Tramway would be city's legacy: Projet Montréal leader
Expense is worth it, Richard Bergeron insists
By JAMES MENNIE, The Gazette
A streetcar in Montreal, circa 1952. Proponents of bringing back the tramway say they are faster, quieter, greener and more convenient than buses on high-traffic commuter routes
MONTREAL - Montreal’s 375th anniversary in 2017 should be celebrated with the establishment of a 37.5-kilometre tramway system, Projet Montreal leader Richard Bergeron said on Thursday.
And while he acknowledged the project’s $1.5 billion price tag may seem daunting to the average taxpayer, “When we talk about public transit, we’re talking about big numbers.â€
“Was it smart to invest $743 million to extend the metro to Laval?†Bergeron asked reporters when challenged on the price of his proposed tram system. “History shows it was smart. … Ridership is double what was estimated. It’s efficient and Laval residents love it.
“Was it smart in the 1960s, in a Montreal that was poorer than it is now, to invest $3 million or $4 million in the original metro system?â€
Meanwhile, Bergeron argued, bigger sums are being spent of highways and no one seems put out by the expense.
“Look at the $3 billion being invested in the Turcot Interchange. … the Transport Department talks about economic development to justify the price and no one challenges them on it.â€
The promotion of tramway use is nothing new for Bergeron or his party, but the project unveiled Thursday is linked to Montreal’s 375th anniversary and would serve as a “legacy†of the event.
The network would run the length of St. Laurent Blvd., along Mount Royal Ave. and Masson St., Côte des Neiges Rd. and René Lévesque Blvd.
Bergeron argued that the presence of reliable, efficient public transit in the residential areas the tram would run through would curb the exodus of young families from the city to the suburbs, a population loss he estimated at 20,000 to 23,000 annually.
“We’ve got to do something to keep the middle class in Montreal,†he said. “(The loss) is balanced somewhat by immigration ... but once they’ve been integrated socially and economically, they move.
“This is serious, It’s Montreal’s main problem.â€
While Mayor Gérald Tremblay has spoken enthusiastically in the past about establishing a tramway system in Montreal, the city’s 2011 budget contained funding for studies but no construction.
But Montreal Transport Corp. vice-chairperson and city councillor Marvin Rotrand noted it is the provincial government, not the city administration, that funds the infrastructure systems for public transit.
“And (the province) has yet to approve funding for what (Premier) Jean Charest announced in September 2009 - métro extensions on the Blue Line to Anjou, on the Orange Line north to Côte Vertu and on the Yellow Line (into Longueuil).
“While we’re still hopeful for a tramway, we have no information yet on imminent government funding.â€
Bergeron estimated that if the project was going to be completed by 2017, construction would have to begin by next year.
He said the plan he unveiled to journalists Thursday had been in the possession of the city’s executive committee for a year and was composed while he, too, was a member of that decision making body.
Asked if he was concerned that the administration might end up using his tram proposal as part of it political platform for the 2013 campaigjn, Bergeron said: “The day we’re fighting over how will build (a tramway) more quickly, that we’re making firm promises to the public about it, I’ll be very happy.â€
jmennie@montrealgazette.com
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