New concrete islands on Sherbrooke St. part of an open-air museum
Q The city is putting the final construction touches on Sherbrooke St. W., from Peel St. to Robert-Bourassa Blvd.
I use Sherbrooke a lot for work purposes and I noticed some interesting concrete protrusions on the side of the road. They appear to be there to support metal posts.
I figure the contractors and city would co-operate with various entities to make sure concrete and metal structures would not interfere with the proper movement of traffic, but it seems something was missed. At the corner of Sherbrooke and Peel streets on the southwest side, one of the structures is set in a way the STM’s No. 24 bus really has to angle in to get to passengers, thus leaving riders exiting by the rear to step on the pavement, not the sidewalk.
It seems someone did not plan this well.
Richard Nayer, Pierrefonds
A It seems the concrete blocks you are referring to were actually installed by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and not the city, said city spokesperson Natalie Valade. It is part of the exhibition La Balade pour la Paix, which opens on Monday, June 5, and lasts until Oct. 29.
The exhibition is an open-air museum that sprawls along one kilometre of Sherbrooke St. The concrete blocks will hold the flags of Canada, the provinces and several other countries.
As part of the exhibit, the No. 24 bus stop at that corner will be relocated, Valade said.
Q I live in St-Henri and work near the airport on Côte-deLiesse expressway.
Given all traffic woes along Highway 20, I would consider using public transit more often if it wasn’t for the situation I found myself in again this afternoon, tripling the commute time to the Du Collège Métro station. The eastbound afternoon traffic along Côte-deLiesse expressway and service road often backs up before the Décarie Circle, or even farther. There is a bus lane, which laughingly only covers the last 300 metres before the traffic lights. That is about 10 per cent of what would be actually effective.
While the new-ish bus lanes along St. Patrick and NotreDame streets lie mostly empty and do little other than prevent the overtaking of slow-moving trucks or bypassing left-turning vehicles, the city ignores this perennial problem: Why don’t they extend a bus lane back to at least Highway 13? Steve Braginetz, St-Henri
A You might get your wish, it seems. The Société de transport de Montréal is currently studying the idea of implementing a reserved lane for buses between Décarie Circle and Dorval Circle, said Isabelle Tremblay, a spokesperson for the STM. She did not specify when the study would be completed and if there is a timeline for implementing the bus lane.
Q At the intersection of Hickmore and Courval streets in St-Laurent’s industrial sector, there was always a flashing left turn light, but lately that priority light was removed. This is a main access to Highway 13 north and a busy intersection. Now it takes a good 10 minutes at the intersection to make the turn on any given day. What happened to the advanced light?
A The city modified the lights at this intersection on April 6, said spokesperson Natalie Valade, as part of its project to upgrade all traffic lights. Simulations done by the city’s traffic department showed the light giving priority for left-hand turns was not necessary, she said. However, the city is monitoring the new light sequence and its effects. It has asked the borough for input as to how the new light sequence has affected traffic, and could make changes if there appears to be an issue.
That being said, if you want the sequence of lights to change, you should contact both the borough and the city.