N.D.G. citizens’ group calls for rethink of public transit
Citizens in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce are stuck in chronic traffic congestion because of the reconstruction of the Turcot Interchange, and the province needs to put in place more measures to improve public transit, a community group said.
The Comité de concertation Turcot N.D.G. penned an open letter to Transport Minister Robert Poëti and the Société de transport de Montréal this week, urging them to rethink public transit in the area, as traffic congestion will likely continue throughout the five-year reconstruction period.
“We consider it to be pivotal to move people out of cars and onto public transit in order to improve traffic mobility in the sector,” the letter states.
It goes on to name several recommendations, including linking Bus No. 105 to No. 51. That would allow buses to avoid the tight turnaround at the Elmhurst terminal near the Montreal West train station, which is the reason articulated buses can’t be added to the routes. The STM has been working on a plan to make the terminal wider for several years.
The letter also asked for the link between the two Sherbrooke St. buses, the 105 and the 24, to be improved, because commuters travelling further west on Sherbrooke now have to get off the bus, cross busy Sherbrooke St. at Décarie Blvd. and wait in an area that does not have a shelter or a bench.
According to Karen Urtnowski, a community organizer for the N.D.G. Senior Citizens’ Council, the STM has said it can’t spend more money on N.D.G. than other parts of the city. That’s why the group is asking the transport minister to step in and contribute funds that would target problems caused by the Turcot reconstruction.
While the Transport Department has made several investments, like the new reserved lane on Sherbrooke St., it didn’t result in improved service, since the STM had to reduce the number of buses because of budget cuts, Urtnowski said.
She said one of the biggest problems is that buses are overcrowded. This makes it particularly difficult for seniors or those with reduced mobility, because they have to stand up. As for people in wheelchairs, Urtnowski said many avoid taking the bus in N.D.G. because they can’t get on when the vehicles are overcrowded.
“We spend all this money on buses that can allow wheelchairs on, but people can’t get on,” Urtnowski said.
Peter McQueen, a councillor for Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Damedeagreed that the borough should be better served by public transit.
“It seems to me in the past (with the de la Concorde overpass collapse), Transport Quebec was able to spring into action and offer more buses to allow for an immediate modal transfer from cars to buses,” McQueen said. “We have a crisis. How about doing something for the people in N.D.G.?”
McQueen said he wrote to the STM more than a year ago asking for them to merge the 105 and 51 bus routes, but was told the plan wasn’t feasible because the frequencies of the routes are different.
“But I think they’re similar enough that it can be done,” he said. “If we did that, the 105 would run all the way down Queen Mary, which would access the Jewish General Hospital, Ste-Justine Hospital and Collège Brébeuf. People would love that.”
Amélie Régis, a spokesperson for the STM, declined to respond to a reporter’s specific questions about the open letter on Friday.
“The committee has let us know about its recommendations many times,” she wrote in an email. “We have met with the committee members several times to explain our issues, since the majority of the solutions proposed are not operationally or technically feasible.”
As for installing a bench at the No. 24 stop on Décarie and Sherbrooke, she said that was the responsibility of the city.
Étienne Brunet, a spokesperson for borough mayor Russell Copeman, did not return calls on Friday.