C’est pour contrer le mauvais œil 
1 « J'aime »
I think it’ll be faster at this point to ask which station don’t miss a window panel hahaha
Chronique d’Allison Hanes dans La Gazette
[ …]
City council also voted last week on a $20-million loan bylaw to build an urban boulevard from Pierrefonds-Roxboro to the Kirkland REM station. This $60-million project, funded by the city and province, will be for the exclusive use of pedestrians, cyclists and buses. No cars will be permitted to use this access road from Antoine-Faucon St. to Ste-Marie Rd., near Highway 40.Oh yeah, and the road won’t be completed until 2027 — three years after the REM line is supposed to start running.
Here again is some questionable decision-making. Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said prohibiting cars will allow visitors to the future Grand parc de l’Ouest to get there safely on foot. That’s nice. But what about all the workers and students trying to get from home to the Kirkland REM station and back during the dark, cold winter months?
Article content
Walking or biking to the station might be feasible for part of the year, but let’s be realistic about Montreal’s climate — and the needs of a suburban community where streets are winding, distances are long and bus service is limited.
Making it all the more mind-boggling is the fact the Kirkland station will have only 200 parking spots and they will all be reserved for residents of the independent municipality. So anyone from adjacent Pierrefonds-Roxboro who wants to get on the REM at Kirkland will have to walk, bike, take one of the infrequent buses, or drive to a different stop farther away.
If the goal of the REM is to get people out of their cars and onto light rail, why not meet them halfway by providing efficient access and sufficient parking?
Of course, there are other baffling aspects of the REM, such as the fact that the crucial link to the airport won’t be ready until 2027, and CDPQ Infra and the Quebec government have declined to extend that leg another 700 metres to reach the Exo train and Via Rail in Dorval.
Dorval could eventually be the end point of a new tramway or rapid bus link to Montreal’s southwest, making it an important intermodal hub. Such a connection could open new corridors for local residents whose public transit choices are currently minimal if they’re trying to get anywhere other than downtown.
Most frustrating, however, is that despite the Quebec government spending $2.3 billion and expediting the replacement of the crumbling Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge, no space has been left for an eventual REM expansion to Vaudreuil-Dorion or beyond. Plus, there are no dedicated bus lanes on the new span to facilitate rapid links from the fast-growing off-island region to the REM’s terminus in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue.
Both these omissions are short-sighted and inexcusable.
Remember that once upon a time, no room was set aside for light rail on the new Champlain Bridge, either. Thankfully, wisdom and foresight prevailed.
Ah oui c’est vrai l’hiver, l’argument le plus répété et le moins pertinent. Quelqu’un peut lui dire que les autobus roulent en hiver ?
12 « J'aime »
By this standard, roads, parking, sidewalks, parks, and festivals aren’t “realistic” in the winter either. If we took this defeatist approach to Montreal’s climate, everything would just grind to a halt from December to April.
Instead, the city adapts and embraces the weather. We’re known for winter-themed traditions, events, and sports, not to mention that most public infrastructure is functional throughout the winter thanks to elaborate snow removal operations.
Every time being “realistic about the climate” is mentioned, the implication is that no one should or wants to be outside of a building or a car during the winter. Why would we want a city where you have to stay indoors for five months of the year and the built environment is too hostile to enjoy during the other seven?
9 « J'aime »
The winter is a car proponent’s best friend to try and convince people that anything other than a car isn’t desirable here.
9 « J'aime »
It’s funny because cars aren’t adapted to winter weather at all. The only way they would work as advertised is if you’re driving from one heated garage to another and the car has excavator treads instead of tires.
This is the first winter I’ve had a car and also the first year that I’ve cycled during winter (thanks to Bixi). If I stand still outside in the cold afterwards, the warmth from cycling lasts about 20 minutes, but it’s back to shivering the second I take the key out of the ignition. They both take about the same amount of time to heat up too.
6 « J'aime »
A whole generation traumatized. This is why cars are the only sensible solution.
