As the bus drivers’ strike continues in Quebec City, the City and its police department presented certain mitigation measures on Tuesday to minimize the impact of the conflict on the Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ), but the concerns remain.
Normally, 20,000 people use public transit every day to get to the FEQ, or one-fifth of all festival-goers.
The City will put a new map online to identify available parking spaces on the outskirts of Upper Town to help people plan their trips. Festival-goers are also encouraged to cycle into town and new parking lots for two-wheelers will be set up, notably at the Place de l’Assemblée Nationale.
Finally, in the absence of buses, the reserved lanes they use on major arteries will also add to the options available to motorists.
But the authorities’ room for maneuver is slim. “Our recourses for the FEQ in this situation are rather limited”, declared the president of the Festival d’été, Nicolas Racine, during a press briefing in the company of representatives of the police and the transport company at the Manège. military, in Upper Town. Next door, employees were busy erecting the last pieces of the two huge stages of the Complaints and the Parc de la Francophonie.
In recent years, the FEQ and the City have made a great effort to encourage festival-goers to take public transit to get to the sites. The additional Metrobus fleets offered in conjunction with the start and end of major shows were very successful.
A success that weighs heavily on the event this year, as people have got into the habit of leaving their cars at home on concert nights.
“The strike could end at any time,” said the president of the Capital Public Transit Network (RTC) and representative of the city’s executive committee, Maude Mercier-Larouche. “We are sorry for the impacts of the strike […] We are working tirelessly to find a solution. »
The municipal councilor also recalled that bicycle helmets are prohibited in the concert areas, but that people will be able to deposit them in deposit kiosks on the sites.
The Union of Public Transport Employees of Metropolitan Quebec has been on strike since 1er July and has the mandate to continue until the 16th. However, the Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) must begin this Thursday for a period of ten days.
In recent days, Mayor Bruno Marchand has urged the government to intervene in the conflict by filing a special law before the event takes place. A scenario categorically rejected by the Minister of Labor, Jean Boulet.
The negotiation, which had been interrupted on 1er July, should resume on Tuesday. The union which represents 935 drivers is affiliated to the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN). Their collective agreement expired a year ago.