Three West Island mayors voted against the Montreal agglomeration’s proposed land use plan last month, after the city of Montreal failed to include the region’s three main north-south arteries among the thoroughfares listed as essential for public transit.

The omission, according to Dollard des Ormeaux Mayor Alex Bottausci, is particularly egregious given the fact these roadways – Sources, St. Jean and St. Charles Boulevards – serve as direct access routes to the REM light rail stations, which are expected to be in operation later this year.

“I do not understand how a city can achieve densification on its territory without integrating public transit,” said Bottausci in a statement. “It’s a contradictory statement.”

The land use plan, which must be approved by the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal, the regional authority that includes 82 municipalities on and around the island of Montreal, provides the framework for development across its vast territory, setting residential densification targets that will force cities and towns to increase construction to accommodate larger population bases.

To denounce what Bottausci described the omission as an “unacceptable situation,” he and the mayors of Kirkland and Pointe Claire voted against approving the draft. The motion, however, passed by majority vote.

At the same meeting, all 15 mayors who represent the demerged municipalities on the island continued to voice their opposition to a series of spending moves presented by the city of Montreal.

The suburban mayors voted against a total of $152 million in spending they deemed unfairly forces residents of demerged municipalities to pay for projects or work that does not in any way benefit them. Among the projects they opposed was a new bicycle network and roadwork on the Jean-Talon corridor between Pie-IX and Cavendish Boulevards.

Next week the suburban mayors plan to continue to oppose the unjustified spending imposed on their taxpayers. To date this year, the representatives of the demerged municipalities have objected to a total of $357 million in spending. The agglomeration council, however, has approved all the expenditures, as elected members from the city of Montreal hold a majority.