Residents irked by plan to divert buses to their street during 4 years of construction on Pie-IX Blvd.
Neighbours cite noise, safety concerns as city unveils plan to reduce lanes by half on busy thoroughfare
Construction of the new rapid bus route coming to Montreal's east end will get underway next month, meaning there will be four years of traffic congestion on Pie-IX Boulevard between Laval and the Olympic Stadium.
Pie-IX will lose half its lanes as crews work to build the 10-kilometre bus rapid transit (BRT) route. To avoid extra traffic congestion, the northbound bus lines 139 and 439 will be temporarily diverted to a seven-block section of Bourbonnière Avenue.
More than 200 additional buses a day will be rumbling north on the quiet residential street from Sherbrooke Street East to Rosemont Boulevard — a one-way, two-lane route already used by bus 97.
News of the bus detour came as a surprise to many residents, and now a group of neighbours is sounding the alarm over a plan that they say will affect their quality of life and could risk public safety.
The street's 30 km/h speed limit is frequently exceeded by drivers looking to dodge daily congestion on Pie-IX, resident Nadia Ouellet told CBC Montreal's Daybreak, and even though the street is restricted to local truck traffic only, truckers regularly ignore the rules.
These issues will only get worse when construction begins, she predicts.
Neighbours join forces through social media
Ouellet co-created a Facebook group, Ensemble pour Bourbonnière, which serves as a platform for its more than 160 members to voice concerns about the project and the lack of public consultation leading up to its approval.
"The people that joined the group are frustrated that we heard the news after the decision was made," said Ouellet.
"People are frustrated, and they are worried about the situation."
Residents are concerned about increased traffic, noise, pedestrian safety, parking availability and the potential trash left by bus commuters.
Jean Zmyslony told Daybreak that because the road is built on clay, he worries the rumbling buses will damage residential buildings with their vibrations as they roll by.
Ouellet said the group intends to work in collaboration with Montreal's public transit agency and the city, offering their own suggestions to better adapt the plan to the neighbourhood.
Rerouting is necessary, says STM
STM spokesperson Amélie Régis told CBC that rerouting the two northbound bus lines is necessary.
A notice will go out to residents this week and an STM information session is scheduled for Oct. 2 — at the same time as Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie's borough council meeting.
That means residents will have to split up that night, with some going to learn more from the STM while others attend the council meeting to voice their concerns.
Local Coun. Christine Gosselin is meeting with residents Monday evening before both those meetings. Ouellet and Zmyslony plan to attend so they can tell her exactly what they think.
"The City of Montreal is attentive to the needs of citizens and is open to comments and suggestions from the public to improve the services offered to them," said Montreal spokesperson Audrey Gauthier in an email.
The city is "always on the lookout" for new techniques and measures that could improve service quality and the safety of the road network and will "study all the options available to it to ensure the safety of all," she said.