Problems remain with supporting infrastructure for REM in West Island

While residential densification near Réseau express métropolitain stations will help encourage West Islanders to utilize the new light rail network, there are several outstanding issues ahead of its anticipated launch.

Integrating Société de transport de Montréal (STM) bus lines and park-and-ride options with the new REM stations remains a work in progress for the West Island sections along Highway 40. There's still time, as the West Island leg of the REM won't be operational until at least next year.

The Des Sources station near Hymus Blvd. in Pointe-claire will have 500 park-and-ride spaces and the Anse-à-l'orme station, the terminus of this line in Ste-anne-de-bellevue, is to have 200 parking spots off Ste-marie Road.

While the Fairview-pointeclaire and Kirkland stations will have platforms for buses and kiss-and-ride, paratransit and taxi drop-off spaces, park-andride spots have yet to confirmed. There have been repeated calls to offer parking at these REM stations, both of which are next to shopping malls. Complicating matters is that Riocan had announced mixed-use redevelopment plans at its Kirkland strip mall. Cadillac-fairview also announced plans to build highrises on a section of a parking lot, a property that is under an interim control bylaw tabled last year by Pointe-claire city council.

The existing STM bus depot along Brunswick Blvd. just west of St-jean Blvd. at the Fairview Pointe-claire shopping centre should be relocated closer to the REM station, which is at the corner of Fairview Ave. and the Highway 40 service road.

Montreal's $4.4-million project for a new pedestrian and cyclist bridge over Highway 40 linking to the Kirkland REM station is welcomed, but it won't be operational until 2027. The overpass will be part of Montreal's Réseau express vélo, a 184-kilometre bike network that will also facilitate access to the future Grand Parc de l'ouest.

There have also been calls for an improved pedestrian northsouth crossing over Highway 40 in Pointe-claire, which could potentially be part of a rebuilt St-jean Blvd. overpass or a separate structure to ease access to the Fairview station.

As part of a 400-unit project to redevelop a Dollard-desormeaux strip mall on Brunswick Blvd. just east of Sources Blvd., it was noted that it lies about a kilometre away from an REM station in Pointe-claire, but the Sources-highway 40 overpass can be daunting for

many pedestrians or cyclists. Again, improved pedestrian and bike access could be part of a rebuilt Highway 40 overpass or something similar to the footbridge planned for Kirkland.

Last fall, West Islanders were invited to consultations held by the STM with the aim of rethinking the bus network in light of the REM. Hopefully, the STM plans will be implemented in time for the REM start date.

While there are grumblings about densification, lack of parking and adapting bus routes near REM stations, the light rail system should meet decades of demand for better commuter service in the West Island. Though the public transit system will never meet perfection standards for all, calls for improvements from citizens as well as local municipal officials will have to continue year after year. The REM is a $6.9-billion project that is coming to the West Island, like it or not, so efforts to make it work with densification or improved infrastructure must be addressed.