A busy intersection in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue will soon have a new configuration.
Drivers wanting to make a left from Saint-Pierre Street to get onto Highway 20 west will no longer be allowed.
“That left turn will be closed from 4 to 6 p.m. on weekdays — so during rush hours — except for emergency vehicles and buses,” said Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Mayor Paola Hawa.
READ MORE: Seeing green: Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue encouraging drivers to slow down
As of Aug. 23, cars will not be able to access Highway 20 West from Saint-Pierre.
Instead, they will have to take Highway 20 East, drive about two kilometres down to the Morgan Boulevard exit, loop around and get back onto the highway.
Hawa says the city was forced to implement the ban after years of congestion in city streets.
She insists, she reached out to off-island mayors months ago to help come up with a solution — but didn’t get much cooperation.
“We had been very clear, let’s work together, let’s find a solution — or a mitigation measure — and hopefully things will get better,” she said.
“And if failing that, we would have to take matters into our own hands — which is what we’re doing.”
READ MORE: New median strip aims to make Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue road safer for motorists
- Life in the forest: How Stanley Park’s longest resident survived a changing landscape
- ‘Love at first sight’: Snow leopard at Toronto Zoo pregnant for 1st time
- Buzz kill? Gen Z less interested in coffee than older Canadians, survey shows
- Carbon rebate labelling in bank deposits fuelling confusion, minister says
But not everyone thinks it is the right way to go.
“The longer that people are on the road and the harder it is to get off island — just the more congestion, the more pollution and the more road rage it’s going to create,” said Ile-Perrot resident Luke Currin.
On top of that, Currin says the detour that will send drivers to Morgan will only cause congestion in Baie d’Urfé.
No one from the town was available for comment.
READ MORE: Future light rail electric train station picked in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
“It’s not going to do anything to address the actual problem of the traffic, rather than just shift the problem areas from one place to another really,” he said.
For now, the restriction only prohibits drivers from turning left onto Highway 20 — but the city says it could restrict drivers from turning right onto the highway from Anciens Combattants as well.
If traffic doesn’t improve, officials say they will revisit the idea.
Comments