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Marian Scott • Montreal Gazette
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02 May 2022 • 18 minutes ago • 4 minutes reading • Join in the discussion The performance published on Wednesday 9 March in the proposed REM de l’Est. The designers returned to the design to counter the criticism that the proposed transit network would create a scar in the urban landscape. Courtesy of CDPQ Infra
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Quebec and Montreal are taking over management of the controversial REM de l’Est project after Quebec’s pension fund manager stepped down, Prime Minister François Lego and Mayor Valerie Plante announced on Monday.
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Quebec’s proposed $ 10 billion, 32-kilometer project has angered groups of citizens and cultural heritage organizations who criticize its elevated portion as a snapshot of the downtown east. In February, the Montreal Regional Transit Authority said designers would have to return to the drawing board because the REM de l’Est would be costly to operate, distort Montreal and not offer a clear benefit to most eastbound commuters. At a press conference at Montreal City Hall, Legault and Plante said they had heard citizens’ complaints and criticisms from experts and would radically review the transit project to meet them. Monday’s announcement “proves that we are listening to the people,” Legault said.
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The section of the tram project in the city center will be abolished and the rest of the section will be better integrated in the Green Line of the metro, he announced. The new project will also be modified to better suit the Mercier-Est neighborhood, he said, where residents have been protesting, warning that it will overshadow their homes and reduce property values. The future rail link could be the key to unlocking the enormous potential of Montreal’s east end, said Legault, who argued for the need to revitalize the former industrial zone in a 2013 book, Cap sur un Québec gagnant: le projet Saint-Laurent. Legault said the project could help turn the land of a former oil refinery into a “small Silicon Valley”. It would also like to extend the railway line to Laval and the Lanaudière area.
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While the prime minister said he wanted the revised project to proceed as quickly as possible, the opening of the driverless train is likely to be postponed beyond the original 2029 target. It will be up to a new team, representing local and regional transit authorities, as well as the city and county, to determine the new details, timetable and budget, he said. Plante welcomed the decision to press the reset button as the result it dreamed of when it turned to Legault to seek improvements in the REM de l’Est. It shows “when there is a will, there is a way,” he said. “The prime minister and I are on the same wavelength,” added Plante, who has been pushing for Montreal to have a seat at the table when planning the railroad project.
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“There is a great need for public transport in this area and this is something to which the Prime Minister and I are deeply committed,” he said. It was clear that “the aerial section crossing the city center would be a historic mistake that we must have avoided,” Plante said, noting that the giant construction would have a devastating impact on Chinatown and Morgan Park in the Hochelaga area. In a statement, CDPQ Infra, the Caisse de dépôt subsidiary responsible for the project, defended its history, saying its latest proposal incorporated more than 80 percent of the recommendations made by a panel of experts to improve of the architecture of the railway connection and urban integration. “CDPQ Infra designed and presented to the public a detailed, ambitious and feasible architectural proposal, in order to respond effectively to the challenge of sustainable relocation of hundreds of thousands of citizens to the eastern part of the metropolis,” he said.
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In March, CDPQ Infra unveiled some design changes that it hoped would calm critics who said the elevated train would cause an urban scar comparable to the Metropolitan Expressway. The modifications included replacing the huge pillars of the original REM project on West Island and South Shore with more trim and the use of lighter colored concrete. Daniel Chartier, vice-president of the Collectif environnement Mercier-Est, welcomed the change of direction. “We are very happy,” he said. It will be up to the new team to find a solution for the eastern neighborhood, where citizens are strongly opposed to an elevated train along either Sherbrooke St. E. or Souligny Ave., he said. “What is needed is an objective and impartial analysis,” Chartier said.
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The municipal opposition has warned that a change of government will delay the project. “With this return to the call list and the discussions that will begin with the new partners, it is clear that Montreal residents in the east and northeast will have to wait to see this public transit project come true,” Aref said. Salem, the interim leader of the Montréal Ensemble. The Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce also complained that the project would be delayed. “The Chamber of Commerce has been calling for years for a fast and efficient public transport connection to connect the eastern part of the metropolis with the city center,” said Michel Leblanc, president and CEO. “Today’s decision unfortunately calls into question the possibility of moving forward quickly,” he added, calling on the government to “commit to a clear timetable” and open the new line by 2030. The East Montreal Chamber of Commerce also requested that the project be completed within 10 years. The new rail link must be a “lever for the revitalization of the territory,” it said in a statement, while the $ 10 billion price tag, plus $ 2.5 billion for urban integration, must be maintained. He expressed regret that the REM de l’Est will no longer go to the city center. [email protected]
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