Dialogue with officials clarifies several issues

In articles published in the last few weeks, Le Magazine explained certain issues that a great number of speakers were preoccupied about, although a lot of issues relating to municipal administration were also discussed. This article discusses a few of the questions and responses raised during the meeting.

As a response to the question by Nina Gould, president of the Committee for the Protection of IDS Patrimony (Comité pour la Protection du patrimoine-IDS), also known by the acronym PP-IDS), Mayor Trudel reiterated the Council’s position on adopting a servitude for the golf course. He reminded meeting attendees that this parcel of land was leased by a developer by virtue of an emphyteutic lease and that the conditions of use and the development of the site are clearly defined in that lease. The Mayor categorically rejected the possibility that this particular area be protected by a servitude.

Some people also blamed Borough officials for being too accommodating with developers. Mayor Trudel reminded the audience that the Borough’s Urban Advisory Committee had a reputation of being one of the most stringent in Quebec and that its members had the absolute trust and confidence of municipal officials. He made a point of saying that the Borough had the mandate to formulate the development policy but that he could not prevent the expropriation of lands that belonged to the developers.

In response to comments made by a resident, Mayor Trudel admitted that it would be an opportune time to review the road signs on René-Lévesque Boulevard behind the shopping centers. In this area, the lane was made narrower and that a stop sign was installed to enable pedestrians to reach the crossing a lot easier. It appears however that this has generated a significant slowing down during morning rush hour, and the Borough is looking into measures to remedy the situation.

It will not be possible to enlarge the diameter of the existing rotary intersections nor will it be possible to increase the dimensions of those that have been laid out in the northern tip. These areas satisfy established norms and their effectiveness has been demonstrated in numerous locations around the world.

Moreover, the reserved lanes for busses that serve L'Île-des-Sœurs cannot be changed. In response to a suggestion concerning these lanes, Mayor Claude Trudel explained that the number of users does not justify such a measure. He pointed out however that the issue of public transportation lies at the heart of ongoing discussions with Bell Canada, given that Bell employees will be arriving to work in its new headquarters in the fall. It is estimated that about 50% of Bell employees will be using their cars while others will be using public transportation. Several measures are being planned to satisfy the needs of public transportation users. Along the same idea, it was determined that the majority of 3000 Bell employees who will work in the first building live in the island of Montreal or in Montreal north.

A few participants also raised the issue of inefficient snow clearing in L'Île-des-Sœurs. Councillor André Savard addressed this point and he admitted that the Borough had a lot of work during the snowstorms that occurred in December. He explained that the whole Montreal region was caught by substantial amounts of snow, the magnitude of which hasn’t been experienced in the last 40 years. He made note of observations and suggestions made by attendees and he committed to discuss this matter with employees and the contractors recruited for snow clearing.

This article is only an overview of the discussions that took place during the meeting. Other topics were already discussed in previous issues and no doubt, there will be more articles on other subjects in the next few weeks.