1st information session on Montreal's proposed light rail network draws crowd
Wednesday's consultation in Saint-Laurent marked 1st public open house on $5.5B project
Around 100 people turned out Wednesday night for the first in a series of public open houses on Montreal's proposed light rail network.
The consultation took place at the Le Crystal reception hall in the Saint-Laurent borough.
Representatives of CDPQ Infra, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec consortium behind the light rail project, were on hand to provide information and answer questions from the public.
- New light rail system for Montreal by 2020. Seriously?
- Where would Montreal's 24 new light rail stations be located?
- Ambitious light rail project for Montreal proposed by Caisse
Quebec's pension fund is proposing to cover $3 billion of the $5.5 billion electric, 67-kilometre rail line that would connect 24 stations. The proposed stations stretch from the South Shore to Montreal's Trudeau airport and beyond, to both the West Island and Laval.
Participants who spoke to CBC Montreal at Wednesday night's public hearing had mainly favourable opinions of the ambitious project, though a few expressed doubts.
Alex San Gregorio, an engineer at a company based at the Technopark in Saint-Laurent, called the 2020 target for the LRT network's entry into service "extremely ambitious."
"I wish them the best of luck," he said.
All things considered, however, he's in favour of the project.
"I think it's excellent. It's a long time coming, especially with all the traffic issues we have, getting to and from the airport especially," he said. "[We're] an island city, and it seems sometimes like we're also in a jail."
Alan DeSousa, borough mayor of Saint-Laurent, said the project has many "winning conditions."
"You've got a project that serves the entire community on the regional basis."
Upcoming open houses are scheduled in the following municipalities:
- Brossard, June 2, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Centre socioculturel de Brossard, 7905 San-Francisco Ave.
- Île-des-Sœurs, June 8, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Centre communautaire Elgar, 260 Elgar St.
- Pointe-Claire, June 9, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn & Suites, 6700 Trans-Canada Highway.
- Deux-Montagnes, June 15, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Veteran's Hall, 141 Grand-Moulin St.
Open houses will also be held in Montreal. Details will be announced soon.
