Residents on Roberval Street in the South-West borough say they were not given what was promised when the Turcot interchange was first proposed.
A sound wall, to shield them from traffic noise from the highway, has been built instead of a green space they say was promised, something resident Karine Barrette says is unfortunate.
“The had promised us greenery, they had promised us a park,” she told Global News.
“They had said that because the highway was so close it was an opportunity to give us back some kind of green space.”
In documents outlining plans for the area, an illustration does show a park with trees and benches on the side of the street facing the homes where the sound barrier now stands.
However, residents point out that the sound wall doesn’t work.
“For the noise level, it’s still there,” said Rose Vincent who also lives on the street. “It hasn’t reduced the noise whatsoever.
Her neighbour Richard Forté agrees.
“Look, you hear the truck now,” he said pointing to the barrier as traffic roared past on Highway 15 behind it. “It’s no good.”
Residents explained, however, that some changes to the street were made, saying the street was rebuilt further from the homes and that sidewalks were widened, adding space to front yards.
“They’ve given us about three metres of land more,” Barrette smiled, “but no-one asked for that.”
In an email statement, Transport Quebec spokesperson Martin Girard acknowledged that a park was shown on some documents.
“The visuals shown were concepts, as is normally the case when preparing projects,” he wrote.
“These have evolved over the years, in particular as a function of discussions with partners and the opinion of the Public Health Department concerning uses around motorways. The Department made several presentations to the population the department made several presentations to the population …”
He added that the development of the land adjacent to the highway interchange is the city’s responsibility.
When contacted by Global News, the borough mayor’s office said they would get back to us.
Barrette and her neighbours on the street say the Turcot project hasn’t been easy to live through.
“I’ve had windows crack, I’ve had walls crack in the house, water problems,” she claimed.
She insists that a park or greenspace would have been a nice acknowledgment for the years of construction they’ve had to endure.
“We all have animals, we all have dogs we like to walk around so, it would’ve been nice,” she said.
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