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Montreal aims for a vast tram network in 2050

Photo: Valérian Mazataud Le Devoir The City of Montreal plans to ensure that in a little over 25 years, 78% of Montrealers will live within a 15-minute walk of a public transit network access point.

Jeanne Corriveau

Published at 11:55 a.m.

  • Montreal

By 2050, Montreal wants to develop a vast network of 184 kilometers of tramway and carry out metro extensions, including that of the blue line to the west. In its draft Urban Planning and Mobility Plan (PUM) unveiled on Tuesday, Valérie Plante's administration still dreams of the construction of the pink metro line to connect the city center to the northeast of the city.

A kind of instruction manual for planning the metropolis for the next 25 years, the PUM updates the ambitions of the City of Montreal to make the territory more resilient with development focused on sustainable mobility and densification adapted to each sector.

In terms of mobility, the PUM provides for the creation of some 300 kilometers of rapid service transport by bus (SRB), tram or metro. The ambitions are great and could require tens of billions of dollars of investment, admits the City.

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The document mentions, in addition to extending the metro’s blue line to Anjou, its extension to the west, in particular to serve Concordia University’s Loyola campus and the Montreal West commuter train station. It also includes the extension of the western branch of the orange line with the addition of three stations.

The pink line between the city center and the northeast of the territory promised by Valérie Plante during the 2017 electoral campaign has not been forgotten. “The choice of a diagonal route makes it possible to anticipate very competitive travel times for cars while offering multiple opportunities for networking with components of the existing structuring public transport network, in progress and planned,” underlines the document.

Montreal aims for a vast tram network in 2050

Photo: City of Montreal

Trams in the north and west

Montreal also dreams of a major tramway network. The document mentions tramway lines in the corridors of Acadie Boulevard, Saint-Michel Boulevard, Hochelaga Street and in the one that includes Saint-Joseph Boulevard, Rosemont Boulevard and Côte-Sainte-Catherine. For the northern sector, there is mention of a tramway in the Henri-Bourassa and Sauvé-Côte-Vertu corridors. The City is also considering a tramway in the Côte-de-Liesse and Cavendish corridor.

Montreal aims for a vast tram network in 2050

Photo: City of Montreal

The PUM also plans urban densification, more intense on major heavy transport routes such as the blue line to Anjou, and more moderate in areas with heritage value.

In terms of housing, the City wants the number of housing units to increase from 913,000 to 1.12 million between 2024 and 2050, with a 20% share of non-market housing, including at least 75% social housing.< /p>

In 2050, at least 30% of the public area of ​​streets will be devoted to green infrastructure, active transport and public transport, indicates the PUM.

The City plans to ensure that in a little over 25 years, 78% of Montrealers will live within a 15-minute walk of an access point to the structuring public transportation network, compared to 36% today.

Further details will follow.

Teilor Stone

By Teilor Stone

Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116