Montreal’s upcoming light-rail system has reignited a debate about traffic in the West Island, with the mayors of Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Kirkland saying the time has come to build a new urban boulevard.
The proposed boulevard would start along Highway 40 near the Kirkland Shopping Centre and go west past Pierrefonds Blvd. An area near the shopping centre is one of the planned sites for a light-rail station.
Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis said traffic in the area is already backed up and while residents will be encouraged to use the train station, its presence will cause a bad situation to get worse. He said the urban boulevard is needed to keep traffic from backing up into nearby residential areas but the idea has gotten little support from Montreal city hall.
“We’ve been talking about this literally for 30 years on the West Island,” he said. “The urban boulevard, they’ve said they don’t want to build roads. So, if that’s the case… let’s talk about it. Let’s get something on paper that says this is the plan. Otherwise, we’re going to be stuck with traffic throughout residential areas in that area and we’re going to hold residents hostage for years to come before something materializes.”
Beis added that Transport Quebec expropriated the necessary land years ago.
The urban boulevard is on the agenda for Thursday night’s agglomeration council meeting.
