The city of Montreal is planning a reserved bus lane for the southbound 55 route on St-Urbain street.
The Plateau-Mont-Royal borough says the busy line is running to capacity, and says service is affected by heavy car traffic. Short of a light-rail train or tramway, it’s promoting it as a logical alternative.
“A reserve bus line is not expensive, it can be done fast, and it it can be very game changer for commuters” city councillor Marianne Giguere told CTV News.
Currently, bus lanes running north and south in the Plateau are limited to Parc Avenue and Papineau.
The first phase of the lane will run from Bernard to Milton, near Pine Avenue. The work will begin in June, but there are already plans for an extension next year all the way to St-Antoine in Old Montreal.
The plan means several hundred parking spots will disappear on St-Urbain. Though Giguere says it will only affect people with parking tags, who will be relocated elsewhere in the neighbourhood.
“The roughly 275 parking spot which are in the reserved for residents zones, will be replaced either on the east side of St-Urbain or on surrounding streets nearby,” she said.
Once the bus lane is in place, the city will also secure the bicycle lane, which has been in place for more than 15 years.
The current path is not considered safe, because it’s narrow, and simply painted on the street. The new one, next to the bus lane, will be protected by a concrete divider, similar to what’s in place on nearby Clark street.
But some are already showing impatience, in a neighbourhood where parking was always at a premium.
“It will discourage people from visiting, and will affect businesses, complains Rezini Sofiane, who lives at the corner of Bernard and St-Urbain streets.
But the city insists its plan will be the best compromise between the need for public transport, and those who depend on their car.
