Royalmount needs to be changed or scrapped altogether, critics say

A group of 20 professionals, ecologists and professors has released a letter voicing opposition to the Royalmount project — a mega-sized commercial and residential district currently under construction in the Town of Mount Royal.

The coalition is asking Montreal and the provincial government to step in if promoters don't revise their plans.

The letter says the project will be "detrimental to mobility, trade, culture and the employment of the metropolis."

Glenn Castanheira, one of the signatories of the letter, said it is "inconceivable" that a small town like TMR can make a decision that will have a "significant impact" on four million people.

If the developer and the town can't come to a new agreement that revises the plans to better suit the location, then Quebec should intervene, said Castanheira, a commercial development consultant who once served as executive director of the St-Laurent Boulevard Merchant's Association.

The province shouldn't necessarily block the project, but instead give Montreal the power to decide how it moves forward, he said on Daybreak.

Plante says project should be reviewed

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said last month she wants TMR and the developer to review the project.

"We need to take a step back," Plante said. "Montrealers spoke very clearly. There is a consensus, and I'm committed to defending that consensus."

At the time, Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel said the province will eventually have to get involved, considering the traffic issues related to the project.

Carbonleo officials have said they are open to examining plans, but that making changes might be difficult as construction is already underway.

The mega-mall is slated to open in three years and the project's residential component is still a decade away.