There is no alternative to the Quebec tramway, other than inaction and the worsening of congestion problems for “at least 15 years”, said Mayor Bruno Marchand, the day after a slap in the face from the Jean-Talon’s electorate at the CAQ likely to shake up the cards of the capital’s structuring public transport network.
The mayor began his press briefing Tuesday afternoon by emphasizing that it was “too early” to determine whether the thaw inflicted on the CAQ the day before represented good or bad news for the tramway. Then he devoted the next 30 minutes to delivering a plea against the latter, with a passion and a conviction never seen since his rant against the CAQ bonzes who tore their shirts for a shared street.
“Let’s admit that the parties wanted to change their position,” said Bruno Marchand. What are the alternatives? We would have 10 or 15 years to rebuild a new project: that’s what it took for the current project and it has not yet been built. […] Meanwhile, federal money would go elsewhere. »
“What are the alternatives? » repeated the elected official. “There are no alternatives”, in a speech where this word resonated more than twenty times.
The mayor wanted to reaffirm the relevance of the tramway in the landscape of the Quebec capital at a time when support for it is declining in Quebec. The CAQ suffers a defeat which forces it to “examine its conscience” in the region: by observing the polls, the CAQ could rally to the majority which disapproves of the tramway and scrap it.
This would be, in the eyes of Mayor Marchand, a lack of “courage” and vision at a time when projections show that congestion in the capital will get worse in the future.
“There is not a place in the world where this has been done without being courageous. […] Now is the time to build it,” insisted the elected official.
The mayor asked the Prime Minister to send a “clear message” in favor of the tramway. The main interested party said he was waiting for the update announced by Bruno Marchand before determining his future.
“ [Le maire] will have the submissions next month, therefore in November, indicated François Legault. We are still in favor of public transportation, so I will first wait to see the update from the mayor of Quebec. »
This will, however, be expected. On Tuesday, Bruno Marchand confirmed that the update will be delayed due to probable negotiations with the consortium chosen to build the infrastructure component of the tramway. “It could take two weeks, it could take eight, it could take 16,” said the mayor. It could be November 2, it could be January 2, it could be March 2.”
Despite these delays, Bruno Marchand says he has not “felt any failure in the last few weeks” on the part of the Prime Minister. However, he expects François Legault to firmly confirm his support.
“Like me, he is waiting for the prices,” concludes the mayor of Quebec. It’s up to him to choose the right message, but yes, we need the Prime Minister to be clear on this. »