Public Transport | Four new reservation routes are planned in Montreal

“It’s a measure that really has tangible impacts on the performance and predictability of buses, and it’s done at almost zero cost. It makes it possible to increase the efficiency of public transportation in general,” says Eric Alan Caldwell, president of the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM), in an interview.

On Wednesday, the executive committee will approve the establishment of at least four new reserved lanes:

• The first is located in the west, at Chemin de la Côte-Saint-Luc, a total distance of 3 km in both directions. To the east, it is between Coronation and Fielding Avenues in the morning, and to the west, between Alpine and Coronation Avenues in the evening. Only buses and taxis are accepted there.
• Another dedicated lane will be created on rue Provost in Lachine between 1^D and 32^e Avenue, a total of 1.7 km in the western direction. Only buses, taxis and bicycles can go there in the morning and evening. About 65% of users already travel by bus during rush hours on this artery.
• In Villeray and Ahancic, a new dedicated lane for buses, taxis and bicycles will appear over 3.4 km of boulevard Saint-Laurent with two sections: one in Villeray, between rue Jean-Dalon and boulevard Gremacy, and another on Ahancic, in between. Beauharnois and Sauvé streets. Some sections are in force in the morning, some in the evening, and some in the morning and evening.
• Finally, on rue Sherbrooke, a new lane dedicated to buses, taxis and bicycles will be installed 500 meters east, between avenue Marseille and boulevard Décarie, during the morning rush hour.

Mr. Caldwell said each of these trails should be installed “between the summer and next winter,” with each project having a separate use.

“In Cote-Saint-Luc, it’s a big lane reserved for high performance and high volume, and in Sherbrooke, we’re decongesting the short distance. At Saint-Laurent, the length and the overall effect make all the difference,” he says.

Heading towards Henri-Pourassa

The head of the STM did not hide it: dedicated lanes will multiply even more in the coming years in Montreal. “Right now, part of our vision is Henri-Pourassa Boulevard,” he recalls.

During the 2021 election campaign, Valéry Plante’s party promised to provide a “Metrobus” on this busiest boulevard in the north of the island, the equivalent of a rapid bus service (SRB). . First estimates put the cost at $60 million.

The plan will come to fruition, Caldwell says, but he’s looking at “faster” ways to reduce congestion in the meantime. “We wonder how we can do better without spending 10 years and a fortune, as was the case with Pi-IX,” he says.

“We actually have three strong axes where we would like something like SRB: Henri-Pourassa, Côte-des-Neiges and Parc. But for me, what I want is to make it more efficient, less expensive, and get benefits faster,” said the manager. says

Sophie Mauzerolle, Head of Transport of the Management Board of the Plante Administration, applauds these new measures of the STM. “The addition of these reserved routes will improve the overall efficiency of the bus network through fluidity, reliability and extension,” he said in a statement. In the office of the mayor of Montreal, Valéry Plante, we also confirm that “other sections will continue to be used in the next few years,” but more “structural” measures, including the extension of the blue lines, will be prioritized. And in addition to the Orange Metro, REM de l’Est and buses.

In 2021, during the announcement regarding the new reserved lanes, Mayor Valérie Plante argued that the reserved lanes allowed for 5 to 20% efficiency gains.