Concerned about heat islands, the Public Health Department (DSP) of Montérégie recommended providing the future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital with a multi-story parking lot, and not the immense surface parking lot chosen by Quebec for reduce the bill.
“It is scientifically obvious that a layered parking lot uses less concrete space, a space which causes urban heat islands,” underlines the DSP in an email provided to The Press.
INFOGRAPHICS THE PRESS
“It is difficult to judge the impacts of this specific parking, but the consequences of heat islands in general will affect both the environment and human health. »
Described as the “hospital of the future” by the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSMO), the center under construction in Vaudreuil-Dorion will be surrounded by a large surface parking lot. The 1869 spaces will occupy 5.7 hectares, or 23% of the surface area of the land, deplores the City, which has repeatedly requested tiered parking, as originally planned.
“The development of a 5-hectare surface parking lot goes against all municipal and regional planning and regulatory documents,” adds the DSP in its email which “is intended to be a scientific opinion.”
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE SOCIÉTÉ QUÉBÉCOISE DES INFRASTRUCTURES (SQI)
The site of the future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital
“According to the evidence and literature, the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion’s proposal for parking development is the one we recommend. »
The City had already claimed to have the support of the DSP, but the nearly three-page argument received in April 2019 had not been distributed.
The DSP also produced a sheet on “responsible parking” and participated in the consultation on the City’s urban plan, its spokesperson, Chantal Vallée, told us.
“Tiered parking lots should be preferred over surface parking lots,” notes the DSP of Montérégie in its fact sheet.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital, currently under construction, will be located at the intersection of Boulevard de la Cité-des-Jeunes and Highway 30, in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
As for the participants in the municipality’s public consultation, they said they wanted to avoid “that the mistakes of the past are repeated, that is to say that we find immense outdoor parking spaces”, indicates the published report in 2020.
Vaudreuil-Dorion had first wanted underground parking, but the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI), which manages the project, “said that it was very difficult to integrate that into the budget,” relates the general director of the City, Olivier Van Neste. “They came with a compromise proposal, to have tiered parking. »
In a presentation to the local chamber of commerce in spring 2021, the CISSSMO mentioned “more than 50% underground” parking.
But Quebec ultimately judged that even this compromise was too expensive.
With “overheating in the construction field” having increased the budget by $900 million, a “rigorous optimization exercise had to be done” to meet the new $2.6 billion budget, the door wrote to us – spokesperson for the CISSSMO, Jade St-Jean.
“Consequently, surface parking allowed the project to save more than $50 million without any of the services within the future hospital being compromised. »
This scenario sparked an outcry in the region.
Last June, the City officially asked Quebec to add the necessary budget for the construction of a storey or underground parking lot. His resolution received widespread support. The Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM), the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) and the local chamber of commerce did not hesitate to call Quebec to order.
It is inconceivable that a project of this scale, representing a significant investment, would not respect best practices in terms of sustainable development, especially since the additional cost for elevated or underground parking represents only a fraction of the budget. total.
The Union of Municipalities of Quebec
The National Policy on Architecture and Land Use Planning affirms that the government has […] provide the necessary impetus so that Quebec’s architecture and territory are managed and developed sustainably.
The Metropolitan Community of Montreal
Despite the constraints this entails, businesses in the region agree to follow the standards imposed in terms of construction and respect for the environment when the time comes to carry out their project, without possibility of exemption.
The Vaudreuil-Soulanges Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The municipality also produced an illustration to show how surface parking would take up even more space than the initial tiered scenario.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF VAUDREUIL-DORION
Illustration produced by Vaudreuil-Dorion based on plans submitted to the City, to show that parking (in red) took up less space when it was partially layered.
A petition with more than 2,600 names, launched by Mères au front, was also tabled in the National Assembly in mid-November by the independent MP for Vaudreuil, Marie-Claude Nichols.
Despite local and national media coverage, nothing has succeeded in moving the needle.
“We are moving forward with the current decision,” reiterated the office of the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé.
“However, several mitigation measures will be put in place, in particular we will green more than 40% of the parking area,” indicated his press officer by email (see other text).
“Everything else in the project went very well”, but for parking, we would have wanted “the State to set an example”, underlines the CEO of Vaudreuil-Dorion.
This is what the municipality did with its “municipal center” bringing together town hall and library, argues Mr. Van Neste. Even though “it’s expensive,” the City has favored underground parking.
Recent hospitals such as the MUHC in Montreal and the New Hospital Complex (NCH) in Quebec have multi-level or underground parking, he recalls.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Olivier Van Neste, general director of Vaudreuil-Dorion
Why can’t we have this investment made elsewhere? It’s not because we’re in the suburbs that we have to expand, it goes against government guidelines!
Olivier Van Neste, general director of Vaudreuil-Dorion
The freedom taken by Quebec risks encouraging real estate developers to question municipal densification requirements, fears the DG.
“I expect eventually to hear the argument: “But look at the other side, there is the equivalent of an American football stadium in parking lots and I have to go underground.” It’s certain ! »
Visit the website of the future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital