Montreal Gazette

Job-creating projects will increase appeal of living Off-Island

- BRIANA TOMKINSON

Living Off-Island offers a quality of life that is hard to beat. The houses are beautiful and affordable, the schools are top-notch, the people are warm and friendly, crime rates are low, and we’ve got green spaces galore. The prospect of a long and stressful commute downtown, however, limits the pool of buyers willing to shop for a home on this side of the bridge. Many people I meet who live Off-Island are self-employed, work from home at least periodical­ly, or commute only as far as the West Island. Those who do commute downtown, whether by car or train, may grumble about it, but if they stay it’s because they have decided the lifestyle here is worth the trouble. But Vaudreuil-Soulanges is slowly becoming more than just a collection of bedroom communitie­s. Good jobs are coming our way, and that’s going to make this area appealing to more buyers. There are economic developmen­t initiative­s underway in all the Off-Island and West Island communitie­s, but three projects in particular stand out as having the potential to have a notable impact on the number of jobs in this region. The most significan­t for Vaudreuil-Soulanges is the coming of the long-awaited new hospital. The hospital won’t just improve access to health care — which has been a growing problem OffIsland — but will also be a catalyst for job creation in the region. A host of new businesses will be needed to support the needs of staff, patients and their families at the hospital. The project has been promised for years, but it’s finally becoming real. On July 18, the provincial government formally decreed it will expropriat­e the land needed to build it in Vaudreuil-Dorion. A $1.5-billion budget to build the 400-bed hospital has also been included in the 2018-2028 Quebec infrastruc­ture plan. Constructi­on is expected to start within four years, and could be finished as soon as 2026. Although it will stop in SteAnne-de-Bellevue near Highway 40, the coming of the Réseau express métropolit­ain (REM) will also be a significan­t boon for Off-Islanders. With both the Ste.-Anne and Kirkland stations (anticipate­d to be complete by 2023) discouragi­ng park-andride access, I fear the REM won’t be a reasonable option for many Off-Island commuters to get downtown. But the REM line is likely to attract more businesses to set up shop in the West Island, and that’s good for Off-Islanders looking for a shorter drive to work. Out in Rigaud, too, there is a new emphasis on job-creation, to make it possible for more people to live, work and play close to home. The town is working to attract new manufactur­ing, technology and agrifood companies to its three industrial parks, one of which has been designated an “ecopark” emphasizin­g environmen­tally responsibl­e manufactur­ing. Bedrooms alone can’t sustain a community. Municipali­ties need to diversify their tax base to remain sustainabl­e longterm. Plus, who wants to spend all their time commuting ? It’s the lifestyle that draws people to move Off-Island. Working closer to home makes it a lot easier to enjoy it.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada