The City of Longueuil announced on Thursday it is looking to build a greener and more efficient way to get transit riders around the south shore.
Surrounded by colleagues from neighbouring municipalities at a meeting of the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de la Rive-Sud (south shore chamber of commerce), Longueuil Mayor Sylvie Parent unveiled a plan to bring an electric tram to the south shore, uniting the cities of Longueuil, Brossard and La Prairie along Taschereau Boulevard
The mass transit system, which would be called Léeo, would run down Taschereau Boulevard, connecting the western and eastern points of the south shore.
“We have to connect the east and the west, that’s our big problem for the region of Montérégie,” said Longueuil Mayor Sylvie Parent.
The tram would stop at Cégep Édouard-Montpetit, the Longueuil Metro station, Hospital Charles-Le Moyne and the forthcoming Panarama REM station.
The south shore mayors were delighted by the potential of the tram.
“(It would) definitely usher a lot of changes, but we see it all in a very positive manner,” said Brossard Mayor Doreen Assaad.
La Prairie Mayor Donat Serres added: “It’s the future.”
Last fall, the Quebec government set aside $60 million dollars towards the creation of a project office to improve mobility on the south shore.
The mobility office has since abandoned plans to extend the Metro’s yellow line, opting instead for a less expensive but more wide-ranging solution.
The group’s quickest and cheapest answer to the problem is the tramway.
“This office is now studying what is the best access, what is the best tech, what is the best scenario we can have to give the citizens the best way of mobility,” Transport Minister Chantal Rouleau said.
Parent hopes the improved mobility will bring new development.
“Longueuil is now a big city and we want the people to realize that we have hospitals, we have the big enterprises, all of the opportunity for people.”
The project office has yet to come up with a price tag or a date when we can see the train on the tracks. They plan to submit proposals to the Quebec government.