Montreal unveils new details in plan to build reserved bus lane to Laval

On the heels of a push to finally move ahead with an extension of the Montreal Metro's Blue line, the city has unveiled new details about another major public transportation project.

Montreal announced this week that it had reached an agreement with the regional transportation authority (ARTM) to work on plans to develop Pie-IX Boulevard to accommodate a reserved bus lane.

The "bus rapid transit" route, known as the BRT project, will span 11 kilometres along Pie-IX between Pierre-De Coubertin Avenue in Montreal to Saint-Martin Boulevard in Laval.

"There is a concept at the urban development level for the integration of the route, the stations, the addition of outdoor furniture, greenery [and] securing the intersections," said Éric Alan Caldwell, a Projet councillor responsible for planning and transport on Montreal's executive committee.

The city said it plans to build new sidewalks and public benches and plant hundreds of trees along the route.

"So we'll have an urban boulevard worthy of our era," Caldwell said.

17 stops in Montreal and Laval

The BRT route will include 15 stations in Montreal and two in Laval.

One of the stops will be along Jean-Talon Boulevard, allowing commuters to connect to one of the five new Metro stops along the proposed Blue line extension.

About 70,000 passengers are expected to take the bus every day, Montreal's STM transit authority says.

Set to be completed in 2022, four years ahead of the planned launch of the Metro extension, the BRT is expected to cost around $400 million.

The City of Montreal plans to invest about $134 million of that sum.

The project was included in Quebec's most recent budget, unveiled last month, but the province did not specify how much money it plans to contribute.

Meanwhile, Caldwell said the city is now waiting for the provincial government to adopt its plan.

Construction on the project is slated to begin this fall, the STM says on its website.