REM de l'est planners hit pause amid wide-ranging criticism
$10B transit project delayed indefinitely as CDPQ Infra looks to retool proposal
Facing criticism from urban planners, heritage activists, the region's transit authority and the city's mayor, the planners of the city's most expensive transit project will go back to the drawing board.
The Caisse du dépôt et placement du Québec said Thursday it put the controversial $10 billion REM de l'est project on hold, as it has not yet met the social acceptability needed for a project of such importance.
Destined to be presented for public hearings at the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement this spring, the project is now on hold indefinitely so planners can respond to criticisms of the project. That means the project likely won't be delivered by the original target of 2029.
“With the magnitude of a project like the REM de l'est, which is essential for the east and northeast of Montreal, we place great importance on all partners adhering to a common alignment,” said Jean-vincent Lacroix, a spokesperson for CDPQ Infra, a subsidiary of the Caisse. “Taking the time to ensure such alignment before launching the BAPE process is natural and necessary.”
First presented in December 2020, the project would see a driverless electric train network built over 32 km and serve 23 stations in transit-starved areas that aren't covered by the métro network, connecting the downtown core with Montreal North and Pointeaux-Trembles.
The project, however, has been the subject of much criticism, specifically that the above-ground rails in the downtown core will create an urban scar in the city's landscape, akin to another Metropolitan Expressway.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante repeated on Thursday that the project must meet the “winning conditions” that the city has already outlined in meetings with CDPQ Infra, and it must also address all the concerns of the committee of independent experts that have evaluated the project. So far, that has not happened, she said.
“CDPQ Infra must ensure the success of the REM and do its homework so that this can be an exemplary project,” Plante said in a statement. “All the experts endorse the conditions outlined by the city since the beginning of this process so that this project meets the standards of Montrealers.”
Plante added that she wants the city to have a seat at the table so it can be part of the decision-making on how the project will be integrated into the urban landscape.
Others have been more categorical in their criticism of the project. Longtime urban planner and transit expert Florence Junca-Adenot said the project would weaken existing transit systems by competing with them.
“Normally when you build a new project, it should increase the use of public transit and serve the needs of commuters. In this case, the REM de l'est does neither of those things,” Junca-Adenot told the Montreal Gazette in February.
The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain said last month that CDPQ Infra should find “a better alignment between the commuting needs, the urban settings it would cross, the proposed mode and the construction costs.”
However, the city's opposition blasted Plante, saying she is endangering the future of the project, and East End commuters will continue to be underserved.
“Due to her lack of leadership, Mayor Plante is slowing killing Montreal's largest public transit project,” opposition leader Aref Salem said in an emailed statement. “She has had more than a year to clarify with stakeholders what she considers `an exemplary integration' of the REM de l'est since its first announcement in December 2020.”
Junior transport minister Chantal Rouleau, whose East End riding would be served by the project, said the project needs to be improved, but it must come to fruition to better serve the needs of commuters.
“At this stage, it is premature to hold a BAPE,” she said in a statement. “That being said, we want the BAPE to happen. It is necessary for a big project such as the REM the l'est. We are still confident that we will come up with the best project for the East of Montreal.”