Place Bonaventure has formally asked the REM to open a more direct and faster path between its Central Station and the Bonaventure metro station, in the hope of stemming the flow of transit travelers who get lost in underground Montreal.
The building has even already started development work.
The Press reported at the end of November that a shortcut connecting the two stations – via Place Bonaventure – was difficult to access. This “faster and direct access” should however be “offered to future users, between the Central Station REM station and the Bonaventure metro station”, promised CDPQ Infra in 2017.
The project could rise from its ashes.
“We made a formal request to the REM to open the doors leading to the REM,” said Richard Hylands, owner of Place Bonaventure through his company Kevric.
In the meantime, “we are creating a vestibule” to direct people, he added, referring to work in progress these days. “The problem currently is that we have people who are continually lost in Place Bonaventure, because they no longer know where they are. »
CDPQ Infra open
For the first time, CDPQ Infra says it is open to the possibility of opening this shortcut to the general public, provided that it “maintains security requirements”.
“We are seeing changes in user habits and we recognize that there is a demand from users to also be able to enter from Place Bonaventure,” said Michelle Lamarche, communications director for the organization. “CDPQ Infra is actively working with its partners to advance this issue, in light of passenger demands. »
She stressed that CDPQ Infra “only has an exit right in this space”.
The shortcut starts from the southern end of the REM platform at Central Station, passes through Place Bonaventure and follows a long straight corridor to Bonaventure station. The author of these lines completed this journey in 2 minutes and 37 seconds, compared to 4 minutes and 1 second taking the official route via Central Station, which is much more tortuous.
The route is difficult to access, due to the decisions of CDPQ Infra. No signage indicates him in one direction, while he comes up against a locked door in the other.
Initially, this path was to allow the transit of people with reduced mobility. As of today, they still have to go outside to go from the metro to the REM (and vice versa).
After the publication of the article The Press on the existence of the shortcut, the mayor of Montreal called on the partners to find a solution in this matter.
“Everyone should be able to get around easily in Montreal, regardless of their condition,” she wrote on social networks. “We are continuing our discussions with CDPQ Infra and the STM so that they can accelerate their work to ensure universal accessibility of the REM. »