Traffic slowly makes its return on Montreal roads and other mode of transportation

From Highway 13 to the 15 and the Decarie, during rush hour the dreaded slow-moving traffic has returned to Montreal roadways.

With the return to in-class learning for students and businesses slowly welcoming workers back to the office, roads are seeing a bit more congestion.

“Traffic is back and it’s stronger than it was last year,” Global News traffic reporter Debbi Marsellos said.

Monitoring the traffic cameras on daily basis, Marsellos says she has noticed a dramatic spike in volume on the highways since the Labour Day holiday.

It’s a common phenomenon that hasn’t been seen in 18 months since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions limited travel.

Now, with the loosening of restrictions, Marsellos says the gridlock has returned with a vengeance.

“It’s a bit of a shock value for folks heading into work. They have to change their routine. They find themselves late so they are going a little faster and their cutting corners and we’re seeing a lot more accidents as a result of that,” Marsellos said.

The Quebec Transport Ministry said they could not give figures or comment on the spike in question but said they did notice an increase.

“Hard to say, right now, if we are 90 per cent back to normal or not. Last spring, in some places, we were more than 80-85 per cent of the level of 2019,” MTQ spokesperson Gilles Payer said.

Dropping off his child at daycare five days a week, Sebastien Brunelle says the highways aren’t the worst areas to drive.

“Driving downtown Montreal is hell,” Brunelle said.

He blames construction and confusion as the main reason for the slowdowns.

The influx has also flowed into public transit.

“Things are moving. In the news, we see traffic jams but we don’t show in the metro we have more people as well,” STM board of directors chairman Philippe Schnob said.

The STM says it has seen its ridership rise to 52 per cent of pre-pandemic numbers. In buses alone, it’s close to 60 per cent back to normal.

Schnobb says schools are the biggest reason for the jump.

He stresses safety and sanitary measures are not an issue of concern, with no reported outbreaks starting in Montreal’s public transit, Schnobb said.

“I can reassure you that 98 per cent of our clients wear a mask,” Schnobb said.

Montreal’s bike paths are also seeing the squeeze.

Avid cyclist Antoine Daudelin says he noticed the popularity of biking grow during the pandemic and remain long after. By his calculations, he thinks the number of cyclists nearly doubled.