Ministry of phases 3 and 4 of the Accessibility Program, the Ministry is not able to comment on the question until the approval of the Public Transport Investment Plan (PITC) , writes spokesperson Louis-André Bertrand. The Treasury Board’s decision will be communicated to the Ministry in June. He will communicate with the transport companies afterwards. »
A good for all
Accessibility to the metro is achieved by adding various equipment: access ramps, widened ticket counters, signage systems, elevators, etc. According to the STM, 22% of its customers report a permanent functional limitation.
Adaptations are therefore not just for people in wheelchairs, according to a stubborn cliché. All users can benefit from it, parents with young children, travelers with suitcases or other heavy packages, cyclists with their two-wheelers, the elderly, people who are tired or temporarily disabled by an injury or illness. , ambulance drivers who intervene in the network, etc.
“Everyone is concerned by this, ultimately,” summarizes Mme Turcotte, citing a study showing that each of the Montreal metro elevators is used 700 times a day on average. “You might think that it’s not 700 people in wheelchairs operating them,” she says.
In addition, the Société de transport de Montréal has still not received from the Ministry of Transport the subsidy of 320 million committed for the transformation of stations according to phase 2 of the PA started in 2019 and phased until 2026. “Like this second phase has not received authorization from the Ministry for the moment, no financial assistance has yet been paid by the Ministry for it, explains the MTMD spokesperson. The STM submitted an update to its financial assistance request on September 29, 2023. The request is currently being processed. »
The STM adopted a loan regulation to launch the construction sites which are continuing. “We are still waiting for the grant letter for phase 2 of the Accessibility Program,” writes Amélie Régis, spokesperson for the STM. We undertook the work in order to maintain the expertise developed by the STM teams. It was the adoption of a loan regulation, in 2019, which made it possible to advance the work until reimbursement by the ministry. »
The termination of the PA is linked to difficulties in financing public transport operations and services in Quebec. The total operating deficit of the transportation companies of Montreal, Laval, Longueuil and Exo amounts to 561 million, according to the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM). Half of this sum (284 million) comes from economic problems linked to the drop in attendance during and after the pandemic.
In the next decade, the STM will also have to find funds to replace the 360 MR-73 cars and add 24 additional trains to increase its fleet and respond to anticipated growth in ridership. This modernization requires years of planning and the addition of other structural equipment, for example to enlarge garages.
The new Mobilité Infra Québec agency created this week should not manage these infrastructural renovation files. It must focus on the development of new public transport projects, which represents a provisional projection of expenditure of 37 billion.
Complex projects
Construction site costs are exploding. The five PA 3 renovation projects would require a minimum average expenditure of 60 million each.
“These amounts demonstrate the complexity of installing elevators in an underground environment like the Montreal metro, dug into the rock,” explains the STM spokesperson. Beyond adding elevators to operating stations that were not designed to be accessible, it is necessary to plan for the acquisition and, sometimes, expropriation of land in densely populated urban environments. The STM always tries to find the optimal solution according to the configuration of each station to limit the duration, impacts and costs of the work. »
The reconstruction of the Édouard-Montpetit station proved particularly complicated. The work to install an elevator to the yellow line at Berri-UQAM also constitutes a major engineering challenge. Bonaventure station and the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) station, which is very recent, are still not interconnected in a way that facilitates mobility.
The plan for drilling the first elevators in the Montreal metro dates from 2005. Quebec funded the Accessibility Program in 2017 to extend the measures intended for it. Some transit projects receive federal contributions, but grant applications are still submitted through the MTMD, which typically provides 85% of the funds.
The Montreal network now has 27 stations that meet standards. D’Iberville, Place-Saint-Henri and Outremont will be added this year, and Atwater, Berri-UQAM (for the yellow line) and Édouard-Montpetit should follow in 2025 or 2026. The work in this phase, which required 320 million – perhaps the last for a very long time to promote sustainable mobility in the metro – are already more than 75% completed.