Projet Montréal is committed to taking advantage of the major rehabilitation of the Metropolitan Expressway by the Quebec Minister of Transport (MTQ) to carry out safety and beautification work on five key areas of this major transport axis. This is the perfect time to rethink the sectors affected by the work so that citizens and businesses will emerge with a much improved environment. For Projet Montréal, it is out of the question to wait another 25 years to secure the crossings below this infrastructure. This is why the party is committed to working with the MTQ to humanize the area around and under Highway 40.
The imposing provincial infrastructure that is the Metropolitan Highway was inaugurated in the 1960s. It literally divides the north and south of the city of Montreal by crossing heavily populated areas. Valérie Plante's team wants to improve the lighting, green the surroundings, and use some of the vacant spaces under the highway to install urban and sports activities, such as skateparks, sports fields and training equipment as needed. It will also be an opportunity to make the area safer by increasing crossing times for pedestrians and cyclists at about ten intersections.
To do this, we will begin this major reflection by prioritizing five major areas of intervention:
- The area around the Crémazie metro station ;
- The institutional pole of Collège André-Grasset, the Claude-Robillard Sports Centre, and CÉGEP Ahuntsic;
- The Papineau / Frédéric-Back Park intersection;
- La Cité des Arts du Cirque ;
- The Saint-Michel school corridor (6th Avenue).
The interventions will be deployed in consultation with all the stakeholders in the area, depending on the urban context and the presence of adjacent institutions or businesses. The propositions will be specified and refined in collaboration with the Quebec Minister of Transport.
Projet Montréal will also ensure that the MTQ works in collaboration with the City of Montreal and the boroughs concerned before the work begins, in order to identify the mitigation measures to be put in place to limit the impact of the work on the population.
Quotes
"We have a golden opportunity to rethink the area around and under Highway 40 in order to integrate this megastructure with the living environments it crosses. The MTQ's work on the highway structure will extend its life by 25 years. In the meantime, the citizens and workers who live near this infrastructure must be able to benefit from a more harmonious, green and safe environment. We also want to start thinking about the highway replacement project now to ensure that the Quebec government's project will meet the mobility issues of the 21st century and the expectations of the population. - Valérie Plante, leader of Projet Montréal
"Humanizing the area around and underneath the highway must be a priority to ensure the safety of residents near the Metropolitan. I am thinking in particular of the school corridor at the corner of 6th Avenue, where the Saint-Bernardin school, the CPE populaire Saint-Michel, the National Circus School and near from where John F Kennedy High School are located. It is essential to make this area safe and beautiful for everyone to enjoy. For the residents and workers of the area, the area around and under the highway currently resembles a pile of concrete that divides our neighbourhoods from the north of the island, this is the ideal opportunity to give this area back to the citizens." - Laurence Lavigne Lalonde, candidate for mayor of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension
"Breaking the barrier effect created by the Metropolitan Expressway between Ahuntsic-Cartierville and its neighbours is an important objective for our team. Over the past four years, we have made some progress, notably with the construction of a new crossing in the area of the ORA seniors' residence and by securing bicycle crossings on the Berri and Lajeunesse axes. But there is much more we can do to humanize, green and secure the area surrounding this highway. Today's announcement is very good news, especially for the people of the Saint-Sulpice district." - Émilie Thuillier, incumbent Mayor of Ahuntsic-Cartierville
