By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

There have been no weddings or funerals at St. Monica’s Parish on Terrebonne in NDG for months. And the number of churchgoers has declined steadily since the summer. Blame the new bicycle paths installed on both sides of the street last July, say area residents, along with the new configuration of Terrebonne, formerly a two-way street, but now one way leading away from Cavendish Blvd in either direction.

A news conference was called last week by former city councillor Marvin Rotrand on behalf of a local community association, and school representatives. St. Monica’s Elementary School, across the street from the church, has also been affected, as has the OMHM — Habitations De Terrebonne at the corner of Benny. Borough councillor Sonny Moroz said teachers who work at the school, many of whom are not from the area, now have no place to park and are concerned about how their jobs may be affected. Public transit is not prioritized in the area, says Moroz, so it’s not a viable option.

Moroz is not the councillor for the area. He is the opposition councillor (and Rotrand’s successor) in Snowdon. Peter McQueen is, in fact, the Projet Montréal — Équipe Valérie Plante councillor for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. “Residents of the area feel, somehow, they can’t get their message across to their local councillor,” Rotrand said.

McQueen did not respond to an interview request from The Suburban.

Parish Warden Paul Wong pointed out that prior to the changes imposed by the city, there used to be five to eight weddings per season at St. Monica’s. But wedding parties and vehicles can no longer park in front of the church. Nor can funeral processions.

Regular church attendance is down by 30 to 50%, says Wong. “For a church that relies on collections and donations from its parishioners, it’s hurting.” The church is now at a financial deficit of $5,200. “If it continues this way, we could be easily $60,000 to $80,000 in debt by the end of the year.”

The church did reach out to the executive committee for help, to no avail.

Nora Kelly lives on Terrebonne near the corner of Cavendish. She talked about the detour that drivers now need to take to get around the reconfiguration of Terrebonne and rush hour congestion on Cavendish. “It has reduced the quality of life,” says Kelly. Valerie Keszey, a longtime Terrebonne resident, agrees, saying there is no longer ample parking. “I’m not against bike paths,” Keszey said, echoing Kelly and Moroz. “What we’re asking Projet Montréal to do is put in a bike path that works for everyone and maintains parking.”

Kelly says that the changes have increased safety risks for school students, despite the city’s contention to the contrary. Furthermore, Kelly says, suggestions from citizens as to how to better implement bike paths and decrease traffic on Terrebonne were ignored. Ironically, during the news conference, held outside the church, Moroz had to run out into the street to stop a motorist from turning right onto Terrebonne from Benny – the wrong way on a one-way street.

Moroz says there is no real or accurate information as to how many cyclists actually use the Terrebonne path. He has suggested to the borough that they remove the bike paths for the winter months and bring them back in the spring. They apparently have said they will only decide on that next month. But that, says Moroz, will be too late. n