Second Mount Royal cemetery opposes plan
The management of the Mount Royal Cemetery is speaking out against the city ’s plan to block traffic crossing over the mountain this summer.
David Scott, the executive director of Mount Royal Commemorative Services, said he thinks the city doesn’t understand how the plan — which will see through traffic on Camillien-Houde Way and Remembrance Rd. blocked from June 2 to Oct. 31. — will affect the cemeteries on the mountain.
“There’s a tendency to underestimate the activity at the cemeteries, the city has mentioned several times that they plan on allowing funeral cortèges, that is a very tiny fraction of the traffic that comes to the cemetery,” he said.
The cemetery has an on-site funeral facility, he said, and most families arrive there separately.
“The vast majority of cars, even for funerals, don’t come in cortèges,” he said.
On Tuesday, Notre-Dame parish, which owns the Notre-Dame-desNeiges Cemetery, came out against the plan, saying it would cause hardships for bereaved families.
One of the issues is that the entrance to the Notre-Damedes-Neiges Cemetery will only be accessible from the west once the plan — which the city has described as a pilot project — comes into effect. However, the majority of visitors to the Catholic cemetery come from the east.
For the Mount Royal Cemetery, it’s the opposite. It will only be accessible from the east, but the majority of visitors to the nondenominational cemetery, which was originally Protestant, come from the west.
It’s not just funerals. Every year, thousands of people, many elderly, come to visit graves of loved ones, Scott said. And given the size of the cemetery, 165 acres, it isn’t possible for some visitors to park near Beaver Lake and walk to a grave.
While there is another gate, on a residential street in Outremont, Scott said he worries the increased traffic on residential streets in Outremont might not be well received.
Scott said he wishes the city had taken more time to consult with stakeholders.
“They’ve put the cart before the horse,” he said.
A public consultation on the pilot project will begin in late May and run until November.
The pilot project comes after an 18-year-old cyclist was killed when he struck a vehicle whose driver was making an illegal U-turn.
Scott said he understands that there are safety issues but said other things, like lower speed limits or dedicated bike lanes, should have been considered.