Valérie Plante believes that CDPQ Infra must be accountable for the delays in the entry into service of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM).
On the sidelines of the Agora de la Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM), which took place Tuesday at the Palais des Congrès, the mayor said she was satisfied that CDPQ Infra was installing sound level meters to measure the noise level at near the REM, a source of complaints from citizens for weeks.
However, it believes that CDPQ Infra must improve its communications surrounding the project’s multiple delays. “For a long time, we touted the CDPQ model saying that there would be no delays and that there would be no cost overruns,” she said during a scrum. Press. “I think that, like any company, whether it’s the STM or a government corporation, we had to be accountable. The CDPQ must do the same. »
Last week, the media revealed that the commissioning of the REM, scheduled for the spring, was postponed once again. CDPQ Infra, however, was sparing of details, limiting itself to saying that it was conducting a “very intensive” phase of tests to ensure the reliability of the network, without however advancing on a new timetable.
sound level meters
The duty had also reported last month the dissatisfaction of residents of L’Île-des-Soeurs, who complained of the constant noise related to the frequent passage of REM trains during the simulation phase without passengers. They are not the only ones to be inconvenienced by the REM since residents of Pointe-Saint-Charles have also expressed their exasperation.
Following the comments received from citizens, CDPQ Infra undertook to carry out new sound level measurements near the REM route. “These models will provide a precise portrait of the current situation in connection with the passage of the cars in the test phase and we will then be able to determine the measures to be taken according to the results obtained”, indicated CDPQ Infra in an email. “Our team will make the reports public when they are completed. »
Valérie Plante has promised to follow the file carefully. “I am happy that CDPQ Infra is installing devices to be able to capture sound and evaluate it. It’s really important. We want public transit, we want the REM, but we also want to ensure that the quality of life [des citoyens] and that public health rules are respected, she explained. We are going to follow this very closely, see what the sound level meters show as noise, and we will act accordingly, in concert with Public Health. »
For a connection to the city center
Regarding the future Est structuring project, better known as the REM de l’Est, the mayor recognized the importance of connecting it to downtown. Valérie Plante believes that it would be possible to do so in a subsequent phase, as mentioned by the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, last February. “For me, this is extremely positive. What we wanted was, initially and quickly, to have a direct link with the green line [du métro] she said, referring to the economic and social development potential of eastern Montreal. “You really have to have a direct link. We leave first to go further in a second time. »
Let us recall that, in a declaration published in the pages of the Duty Tuesday, some fifty business personalities, public officials and committed citizens appealed to the mayor and Minister Guilbault to speed up the construction of the REM de l’Est and connect it directly to the city center . While the REM de l’Ouest should enter service in the coming weeks, the REM de l’Est is only at the planning stage. The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), to which the Government of Quebec has entrusted the realization of the project, must also submit its final report in June.
For the signatories of the declaration, including Christian Savard, of Vivre en ville, Christian Yaccarini, president of the Société de développement Angus, and Jean-Denis Charest, president and CEO of the East Montreal Chamber of Commerce, the long delays before the construction of the Eastern REM and the absence of a direct connection to the city center risk accentuating the inequity between the west and the east of the island.