No Formula E race on city streets, Plante says
Mayor-elect, organizers to discuss previous administration’s contract
The controversial Formula E race is scheduled to take place in Montreal next July 28, but the city’s mayor-elect said the electric car race won’t take place on city streets.
“It’s not going to happen in the streets of Montreal because we have seen how difficult it was for both businesses and citizens,” Valérie Plante said on Tuesday during a press conference at city hall.
She said she is committed to honouring the Formula E contract, which runs for the next two years, but said she wants the race to be held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The racetrack is scheduled to undergo renovations after the Canadian Grand Prix in June.
“We have been investing so much (at the racetrack) and we need to make sure we use our infrastructure as best we can,” she said. “For me, it (the race) would be at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.”
Plante said she needs to learn more about the deal the city signed with Formula E organizers before finalizing the details.
A spokesperson for the Formula E event said they will be meeting with the Plante administration in the next few weeks to discuss the 2018 race.
Outgoing mayor Denis Coderre has defended holding the race in city streets, despite the disruption to residents, merchants and motorists, saying that holding it at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve would have required costly modifications to the track.
Plante made the comments after meeting with Martin Coiteux, the provincial minister responsible for the Montreal region, to discuss how to improve the city’s public transportation network.
Plante said she agrees with the Quebec government that extending the métro’s Blue Line and building an electric light-rail network are immediate priorities for the city, but she reiterated that her proposed Pink Line métro extension is vital for residents living in the northeast and southwest parts of the city.
Coiteux didn’t promise any provincial money for the proposed Pink Line, which would run from Montreal North to Lachine, but said he wouldn’t rule out discussions about future transportation projects.
“Let’s study the future of sustainable mobility in Montreal,” he said. “If the administration in Montreal wants to present a project, we can study the project.”
The federal and provincial governments have each pledged $1.283 billion to fund the Réseau électrique métropolitain, an electric light-rail system across the Champlain Bridge, linking the South Shore, downtown and the West Island.
The provincial and federal governments have also pledged to fund the Blue Line extension, which Coiteux said is a priority for the Quebec government.
Plante said she supports these projects, but wants “to make sure it doesn’t stop there.”
“The needs are big,” she said. “Montrealers want to have more mobility options, so I will be working with Mr. Coiteux in the future about this.”