MONTREAL WEST – With the closure of the Angrignon overpass above Highway 20, and traffic reduced to one lane on Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Boulevard, traffic in Montreal West has become a serious problem.
On Westminster South Avenue, trains, cars and pedestrians all meet and residents are describing the corner at Avon Street as a nightmare.
One local resident complained that traffic was down to one lane everywhere and that traffic was getting worse and worse.
Montreal West Mayor, Beny Masella, agreed that the situation is not ideal.
“It’s not like a normal intersection,” he said. “It’s a small street with a lot of cars going through and then it’s compounded by that level crossing over there. The geometry of the street is just not meant to handle all these cars.”
Ilan Toledano said the intersection is dangerous and worries about his daughter’s safety. She’s a student at Royal West, a high school only steps away from the busy intersection.
“If my daughter is going to get a pizza, or going to go to a restaurant with friends and you have these raged drivers trying to get to a location, with all this traffic, I can’t imagine,” he said.
On Oct. 22, a man in his 80s was killed when crossing Avon Street in the early morning, increasing the demand for extra vigilance.
“It is really crowded for a residential place,” Marie Vaillant who lives nearby. “There is nothing really except houses, and people, and children and families and people like me,” she added.
Residents have been demanding a traffic light to help ease the congestion. This week, the project was given the green light by Transports Québec.
A temporary traffic light is going up Dec. 3 at the intersection of Westminister South and Avon Street but even that may not be enough to ease the congestion and calm the concerns of local residents.
“A police officer can look down the street and, if he sees things are backed, a police officer can make adjustments,” said Masella. “A traffic light can’t do that.”
Still residents feel it’s a step in the right direction for those facing four more years of unwanted traffic rolling through their streets.
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