Joel Ceausu – The Suburban LJI Reporter
The borough of Côte des Neiges-Notre Dame de Grâce put the paint cart before the backhoe horse last month, the administration acknowledged, after being called out by resident Steven Jass, who came back to council to follow up on his infamous “stupid yellow lines down Sherbrooke” issue.
As reported in The Suburban in September, the centre lines and hashmarks reduced two unofficial lanes on each side to one clear lane apiece. Until 4-5 years ago, one wide lane allowed cars to drive side-by-side, but in some places there was not enough space, creating a dangerous situation, said the borough.
As a result, says Jass, he has been sideswiped, had his mirrors knocked off and generally says the borough created a problem where there wasn’t one before. “I thought this year you would all come to your senses because those lines were not repainted in April, in May, in June, in July, or August, and that hopefully everything would return to the way it was before Covid. But you repeated that same folly.”
That’s what prompted Jass’s first inquiry, but a week after the borough began tearing up much of Sherbrooke. “What was the point of painting all that and to create two separate yellow lines and hundreds of diagonal dash marks if you were just going to tear it up two weeks later?”
Borough Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa asked borough director Stéphane Plante, who stated it was a repaving operation, Katahwa confirming with him that it was the Rosemont borough workshop responsible for road marking. “So what happened, probably.” explained Katahwa, stifling a chuckle, “is that there’s a service that paints everything in Montreal, like on the ground.” That crew painted Sherbrooke last month “and then a couple of weeks later there was work that was done. I agree with you it’s not really optimal. But you know we need to make sure that we coordinate better those type of works.”
That elicited groans and head shakes from some audience members as Jass insisted the paint lines shove traffic against parked cars, asking NDG councillor Peter McQueen and Loyola’s Despina Sourias if they agreed with this “very dangerous situation for cyclists, pedestrians, drivers passengers, and all this unnecessary, artificial congestion and pollution.”
“I don’t think the situation is perfect and can lead to some ambiguity,” McQueen replied, reiterating that there was barely enough room for two cars to pass each other, and reminded council that the reserved bus lane installed about seven years ago took more space than a simple parking lane, pushing out towards the middle. He added that the lines and hash marks can serve as a pausing spot for pedestrians and cyclists when needed. “I’m not saying every pedestrian should pause, I’m just saying one can pause in the middle, and I think that helps a little bit.”
He said while he’d like to see a bike lane on Sherbrooke, it’s a tricky situation with a bus lane and a parking lane in use some hours of the day, and cyclists have other options with a bike lane one block south on De Maisonneuve and just north on Côte Saint-Antoine and NDG Avenue.