Congestion, overloaded public transportation, disoriented tourists and residents: the situation at Montreal-Trudeau airport is “problematic”, recognizes the City of Montreal, which promises to find solutions to quickly reverse the trend.
“You are absolutely right, it is a problematic situation and it is not at all the image we want people to experience when they arrive in Montreal. One of the first places where they discover the city is the airport,” said the head of mobility on the executive committee, Sophie Mauzerolle, on Monday.
She thus responded to a question from the mayor of Saint-Laurent, Alan DeSousa, who was concerned about access problems that had become downright “shameful” according to him at the airport. “Last Friday again, we saw people walking with their suitcases and sometimes with their young children. It is extremely dangerous,” he insisted, calling for immediate action.
Congestion has been increasing in recent months at Trudeau airport which, as frustration builds, was hit yesterday by a national computer outage causing a 90-minute wait at customs.
All this debate also occurs when The Press reported Monday that the strong return of travelers is overloading the 747 bus line, with queues growing longer and longer. In the short term, several measures are being considered, such as adding ticket vending machines, adding a mobile point-of-sale terminal or selling tickets in concessions.
“We have to find solutions. We will sit down with our partners at the airport,” promised Mme Mauzerolle on Monday, also saying he was “already in discussions with the STM to see how we can optimize access by public transport”.
Jurisdictional issues
Without wanting to “clear her customs”, the elected official nevertheless recalled that “the airport is on federal land […] which is connected by several provincial highways and which is operated by Aéroports de Montréal (ADM).
“These are all actors with whom we have a special relationship, with whom we exchange and with whom we find solutions, as for example when we did during the Summit on construction sites. We sat everyone around the table, we found joint solutions and we have a situation that is improving. It will be the same thing for the airport,” said M.me Mauzerolle, saying she was “confident” of getting there.
According to him, discussions will first have to take place with the Ministry of Transport, which manages several projects in the sector.
This is not the only issue to have been criticized around the terminal in recent months. Last June, the Legault government tightened the screws on the increasingly numerous “illegal taxis” at the Montreal-Trudeau airport.
Fines of up to $50,000 will now be given to unauthorized drivers. Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) must since this date keep a “register of authorizations issued” in addition to increasing the number of inspectors.