Roads affected by flooding still waiting to be fixed
Q When I travel westbound on Gouin Blvd. to Rivière-desPrairies there are four sections of the street that are reduced to one lane since last month’s flooding. Gouin E. has two lanes of traffic, but the westbound lane started to erode, and the lanes were closed for fear of a sinkhole opening up. During rush hour, there are people directing traffic, but there is no evidence of progress toward repairing the outside lanes. I’d like to know when construction will begin to repair the road. Matthew Polsky, Pointe-aux-Trembles
A The city is currently working on devising the specifications for work to correct the areas that eroded by rising water during last month’s flooding, said Jacques-Alain Lavallée, a spokesperson for the city’s roads department. However, he said the city needs a green light from the province’s environment ministry before it can proceed with the work.
“For that reason, we can’t pinpoint the exact date when construction will begin,” Lavallée said.
Q I drive west along de Maisonneuve Blvd. from Westmount many times a week and am incredulous there is such a lack of organization at the intersection of Décarie Blvd. and de Maisonneuve. Inevitably, a driver is stuck in the middle of the intersection and various pedestrians, bikers and cars are going in every direction (diagonally, straight and turning).
At the intersection, there is a mess of bike lanes, bus lanes and ‘no turning’ signs, but there are no clear lines painted on this large intersection. It is an absolute mess. Once one drives across the intersection onto de Maisonneuve, there are lights for motorists, for cyclists, strange lane configurations, cars driving south and turning east, bike lanes and odd direction signs.
To say the least, this is a busy intersection with people attempting to cross. I am
familiar driving there and can’t imagine how anyone driving for the first time at this intersection can make sense of it all.
Is the city considering changing the configuration of this intersection to make it simpler to navigate? Gloria, Montreal
A The intersection was thoroughly rethought and then revised again several times before the McGill University Health Centre’s superhospital opened in 2015.
The current configuration allows bikes to navigate through, while allowing cars to turn left on de Maisonneuve Blvd., a measure deemed necessary to allow cars heading to the hospital to avoid clogging up Sherbrooke St.
Étienne Brunet, a spokesperson for the borough, said the lane markers should be repainted in the coming days or weeks, and that should help clear up at least some of the confusion.
The traffic plan as a whole, however, won’t change in the short term.
That’s because the St-Jacques overpass over the Décarie Expressway remains closed and will remain so until the overpass is rebuilt next year. The borough wants to evaluate what effect the reopening of St-Jacques St. will have on traffic before making further modifications, Brunet said.
Q The busy Guy-Concordia métro entrance on Guy St. does not have a métro map that is visible either before the ticket booth or immediately after it. Because of this, a traveller must decide which direction to take before descending the final steps to a station platform. This has been the case for several months. I know there has been continuing construction at this station, but the absence of a map in the appropriate location to assist riders seems like a major oversight. Liz Klaus-Bock, Montreal
A The work on the station appears to be wrapping up in the coming months. The signs are set to be put back by fall, STM spokesperson Amélie Régis said. She said all the signage at the station will be replaced by that time.