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Two sides to new Bonaventure proposal
Blog posts reflect the views of their authors.
New developments in Montreal's sourthern portions have been a hot debate these past years, from the fate of the Turcot interchange to the old CN railyards. One of these contested developments has been the plan to re-vamp the Bonaventure Expressway. Currently, the Bonaventure (which is officially HIghway 10) is an elevated autoroute. The city had hoped to raze the current version and build a ground level, presitigous southern entry to our fair city.
The highway is definitely an eyesore, but what to do about it has been contentious. In the Spring, the city was sent packing by the Public Consultation Office, largely due to their plans for a dedicated bus route along Dalhousie Street. A residential street in Griffintown, the plan called for 1900 buses en route to and from the south shore to pass each day. Residents cried foul, so the city backed off.
The new plan anounced this week at first seems to answer the concerns: bus traffic will instead be divided up between Peel, Nazareth and Dalhousie Streets, with the latter still receiving the most traffic, some 835 buses per day. A lot less than 1900, but have you have ever had 835 buses pass outside your window everyday? Neither have I, but is doesn't strike me as incredibly pleasant.
Spokespeople from opposition Vision Montreal and Projet Montreal feel the same too, and are calling on the city to instead fastrack a commuter rail system along the Victoria bridge to cut down on car traffic. Mayor Tremblay responded that the city is creating a forum for all concerned parties to come together and discuss, which seems more like appeasement than actual fastracking, since no timeline was announced.
But the biggest points go to La Presse for digging up the concerns everyone else misses: that a portion of the Bonaventure that will still remain raised, and there are fears that the place where it descends to ground level will be a hazard in bad weather. There are plans for lights at the bottom of the ramp, but the steepness of the ramp may make it hard for vehicles, and especially all those buses, to stop in time. The worries are brought up by the CIMA engineering firm in a "road safety audit."
So on two counts - continued high traffic through residential areas, and potentially dangerous stop lights - still make the Bonaventure renovatons a questonable enterprise with a $202 million price tag. The city wants to move ahead as soon as possible, with Mayor Tremblay calling for contruction to start this fall. But will the focus be on the glitz of a new urban boulevard, or the legitimate concerns of citizens and safety reports.
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