A group opposed to the plans to rebuild the Turcot Interchange believes having a new government in place is an opportunity for change.
The group, which wants scaled-back plans for the Turcot, the Ville Marie Expressway and part of Highway 20 gathered Thursday in front of the officers of the Ministry of Transportation."It's really appaling that all we're thinking about is rebuilding the same thing that was done 40 years ago, it's as if we haven't learned anything in all that time," said Dominque Sorel of the Montreal Urban Ecology Centre.
Architect Pierre Brisset says his group's plan can cut costs and save time by drastically altering the plan: namely to leave the Ville Marie alone, and not moving multiple lanes of Highway 20.
"It eliminates the plan and limits the project to its bare essential," said Brisset.
"For example, not touching the Ville Marie for the simple reason that if they plan to rebuild Ville Marie, it's going to take three years to build a detour road before they can even start the interchange."
Brisset also said that the Turcot Interchange and and adjoining highways should have their capacity reduced.
"We need a smaller highway. The government wants to build a wider, larger highway with more asphalt, concrete, dust and pollution that will severely divide the southwest once again with a concrete wall of three or four stories and we can't have that," said Brisset.
The Concordia University professor and others handed over their documents to the ministry after staging a small demonstration.
