LaSalle Welcomes the ARTM's Strategic Plan and the Progress Towards Serving the Grand Sud-Ouest With an Electric Public Transit System

MONTRÉAL, May 25, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - The borough of LaSalle is pleased with the adoption by the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) of its 2021-2035 Public transit strategic development plan and with the progress of the project to serve the Grand Sud-Ouest with an electric public transit system. In its submission presented in January 2021, LaSalle had stressed the urgency of developing a structuring public transit system in order to open up its territory and offer its residents an alternative to motor vehicles and endless bus trips, in keeping with its sustainable development objectives.

A sustainable solution for mobility

The electric public transit project to link Montréal's Sud-Ouest sector to the downtown core is one of the priorities of the ARTM's Public transit strategic development plan for 2021-2035. "What a relief that LaSalle is finally included in the decision-makers' plans for the development of public transit!" exclaimed Borough Mayor Manon Barbe. "The efforts of LaSalle's elected officials to push this project forward over the past 20 years are paying off. Imagine: When the REM, the blue line and the REM de l'Est are completed, LaSalle and Lachine will be the only boroughs in Montréal without a metro or REM station, along with Île-Bizard ? Sainte-Geneviève... This unfair situation could no longer continue. The study on electric public transit for the downtown/LaSalle/Lachine corridor is finally giving hope to the 82,000 LaSalle residents and the 25,000 people who work here."

As it may be recalled, the ARTM was allotted a budget of $20 million from the government of Québec to carry out a feasibility study specifically for serving the downtown/LaSalle/Lachine corridor?a study for which the Borough has agreed to provide its fullest cooperation in order to ensure its success. An amount of $800 million is in fact included in the Québec infrastructure plan for 2020-2030 to serve the Grand Sud-Ouest with an electric public transit system.

Priorities for bus transportation: frequency on major routes and local service

At the same time, the Borough is continuing its discussions with the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) in order to improve the bus network in the short and medium term. In its submission, one of LaSalle's three urgent requests was to "proceed with a major improvement to the bus network in LaSalle, both for rush-hour routes on the major roads and for local service routes". It should be noted that the bus routes that crisscross the Borough are, on average, 1.4 times more winding than on the island of Montréal as a whole, which increases riders' travel time. "The STM is open to working towards improving the bus routes that serve LaSalle. Another meeting is scheduled for mid-June with STM Management, who is looking for solutions, despite the enormous challenges that the pandemic is posing to the STM," stated Mayor Manon Barbe.

And lastly, the Borough is continuing its collaborative efforts with Ville de Montréal and its Service de l'urbanisme et de la mobilité, in planning major sustainable mobility projects that could improve the situation in the Grand Sud-Ouest. "In our discussions, the Plante Administration is showing that it is receptive to LaSalle's public transit needs," said Mayor Manon Barbe. "Let's not forget that mobility issues in LaSalle have a considerable impact on its development. With a potential of 12,500 new housing units within 15 years, LaSalle can contribute to countering urban sprawl, reducing greenhouse gases and keeping more families on the island, provided that it offers them efficient public transit."

The Public transit strategic development plan for 2021-2035 was adopted on April 15, 2021 by the ARTM's Board of Directors. Next, it must be submitted to the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) for approval.

SOURCE Arrondissement de LaSalle