Cartierville residents angry over Gouin Blvd. redesign

The city of Montreal has begun a long-awaited redesign of a narrow, treacherous stretch of Gouin Blvd. in Ahuntsic-cartierville, but some residents contend the city is sacrificing pedestrian safety to accommodate a bike path in the project.

The residents' beef is with the city's decision to alter a 40-year promise to lay sidewalks on Gouin W. through the Bois-de-saraguay Nature Park.

The project that is forging ahead will see one sidewalk built on the north side, while the sidewalk on the south side was dropped to make room for a protected twoway bike path.

“On such a busy boulevard, the sidewalk on the south side is not a luxury, it is a necessity,” said Bachir Azzi, who lives on a side street at the corner of Gouin in the 1.7-kilometre stretch that will be redone. A bike path exists one street south, on Jean-bourdon Ave.

The stretch of Gouin to be rebuilt, between Toupin Blvd. and Martin Ave., is heavily travelled by cars and public transit buses in both directions. But it has only narrow shoulders along most of it. Neighbours on Gouin say they've witnessed numerous traffic accidents.

The Société de transport de Montréal says the 68 bus and the 468 express bus that run on Gouin each averaged 3,000 passenger boardings a day before the pandemic.

The $30-million redesign involves burying the Hydro- Québec power lines on the north side. The sidewalk will be built in the corridor where the Hydro poles are removed. The city also anticipates having to cut 75 mature trees on each side of the road, 150 in all, because the traffic lanes will be shifted south to build the bike path next to the sidewalk. The city will also pour a concrete pad at each bus stop on the south side since there's no sidewalk.

Azzi said he and several neighbours were angered when they learned that Mayor Valérie Plante and her Projet Montréal administration had decided to drop the second sidewalk so the city can relocate the Jean-bourdon bike path to Gouin.