Chamber slams access plans for Kirkland REM station
Car-free road link would leave motorists with few alternatives
The West Island of Montreal Chamber of Commerce ( WIMCC) is panning recently announced plans to forgo an urban boulevard through western Pierrefonds as a link to the future Réseau express métropolitain (REM) train station in Kirkland along Highway 40.
The city of Montreal and the province announced it was building a car-free road reserved exclusively for buses and bicycles connecting Antoine-Faucon St. at the border of Kirkland and Pierrefonds to the future REM station, next to the Kirkland Colisée cinemas.
The area north of Antoine-Faucon St. will be made into a park, leaving motorists in that part of Pierrefonds with few alternatives to reach Highway 40 or the future REM station.
The WIMCC said it is “very disappointed, to say the least, upon hearing (the) joint announcement ( by Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante and Quebec’s Minister of Municipal Affairs Martin Coiteux) regarding a park project as part of the (Highway 440 right-of-way).”
Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis also harshly criticized the plan for failing to address the traffic headaches of local residents. He also said the plan was “imposed” on his community.
Another change that drew the wrath of Beis was the decision to scrap a 2,000-space parking lot at the Kirkland station. “Are drivers going to have to park in nearby streets and walk?” he asked.
WIMCC said the plan should have included an urban boulevard to offer motorists in western Pierrefonds and Kirkland an alternative route to the highway, instead of fighting traffic on congested StCharles Blvd.
The WIMCC said it has “always supported the idea of extending (an urban boulevard) to Highway 40, which would provide an additional north-south route to help alleviate traffic on its territory.”
Joseph Huza, president and executive director of the WIMCC said he applauds the “environmentally friendly aspect of the project.”
But he added that a park would “defeat the purpose of creating an accessible link to the Kirkland REM station, not to mention providing the West Island with a much needed north-south route.”
“Without a true and interrupted additional north-south link, West Island businesses will continue to suffer from challenges in productivity thus making them less competitive.
“We ask that the WIMCC be consulted to ensure that the business community ’s needs are taken into consideration as part of any revised proposal,” Huza said.
“While we recognize that the REM will facilitate public transportation toward the downtown core, for the WIMCC, the value of the REM will be to help West Island businesses attract labour to the West Island,” he added.
The WIMCC was formed in 1978 to encourage and promote the development of the local business community.
The value of the REM will be to help West Island businesses attract labour to the West Island. JOSEPH HUZA, president, executive director, WIMCC