My Alerts Longueuil–Universit�-de-Sherbrooke Station
New name now official
Montreal, September 26, 2003 Earlier today, senior officials of the Société de transport de Montréal and of the Universit� de Sherbrooke formalized the change in the south shore métro station’s name, from Longueuil to Longueuil –Universit�-de-Sherbrooke. Held at the newly renamed station, the event was attended by the Chairman of the STM Board of Directors, Mr. Claude Dauphin, the Rector of the Universit� de Sherbrooke, Mr. Bruno-Marie B�chard, and by the Vice-President of Longueuil’s Executive Committee and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Réseau de transport de Longueuil, Mr. Claude Gladu.
Members of the STM Board of Directors had approved the name change in November 2002, thereby responding favourably to a request by the Universit� de Sherbrooke, which has maintained a campus adjacent to the métro station for the past 15 years in addition to being well established in the Eastern Townships for over 40 years. From now on, the institution’s name will be formally associated with Montreal’s métro system, following in the steps of the Universit� du Québec � Montréal (Berri-UQAM station), of the Universit� de Montréal (Universit�-de-Montréal station), of McGill University (McGill station), and of Concordia University (Guy-Concordia station).
Moreover, the Commission de toponymie du Québec had formalized the name change on August 13, deeming that the Universit� de Sherbrooke campus plays an important role in Longueuil. Indeed, the 10 000 people connected to the institution, including over 9 500 students and interns, as well as faculty members teaching and conducting research, all contribute significantly to the development of the Metropolitan Montreal area.
Mr. Dauphin pointed out that « this change reflects the will of the community. It is based on a request by the Universit� de Sherbrooke, which was unanimously supported by Longueuil council members, as well as by the South Shore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.»
He also indicated that « the agreement between the STM and the Universit� de Sherbrooke stipulates that the latter will assume all costs pertaining to the change. The new name has indeed begun to appear in the métro and in various STM documents. However, in order to avoid substancial costs, the name will gradually be changed on customer information tools as they are being updated. »
In turn, Mr. B�chard emphasized the new, metropolitan-wide visibility that will result from the move made by the Universit� de Sherbrooke in Longueuil: « Increasingly, Montreal, Laval and Longueuil residents understand the advantages of evolving into truly metropolitan citizens, by not limiting themselves to their respective cities, but rather by combining the strengths of the three cities encompassed by Metropolitan Montreal. Acknowledging the presence of five firmly established institutions within the metropolitan area provides a perfect example of this outlook. Indeed, having a regional scope, instead of one limited to Montreal, projects a positive vision for the future.»
As for Mr. Gladu, he considers it both justifiable and desirable that Longueuil should emphasize its academic vocation by way of a métro station bearing the name of the institution it has chosen as its main partner for development. In that sense, the Longueuil–Universit�-de-Sherbrooke name given to the métro station serves as a reminder to the population that the City of Longueuil can also boast having a large-scale university campus. »
It was on March 31, 1967, that the Longueuil métro station was inaugurated, shortly before Expo 67 opened. Over seven million commuters transit the station each year, making it the network’s fifth busiest station in 2002, behind McGill, Berri-UQAM, Henri-Bourassa and Guy-Concordia.
- 30 -
