WITH BLUE LINE ON THE WAY, SOME RIDERS ARE SEEING RED
Plan needed before extension exacerbates existing problems with packed métro
The eastward extension of the Blue Line of the Montreal métro, officially announced Wednesday amid much fanfare, has been a long time coming.
A 5.8-kilometre extension from St-Michel station to the Galéries d’Anjou has been bandied about since the 1980s. It has been discussed, debated, studied and dangled as a promise over the course of three decades.
Now the $3.9-billion project appears set to finally become a reality. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard committed funding for the preliminary work in order to have shovels in the ground by 2020 and five new métro stops in service by 2026.
This is good news for Montrealers in St-Léonard and Anjou especially and in adjacent neighbourhoods like Montreal North and Rivière-des-Prairies, who have been underserved by public transit for too long. This is good news for the economy in terms of spurring development in the east end and boosting property values along the new transit corridor. This is good news for the cause of trying to get more people out of their cars and onto public transit, which eases congestion and reduces pollution.
But this is terrible news for passengers on the already overcrowded eastern leg of the Orange Line of the Montreal métro, many of whom are bypassed by trains shoehorned full on their way to the centre of the city in the morning and face long waits on the bustling platform to be able to return home again in the evening.
Since the extension of the Orange Line to Laval a decade ago, métro service has become a victim of its own popularity. Métro trips from Montmorency station, the new end destination, have increased 50 per cent since it opened to 4.8 million in 2016. Meanwhile, trips from Cartier station, which has a link to the St-Jérôme commuter train line, have doubled to 1.5 million.
When packed trains depart Laval stations, that means passengers down the line in inner boroughs like Villeray, Rosemont and the Plateau–Mont-Royal are displaced. Matters are only going to get worse when new bus depots open to feed the additional Blue Line stops and a 12,000-space parking garage in Anjou entices even more travellers from the northeast to hop on board — with many likely transferring to the Orange Line.
While Trudeau and Couillard were celebrating giving the green light to the Blue Line, it was left to Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante to provide a reality check.
With her trademark laugh and megawatt smile, she managed to be grateful for the massive investment in Montreal’s transportation network, while gently reminding those underwriting the project they will likely have to go further. Much further.
Plante has already proposed the Pink Line as the solution to Montreal’s current and future mobility needs. Cutting a diagonal across the island of Montreal, from Montreal North in the northeast to Lachine in the southwest, it would be the city’s first brand-new métro line in generations. While many dismissed her signature promise in last fall’s election race as an unrealistic pipe dream, Plante managed to ride Montrealers’ desire for a new métro line right to the mayor’s office.
Her $6-billion idea, which would include 29 stations and — according to her initial ambitious timeline — would open in 2028, must be carefully studied and properly costed.
It may well be far more complicated and expensive to build than Plante bargained for. But something of the sort is badly needed and the Pink Line is the only idea on the table.
Relief measures are required today to take the pressure off the Orange Line with its current ridership. The Green Line and western leg of the Orange Line are also busy enough as it is. So a long-term plan needs to be in place before the Blue Line opens and exacerbates existing problems throughout the métro system.
Plante said the city will make an announcement soon about setting up a special office to study her pet project. And the new Réseau de transport métropolitain, which is supposed to examine transportation needs on a regional rather than a piecemeal level, should also weigh the Pink Line among its priorities.
But the federal and provincial governments must also recognize that they can’t wait generations before planning for another métro line — be it the Pink Line or some alternate iteration.
Yes, there is massive investment taking place in transit at present between the new Champlain Bridge, the Turcot Interchange overhaul, Réseau express métropolitain being piloted by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s infrastructure arm and a new light rail system in Quebec City. These links are welcome and needed.
But métros are the most efficient way to get people around.
They get cars off the road and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And passengers like them.
Toronto has seen the same phenomenon of inner-city riders being displaced by suburbanites as it extends its subway northward.
The lessons of the past should serve as a reminder that neglecting transportation needs in cities like Montreal only undermine the economy, productivity, the environment and our quality of life.
As Blue gets going at long last, it’s time to start thinking Pink.