I’m not for opening the new link to cars, but I don’t think it will have the significantly transformative effect on residents behaviour that some believe it will. The biggest hurdle in Kirkland and Pierrefonds is not so much the lack of premium pedestrian and cycling infrastructure — we could have more sure — but rather the low permeability of that part of Montreal
What I’m really hoping to see is maybe negotiating easements or servitudes to deconstruct those suburban mazes and cul-de-sac. What could be 10 minute trips are really a 40 minute pilgrimage, even with the new link, because just getting out of the maze to reach the link is a journey in and of itself.
Yes ! And for the transitway I would really like to see it built to connect to Pierrefonds Blvd, but if the shorter segment can get built tomorrow, it’s still a decent start.
Yes, most definitely. I don’t think developing an urban boulevard in the A440 right-of-way is an absolute necessity without the major real estate developments getting the go ahead. The original group of developers had promised gentle density, an adequate proportion of affordable housing, and good public and active transit access to the area, but it being a suburb it’s inevitable that it would’ve added a significant load to the area’s roadways. The problem remains that the proposal for the transitway along the right of way only serves to add traffic to an already saturated residential street (Antoine-Faucon), without helping residents north of that street – a majority of residents of Pierrefonds West.
Summarizing my point: the proposal for the 1500 metre transit corridor along the A440 ROW is not even half-assed, and does not adequately serve the immediate and imminent needs of the area and the new station.
Looking at the satellite view, I think it’s going to be a challenge but it’s definitely a possible solution. Where possible, we could build 2m wide access paths to link the cul-de-sacs together which would act as modal filters.
Remembering my planned walking/cycling/scootering route to Kirkland when the station’s location was announced six years ago, there are definitely shortcuts in between homes in the area, but most of them still lead to very convoluted paths.
I live north of Antoine-Faucon and I don’t get this. What’s stopping the 68/468/470 from taking Château-Pierrefonds to access the reserved lanes? Geometry isn’t an issue. Having taken the 401 for 5 years, I’d say congestion isn’t either. Building a parallel road would just increase the price tag of the project and be more infrastructure to maintain, while also serving fewer people.
You could run the reserved lanes all the way to Pierrefonds Boulevard like the multi-use path, but I don’t see what the benefits would be.
I’ve done all three. With this bus/ped-only bypass, I wouldn’t have to. It will make going by bus or bike faster than driving, not to mention much more accessible than it is now. I probably won’t be doing the same commute when it opens in 2027, but it would effectively take my car off the road for non-local trips.
The problem is that the proposal suggests running more buses along the length of Antoine-Faucon as feeders to Kirkland station via the short transitway; A-F is already saturated with traffic, and hostile for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users.
OTOH, Cháteau-Pierrefonds is also a residential street; buses (the 485) already use it. Wouldn’t it be better for more efficient mass transit (and a residential street’s ability to host more active transit) if the trunk bus lines (x68/70, and future lines) could avoid that segment and hop directly onto the transitway at Pierrefonds boulevard?
I agree having it up to Pierrefonds would make more sense, but would also drive cost higher you add a kilometre more of road basically doubling the project.
Also I know the MTQ owns some land north of Gouin for the A440 maybe they own some between Antoine-Faucon and Pierrefonds and the city don’t want to deal with them too much.
They own the whole corridor up to the river, through Ile Bizard all the way to the Ste Dorothee station (ave des Bois) as it was the proposed right of way for the 440.
Adoption - Règlement autorisant un emprunt de 22 045 000 $ afin de financer des travaux d’aménagement et de réaménagement du domaine public pour favoriser l’accès au Lien de L’Ouest (Budget du conseil municipal).
Le projet vise la planification et la réalisation d’un corridor de transport dédié aux transports actifs et collectifs vers la station Kirkland du REM et à offrir un lien signature vers le futur Grand parc de l’Ouest ainsi que la traversée de l’autoroute 40 par une passerelle de transport actif.
