There’s more to Pink Line than its price tag

Mayor Valérie Plante knows she doesn’t have to convince most Montrealers on the merits of a new Pink Line of the métro, a campaign promise which some considered pie in the sky, but which nevertheless helped propel her into office almost a year ago.

Those who are crammed in like sardines on the Orange Line or, worse, left behind on the platform at rush hour; those who face more than an hour transferring between buses and métros to get downtown from Montreal North; those in Lachine who must choose between waiting for a cancelled commuter train or sitting in snarled traffic on Highway 20; and many folks all along the projected diagonal southwest-to-northeast route already get what a game-changer the Pink Line could be.

As we know, it’s Premier François Legault who needs to be sold on the idea. All but two members of his Coalition Avenir Québec government were elected in suburbs and far-flung regions where cars rule the road. And Legault has already expressed reservations about the Pink Line’s $6-billion estimated price tag.

So in a shrewd move Monday, Plante announced the creation of a bureau to study the project, giving it a budget of $1 million, and struck a committee of experts to advise her on issues surrounding its realization.

The work of this office and advisory panel will complement the work of the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain, she said. The regional transit-planning agency is already studying the Pink Line, thanks to $14 million in funding announced by the previous Liberal government. While the ARTM is focusing on the technical aspects — the best route, types of technology and, of course, cost — the body reporting to the city will look at social, environmental and economic effects.

These factors, as well as political concerns, will no doubt prove crucial as Plante revs up her sales pitch.

Since Legault is an accountant, his inclination is going to be to look at the bottom line.

But Plante must show Legault that, as premier, he must be more than a bean counter.

He must weigh the costs alongside the potential benefits. And to fully do so, Plante will soon be able to hand him study after study demonstrating exactly what benefits an investment in the Pink Line will bring.

So when Legault inevitably says $6 billion is a lot of money, she’ll be able to tell him how many cars will be taken off the road for that amount, how many fewer tonnes of greenhouse gases will be spewed into the air, how much closer it will bring us to our emissions-reduction targets, how much productivity-wasting time will be saved, how much space will be created on highways and roads from Montrealers climbing aboard the métro, how much economic potential can be unlocked in various areas of the city, how much real estate development could be realized, and how much social capital can be created from making it easier for people to get around the region.

And when these studies are put in the hands of Montrealers (Plante’s office says the idea is to make them public, unless they contain sensitive or confidential information), they will help alter the political calculus. If Quebecers start to understand the merits, they will also push Legault to see them. He may then come around to how the Pink Line can help relieve congestion that snags his suburban voters or give him a new way to woo skeptical Montrealers, who have so far limited the CAQ to a foot-hold on the east end of the island.

As Plante said, the Pink Line is not just a transit project. It must be seen as part of a larger projet de société, the likes of which Quebec hasn’t seen since James Bay. With almost half the province’s carbon emissions coming from transportation and continuing to rise, with Legault expressing a belated but welcome interest in tackling climate change, with a devastating report from United Nations-affiliated scientists warning we have a decade at most to take radical action or face grave consequences, Quebec is ripe for a transportation revolution.

The Pink Line must be part of a much larger commitment.

By arming us all with the social, economic and environmental benefits to prove the case, Plante will have more weight to place on the plus side of the column. And the more the research piles up, the more it will help counter the cost side of the equation. Price should not be the only variable in determining whether the Pink Line gets the green light.

Of course, $6 billion may never be a bargain — but eventually it may seem like a worthwhile investment in a transformative endeavour that will shape Montreal, the region and Quebec for generations to come.

The more the research piles up, the more it will help counter the cost side of the equation. Price should not be the only variable.