Elected officials from municipal and provincial levels of government are lining up to denounce the lack of permanent public transit lanes in the existing construction plans for the future Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge.
The most recent is Guy Pilon, mayor of Vaudreuil, who is calling out Quebec lawmakers for not including permanently reserved bus lanes for 24-7 use.
”They don’t have a vision. There is a lack of vision there,” Pilon told Global News.
Last week, Transports Québec officials unveiled details of the $2.3 billion future bridge.
The six-lane span (three in each direction) will include shoulder lanes that will be reserved for buses during rush hour only.
Pilon is not impressed.
”They (Transports Québec) have a study telling it’s not necessary. Okay, it’s not necessary. Why it’s not necessary? Do you know what will happen in 10 years? Fifteen years? Twenty years?” he said.
The government owns land adjacent to the future bridge which could be used to build a second bridge for trains if the REM is ever extended to Vaudreuil, but that’s not on the current radar for government officials.
Instead, the controversy surrounds the lack of dedicated reserved bus lanes in the construction plans for a future bridge.
The Vaudreuil MNA raised the issue last week in the National Assembly while the transport minister defended the plans as they currently exist.
”There is going to be public transit on the Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge,” Geneviève Guilbault said on April 20th.
Construction on the new bridge is scheduled to begin this summer, with the first few lanes opening to the public by the end of 2026.
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