Ce règlement d’emprunt permettra notamment de réaliser les travaux suivants :
l’aménagement sécuritaire de la traversée des piétons et cyclistes au boulevard de Pierrefonds;
la jonction des aménagements projetés avec le territoire hors Grand parc de l’Ouest;
les travaux de drainage et autres actifs de compétence locale;
l’aménagement paysager en guise de compensation aux abattages requis pour le projet, à l’extérieur des limites du Grand parc de l’Ouest;
My friend lives right beside this, I said “oh they’re creating a new road over here” and her response was “oh that’s great!” Then I said “only buses though” and literally the response was “oh ok cool, can I walk and bike along it though?” So hopefully others think a similar way too…
The reality that you are describing there isn’t something that is limited to the West Island. It is a North American reality. For the last few decades, cities have allowed developers to build build build because of that very reason. They want the money from the welcome tax. It is a never ending race forward, and we know how it ends. Just take a look at what happened to Detroit.
For whatever reason, there will eventually comes a point where there’s no longer enough new construction being done to supplement the municipal budget though the welcome tax. There’s a limited amount of land available on the island
There’s only one solution to that problem, and its to increase the amount of revenu per kilometer of road. Municipalities can only raise taxes so far before peoples simply cannot afford to live on the island. Hence, the only viable alternative is densification.
We need to be able to do more with the infrastructure that we have. We simply cannot afford to continu building and maintaining infrastructure at the pace that we have been for the last century. Some cities already understand this quite clearly while many others are still in denial.
I think that the West Island is part of those that are in denial. Eventually, those municipalities won’t have a choice but to raise taxes, and that time is coming soon with most of the rest of the fields and forest having being appropriated for the creation of a large recreation and park area.
This is why we need the local politicians (specifically Jim Beis) to start being more forceful about needing to densify. People in Pierrefonds should have access to better snow cleaning, more street lights, better bus service, cleaner parks among other things. However if nobody is willing to go to bat for density among the politicians, NIMBYs go unchecked and will always win and services Will never improve.
I fully agree that only running buses along the length of Antoine-Faucon would be a complete waste of resources. I hope the STM comes up with something better than that for the new bus network later this year.
It might be more efficient if buses could go straight to the 440 ROW, but I feel like the gains would be minimal and “the money” would be better spent making Château-Pierrefonds able to better host active transit. Maybe swap the street parking for cycle tracks at sidewalk level, separated from the street with trees like the section north of Pfds Bvld.
Les travaux d’aménagements intérieurs et extérieurs des stations suivent leurs cours. Ci-haut, on peut observer la station Kirkland, qui est d’ailleurs déjà bien visible depuis l’autoroute transcanadienne.
Entrave au Centre RioCan Kirkland entre le chemin Ste-Marie et la rue Jean-Yves
À PARTIR DU 5 FÉVRIER 2024, ENTRE 7 H ET 19 H
Nature des travaux:
Afin de permettre la réalisation de travaux civils et électriques sur le terrain du Centre RioCan Kirkland, des sections des rues seront fermées à partir du 5 février 2024. Ces travaux sont planifiés pour une durée de six mois et entraîneront certains détours. Il est à noter que l’accès aux commerces sera possible tout au long des travaux.
La carte ci-dessous indique la zone des travaux, ainsi que les détours pour les automobilistes et les usagers de la STM :
Carte des entraves et du détour au Centre RioCan Kirkland
Impacts et mesures d’atténuation :
Fermeture de l’accès au Centre RioCan par le chemin Ste-Marie. L’accès se fera par la rue Jean-Yves. De la signalisation adéquate sera en place afin de faciliter la circulation.
Maintien de l’accès aux commerces durant les travaux.
Déplacement de l’arrêt 58400 (Jean-Yves/Cinéma) de la STM.
Du bruit, de la poussière et la diminution du nombre de places de stationnement seront engendrés par ces travaux.
Les travaux d’aménagements des stations se poursuivent!