4 « J'aime »
Also winter with a car suuuuuuuuuucks
If you have a driveway you have to shovel or pay someone to do it everytime it snows. If you don’t have one, you always need to be on guard for snow removal parking restrictions (and good luck finding another spot). Driving in icy or snowy conditions is also hazardous. And let’s not talk about salt and slush corroding the crap out of your vehicle and costing a lot in maintenance and preventive care. That and the added cost of a Tempo for some and winter tires for every car.
Moreover, you have the winter routine : start the car in advance (which cost more in gas), remove snow from the car, clear the windshield, etc.
6 « J'aime »
It makes sense when we understand that 1. People in the suburbs, especially the west island don’t leave their house much (except for work/groceries), and 2. A lot of them don’t leave their suburban community to go into the city.
They don’t embrace these winter “traditions”, the tradition they embrace is clearing their driveway and going to Fairview a few times. Winter is a miserable slog for 90% of people living in suburbs because already there was barely anything outside their houses except for other houses. Forget parks, festivals or walking lol. To add, the average age is older in these parts, so god forbid they get any physical activity to remain in shape.
Having 4 seasons is a speedbump for them rather than something to be embraced. Which is why so many of them buy condos in Arizona and Florida where they can live in a fishbowl with no changing seasons and just rot out the rest of their days 
1 « J'aime »
Il n’y a aucun stationnement incitatif prévu à Kirkland, juste un dépose-minute via le chemin Sainte-Marie
1 « J'aime »
Le non-arrondissement a prévu dans le projet Rio du stationnement incitatif exclusivement pour ses résidents.
Oui j’allais dire ça, la ville de Kirkland prévois mettre en place 200 places de parking pour les résidents de Kirkland. Faire une voie entre Pierrefonds et la station ne servirait à rien à moins que le centre commercial permette aux gens de s’y stationner ce qui semble très improbable.
Les Français nous voient avec des chiens de traineau… Il y a peut-être cette avenue à explorer pour le WI… Faut juste que CDQPi prévoit un chaînon pour les garder en journée 
2 « J'aime »
I’ll repeat it once more. There are no sidewalks in these residential subdivisions. The streets are poorly (or not) lit, and in winter they get even narrower because they are only plowed wide enough for cars, with snow banks sloping up from the cars’ tracks. Most residential streets become rough and icy, but the nearest stop for one of the winding, infrequent bus routes requires me to walk on these icy, dangerous streets. It’s not as simple as locking my front door and taking the stairs down to the sidewalk, strolling to the next corner, and hopping the next 97 in two minutes.
A looooottttt of generalizations and misrepresentations of West Island residents in the preceding few posts. Thanks for that. 
But sure, please be outraged when someone equates urban dwellers with tree-hugging, winter-cycling granola eaters.
Mais pourquoi pas réclamer de vrais trottoirs, bien nettoyés et qui ne soient surtout pas ensevelis par de la neige compactée à la place? Pourquoi ne pas demander des abris bus facile d’accès et desservis par des lignes fréquentes au bénéfice du plus grand nombre. C’est peut-être là le reproche que l’on pourrait faire aux pouvoirs public
4 « J'aime »
Posting this video from almost four years ago, gives an idea of how little the Executive Committee cares about taxpayers outside Ville-Marie and the Plateau.
1 « J'aime »
I currently live in the suburbs, not the west island but the culture is similar (mostly Anglo area). And the fact that the population is reluctant to do anything outside of their homes during the wintertime is true here too. Most people would rather drown than go for a walk during the winter. It’s seen as a season to suffer through and try to ignore. Which generalization was especially inaccurate?
Ils n’ont même pas les moyens de bien déneiger (sans parler de réparer) nos rues en ruine, mais me plaindre de ne pas pouvoir marcher jusqu’à un bus qui serpente pendant 30 minutes pour me rendre à une station de métro à 3 km incitera Montréal à attaquer la reconstruction de nos rues pour qu’elles auraient des trottoirs et un éclairage adéquat?
1 « J'aime »