REM parking concerns

When the groundbreaking ceremony for the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) was held April 12 in Griffintown, West Island commuters could finally envision the future promise of putting their car keys in their pocket and taking a light-rail train downtown.

But initial enthusiasm for the REM, a 26-station system that will link downtown Montreal to the suburbs, including the West Island, has since given way to concerns about accessibility. More to the point: Where will motorists park if they want to drive to their nearest REM station and hop on this fab new train?

Those concerns grew louder after it was announced last month that a 2,000-spot parking lot planned for the Kirkland station had been scrapped.

For lifelong West Islanders like Susan Roy, eliminating parking makes little sense and will only serve to discourage people from the REM’s main objective: to get people to take it.

“I wish commuters much luck in getting parking at the station,” said Roy, a Dorval resident who was left dumbstruck by the decision to delete parking from a 21st century suburban transit plan.

Roy wonders how parents will ferry their kids to school and then somehow make it to the station on time to catch a train.

“Commuters take their children to daycare on the way to work — they’re not going to turn around and return back home, park and make their way to the closest bus stop and wait. Or perhaps park in the streets near the daycare and find a bus stop.”

Roy painted other scenarios where having a car at your disposal is a necessity in the suburbs.

“If you receive a call from the daycare or school and your child is not well, you have to make your way home and to the school or daycare as quickly as possible. People need to have their car available at the REM station.”

Roy pointed out that parents picking up their children from after-school programs, in some cases, are financially penalized if they arrive past a specified time.

“So having no parking available would be a ridiculous inconvenience, a huge waste of what little time parents have with their children as it is. It would in no way encourage public transportation.”

The REM said it has yet to decide exactly how many parking spots there will at the six West Island train stations.

“The number of parking spaces for the Pointe-Claire and Kirkland stations is still under discussion with our partners,” said REM spokesperson Jean-Vincent Lacroix. “For Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, it would be around 200 places. Several factors are currently being considered to define the supply of parking spaces, such as ridership, the offer of public transit ... and traffic studies. The parking offer may also evolve over time and keep pace with developments around the (stations),” he added.

Kirkland Mayor Michel Gibson said the number of parking spots at the future REM station near the Kirkland Colisée cinemas has yet to be determined. “Time will tell and we’ll have to adjust ourselves accordingly. But for now I’m satisfied with the station (location),” he said.

Gibson acknowledged that applying an inner-city approach to public transit many not work as well in the West Island. “Keep in mind that Projet Montréal, especially the ones from Montreal, they’re against cars. It’s a completely different ideology.”

Beaconsfield Mayor Georges Bourelle, who sits on the Société de transport de Montréal’s (STM) board of directors, said some West Island bus routes will eventually be reconfigured to ferry riders to REM stations. He said better coordinated bus service will encourage people to leave their cars at home and take the bus to the REM. Each station will have bicycle racks, bus platforms and drop-off areas.

But for West Island motorists who need their cars, the REM might not be as attractive an option without parking, said Roy, who recalls when commuter trains provided reliable service to and from downtown, with parking availability.

“When CP ran the train service you could set your watch by the trains,” she said.

Without adequate parking lots at REM stations, Roy said commuters will be inclined to keep driving their cars downtown.

“It will be faster and more convenient than taking the train,” she said.