The Plante administration's decision to turn the road that crosses Mount Royal Park into a cul-de-sac surprised many people, thousands of whom have signed a petition calling for the municipal government to back down from the idea.

The move has been defended by councillors who said the city's government is just doing exactly what it promised to do.

While Camillien Houde Way is mentioned in Projet Montreal's platform, it is stated in a way that may have led people to conclude it meant reducing the number of buses on the mountain.

The exact wording is that Projet Montreal will work on an "Implementation of the plan to gradually reduce transit traffic on the Camillien-Houde access road to Mont Royal Park" and in this case "transit" means travelling over the mountain, and not the common North American meaning of public transportation.

Projet Montreal's electoral platform was unveiled in September 2017 and it contained many specific promises based on ideas suggested by party members during an annual meeting in May that are contained in a longer document called the party program.

While the program mentioned general topics such as protecting the ecology of Mount Royal Park, improving cycling facilities on the mountain and throughout the city, and improving security and access in parks, the platform promised the "abolition of the policy of four accidents before acting" and "to take immediate action at places identified as dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists."

During the campaign, in reaction to the the death of cyclist Clement Ouimet, Plante said that she would like to see separated bike paths and the creation of a committee to study traffic on Camillien Houde Way.

However, in February Luc Ferrandez, mayor of the Plateau Mont Royal borough and the person responsible for large parks and large projects, announced the city would close Camillien Houde Way to cars for the spring and summer of 2018 as a pilot project, so drivers would be able to get near the summit, then have to turn around and go back down. Buses and cyclists will be able to go up and over the mountain.

Roughly 1,000 vehicles per hour cross the mountain during the peak of the morning and afternoon rush hours.

The announcement of the pilot project prompted a petition that has gathered thousands of signatures and calls for the Plante administration to hold public consultations on the plan, while a petition in favour of the move has much less support.

Opposition party Ensemble Montreal said the city should reconsider a plan that will send more traffic near two university campuses, while Les Amis de la Montagnes said the city has yet to provide specific details about its pilot project.

Plante said Tuesday that there have already been two consultations about Mount Royal and they supported the idea of preventing through traffic on the mountain.

One was a survey of 2,785 people in 2008 when only one Projet Montreal councillor, party founder Richard Bergeron, had a seat in city council.

The previous consultation took place in 1990 and it, too, recommended creating two cul de sacs at the top of the mountain.

More changes promised

When he announced the pilot project for the mountain Ferrandez hinted that more street closures will come.

One of those likely changes is mentioned in Projet Montreal's platform: turning McGill College Avenue into a public square.

The platform states that the avenue in the heart of downown Montreal will be transformed between Sherbrooke St. and Place Ville Marie during the reconstruction of Ste. Catherine St.

During the election campaign, candidates also promised to turn the area near the Olympic Stadium into a large public square,

Pierre Lessard-Blais, who was elected as mayor of the Mercier Hochelaga Maisonneuve borough, said he would like to see the renovation of the Viau Metro station lead to wide bike paths and space for a farmer's market.

The party's plaftorm also promises consultations on implementing a wide-ranging network of bicycle paths and creating a new park on the mountain by "greening" the parking lot of the old Royal Victoria Hospital and opening its pool to the public.