MONTREAL – The intersection of Van Horne and Macdonald avenues in Côte-des-Neiges is a bumpy road, even for Montreal.
Resident Steven Gilletz has had enough.
“Whatever they’re putting in the road doesn’t stay there,” Gilletz said. “It’s just money in the garbage. Fix it once, fix it right.”
Potholes line this busy intersection, but just a few metres away, the road was completely repaired.
Buses, cars, and trucks all pass through the area and residents said it’s been a nuisance.
“I’ve been complaining for 15 years,” Gilletz said. “I’ve been calling one, two, three times a month to complain. Why do I even bother calling? Give me a barricade and a bag of concrete and a mixer and I’ll fix it better myself.”
His primary concerns are the vibrations he’s been feeling from the road.
“Once they started hitting the potholes, we had a lot of noise in the house; a lot of shaking in the house.”
As bad as the road is now, it’s actually better than it was four years ago.
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A video filmed by Gilletz shows buses and cars driving in front of his home on a rainy day and splashing his driveway with tall waves.
Gilletz said the fact the intersection is shared by Montreal and the Town of Hampstead could be holding up the work.
In a demonstration, Gilletz shows how stepping two feet over the sidewalk indicates a change in municipalities.
Less than a metre of sidewalk separates the municipalities, and the two cities can’t agree on who should fix it.
Meanwhile, Gilletz argued vibrations from the road is taking its toll on his house.
Clear cracks on the foundation appear, and it seems like it’s only getting worse as heavy trucks use Van Horne to get to and from construction sites.
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The borough turned down an interview request, but said it will be re-patching the road this summer.
They also acknowledged the road is in dire need of repairs and they’re figuring it out with Hamsptead, but said it wants heavy trucks to use Van Horne.
The borough said Gilletz has been the only one complaining about the issue, but Global News found neighbour Betty Davis, a 25-year resident of Côte-des-Neiges, feels the same.
“All through…you can feel the shaking,” Davis said. “And these massive, giant trucks, I don’t think they should be on roads like this.”
For now, Gilletz and his neighbours will have to be satisfied with temporary road work that could come apart next year.
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