Côte Saint-Luc wants train station, better infrastructure to deal with Royalmount traffic

The City of Côte Saint-Luc says it wants measures in place — including a new train station and improved roads — to prevent the new Royalmount mall project from increasing congestion along the Décarie Expressway and adjacent Décarie Boulevard.

Representatives from the city are presenting today at a public consultation into the project at Montreal's city hall. 

Presenting the west-end city's case today at a public consulation at Montreal's city hall, Côte Saint-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein said his city's requests are reasonable.

"We're asking for small things — a train station on a line that exists is a small request," he said.

The development project, at the intersection of Highway 40 and 15, will span an area larger than 40 football fields and feature restaurants, entertainment venues, office space, residential units, a hotel and plenty of stores.

It was approved by the Town of Mount Royal.

Côte Saint-Luc has nine recommendations on how to improve transportation, given the expected increase in traffic.

Those include:

• Create a transportation plan and strategy with affected cities, transport agencies and developers.
• Require developers to implement transportation demand management measures when creating new developments.
• Add a train station along the Saint-Jerome line at Décarie and Jean-Talon, and connect it to the Namur Metro station.
• Add direct access to the impending Réseau express métropolitain (REM) trains by rapid bus and by extending the Orange Metro line to the REM at Bois Franc.
• Improve overpasses, underpasses, level crossings to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians.

The boroughs of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Saint-Laurent will also be presenting at this evening's hearings.

Sue Montgomery, the mayor of CDN-NDG, is opposed to the project, calling it a throwback to the 1970s and 80s.

"It's a project from another era," she said, "so very car-centric, and it's just going to end up adding more traffic to the Decarie interchange."

The project's promoter, Carbonleo, has already begun work preparing the site, with the permission of the Town of Mount Royal.

In a statement, Carbonleo said it has already met with representatives from Côte Saint-Luc.

The company is "looking to help improve public transit and active transportation in this sector by proposing various installations, such as a suspended walkway — for which it will assume costs — to reach the De La Savanne Metro station."