Montreal gets award for residential planning near railway operations

MONTREAL – In a nod to the city’s approach for planning new residential developments close to railway operations, Montreal has been chosen as the first-ever recipient of the Merrill Henderson Award.

Anie Samson, the borough mayor of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and chair of the Montreal’s public-safety committee, accepted the award on Monday at the 2014 Canadian Rail Summit.

Montreal is the first municipality in Quebec to pass a resolution to adopt the Guidelines for New Development in Proximity to Railway Operations into their new land use planning.

Developed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Railway Association of Canada Proximity Initiative, the guidelines address issues concerning noise, vibration, and safety, and focus on the challenges associated with new residential development.

The guidelines suggest that these developments must be carefully planned so residents are not exposed to railway activities and the continued and future operations of the railway is not jeopardized, as they play “an important economic role in society that must be safeguarded.”

“We consider the City of Montreal to be a role model for other municipalities across the province and country.” 

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“We expect that they will influence municipalities large and small to see the value of adopting the guidelines and recognize that, by building better today, we will avoid conflicts in the future,” Sean Finn, FCM-RAC Proximity Initiative co-chair said in a statement.

The Railway Association of Canada represents more than 50 freight and passenger railway companies that move 75 million people and $250 billion worth of goods in Canada each year, and advocates to ensure that the rail sector remains globally competitive, sustainable and safe.