One of the key members of Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante’s inner circle is creating a lot of controversy and some confusion over a posting on Facebook.
Luc Ferrandez took to the social media site to share his idea of introducing a $10 toll on the roads that cut through Mount-Royal — Camillien Houde Way and Remembrance Road.
At the conclusion of the 1,000-word comment, Ferrandez writes, “probably around 10 dollars though we could offer monthly or annual rates.”
It’s his idea to deter people from using the roads that cut through the mountain as a shortcut to get around Montreal.
But Plante is distancing herself from the comments.
“It’s never been a question of putting a toll. I can assure and Mr. Ferrandez knows it very well,” Plante told reporters on Friday morning.
The mayor insists the comments aren’t part of public policy.
But some city councillors insist what Ferrandez wrote reflects the anti-car attitude of the mayor and her majority party, Projet Montréal.
“It’s more than an off-the-cuff comment. It’s something where he is actually looking at one of the possibilities,” Opposition Leader Lionel Perez said.
Plante is considering a pilot project where cars would have to park at one of the two lots on the mountain instead of driving straight through.
It’s considered a deterrent to the volume of cars that use the two roads as a shortcut and it comes following the death of cyclist Clément Ouimet last October when he was hit by a car making an illegal U-turn on Camillien-Houde Way.
The pilot project is expected to start in the spring but it could also be modified as Plante is promising to hold public consultations on traffic calming measures.