My Alerts
Turcot exchange:
The STM cannot endorse the projet as proposed
Montréal, June 17, 2009 – The Chairman of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) Board of Directors, Michel Labrecque, submitted a position paper entitled Développer un axe performant de transport collectif entre le centre-ville et l’ouest de l’île de Montréal (Establishing a high-performance public transit corridor between downtown Montréal and the West Island), as part of the second round of consultations regarding the project to rebuild the Turcot exchange held by the commission of inquiry of the Bureau d’audiences publiques en environnement (BAPE). “With this large-scale project, we are laying the groundwork for the next half-century of motor travel in the corridor between downtown Montréal and the West Island. The project must be undertaken with a clear understanding of giving priority to public transportation and reducing the modal share of single-occupant car use. In that sense, the project must include a more balanced approach based on person-trips instead of vehicle-trips used in the current design,” declared Mr. Labrecque. In its position paper, the STM states that the key point for the project is to provide a permanent public transit solution for that superhighway corridor, one that will mesh with the surrounding local roads. To reach that goal, the STM recommends the establishment of permanent means and systems that will enable it to increase its offer of service in that area. All of these measures are consistent with its service improvement programme, as well as with Ville de Montréal’s transportation plan and with Transports Québec’s Public Transit Policy all aimed at increasing public transit ridership and reducing our reliance on car use. “We cannot afford to disregard the economic, social and environmental indicators that require that we make decisions that are sustainable for the next generations. With a project that includes infrastructure for public transportation, the STM will be able to increase its modal share. On a daily basis, Monday to Friday, that could mean up to 20 000 additional public transit rides, which could bring public transportation’s modal share up to 56% as early as 2016, ” added Mr. Labrecque. More specifically, the STM recommends that high-performance infrastructure be provided for local bus routes, as well as for rapid and express bus services transiting the Turcot exchange, such as reserved lanes and bus preferential measures operating at all times and covering the full length of the east-west corridor. It also recommends the establishment of a railway link between downtown and Pierre-Elliot-Trudeau International Airport that could serve the West Island from the existing railway network. Finally, the STM suggests that efficient mitigation measures be deployed right now and for the duration of the construction work in order to prevent having to deviate existing bus routes and resulting delays that are detrimental to the quality of service. The reserved lane corridor on Notre-Dame should also be maintained after the work is completed. Such mitigation measures could also promote a positive modal transfer to public transit both during the construction work and after. The STM would also like to consult the plans and specifications regarding the deployment of reserved lanes in the Turcot exchange project and appoint a committee with Transports Québec and Ville de Montréal for the purpose of validating the chosen solution and reviewing its operating conditions. Given the context, the STM cannot endorse the project as initially proposed by the ministère des Transports du Québec.
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