The city's plan to light up the Jacques-Cartier Bridge for Montreal's 375th anniversary is raising eyebrows again after a new CROP poll shows very few Quebecers approve of the $39.5 million plan.
“The poll says only 1 per cent want it spent on lighting up a bridge,” said psychiatrist James Farquhar, who used his own money to pay CROP to survey 1000 Quebecers about the bridge. The poll also shows only 8 per cent approve of the government spending $39.5 on lighting the bridge.
“The poll was done by an official survey company. Anybody can add a question for $500, so I added two questions to find out how people feel about the bridge project,” he said.
Farquhar, who works with Montreal’s local homeless population, said homelessness is a major problem in Montreal and $40 million would go a long way towards solving it.
The planning committee is defending the lighting project, saying the value for the city would outweigh the investment.
“We've been building that project for four years now,” said Gilbert Rozon, commissioner of the 375th anniversary planning group. “A part of that is going to be beautiful. A part of that will create employment and part of that will bring tourism to Montreal.”
Bridge lighting isn't new. Many bridges around the world, including Buffalo, N.Y.’s Peace Bridge, the Langevin Bridge in Calgary and the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, to name just a few, are also lit. Montreal's plan for Jacques-Cartier is so far the most expensive in the world.
Most of these other bridge lighting projects cost only a few million dollars. Some are paid through public fundraising.
The federal government will spend $30 million on the Jacques-Cartier project with the city footing the extra $9.5 million.
Farquhar said he'll be sending his poll results to the mayor and the federal government.
