The strategy that successfully convinced the provincial government to move forward with plans to build a hospital in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region more than a decade ago is what residents and merchants in Dorion and Île Perrot are turning to again. But this time, the aim is to urge the CAQ to stop stalling and eliminate the traffic lights that bog down traffic on Highway 20.

“People are fed up,” said Celine Pilon, a member of the new group calling itself the Alliance of Citizens for a Real Highway 20.

The group is calling on the provincial government to immediately start building the long-promised high-speed bypass route along a right-of-way north of the existing lanes of Harwood Blvd., allowing vehicles travelling to and from Vaudreuil-Dorion to Île Perrot to avoid the lights on Harwood. The lights along the Highway 20 lanes in Île Perrot would also need to be eliminated in a second phase of construction.

“The situation, which has spiralled out of control, not only has major economic and environmental impacts, but also has serious consequences for the quality of life of local residents, not to mention the productivity of businesses,” Pilon added.

“The frustration in the community is huge,” she said.

That frustration, of course, is due to the ongoing work on the Île aux Tourtes Bridge on Highway 40, which is diverting increased amounts of traffic into Dorion as commuters seek an alternative route to and from the island of Montreal. And with a new span on Highway 40 not expected to be completed before the end of 2026, the wait to build the Highway 20 bypass route has to end, the group says.

The strategy the group is putting forward is a petition. But it wants big numbers, just like the one in 2010 demanding a hospital for the region – the only area of the province of its size that did not have its own hospital. The hospital petition collected just over 43,000 signatures, earning it the distinction of being the second-largest petition sent to the National Assembly in the province’s history.

The same approach, the group hopes, will help address the congestion crisis along what is now the only stretch of a major highway in Canada that is controlled by traffic lights.

According to Pilon, the group is looking for similar support now.

The target of a minimum of 40,000 signatures, she said, represents a “significant threshold” and will help local politicians to more effectively convey the urgency of the need to act to address the transportation crisis in the region.

Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon, who has been calling on the government to build the bypass route since the emergency shutdown of the Île aux Tourtes Bridge in May 2021, attended the group’s petition launch last Wednesday, applauding the grassroots initiative.

Addressing the fact that all of his efforts to convince the government to build the bypass route in the past years have failed, he did not hold back in his criticism of the CAQ.

“It’s bullshit,” Guy Pilon said in an interview with The 1019 Report, referring to the governments excuses.

The provincial government delayed the start to rebuild the Île aux Tourtes Bridge and it pushed back the construction of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital, moves that only served to increase the cost of both projects by at least $1 billion each, he said. They have no excuse why the Highway 20 bypass route should be delayed now.

Pilon said the right-of-way for the express lanes has been outlined and properties expropriated gradually over the last 60 years, with the last lots secured about 10 years ago. All that is required is the government’s go-ahead and a little asphalt, he said.

The provincial government’s failure to act on this front is also holding back investment in his city, Pilon added, explaining that plans to revitalize the area along Harwood Blvd. in the Dorion sector is being delayed by the traffic chaos that has gripped the area.

The Alliance of Citizens for a Real Highway 20’s petition is supported by Vaudreuil MNA Marie-Claude Nichols, and is available for electronic signature on the National Assembly’s website. The group is also going to roll out paper copies for residents to sign in retail outlets across the region.

So far, the electronic petition on the National Assembly website has collected 2,473 signatures.

To access the online petition, go to https://www.assnat.qc.ca/en and click on “Exprimez votre opinion!” in the menu options that appear across the page right under top image on the website.

Cutline:

Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon was the first to sign the petition launched last Wednesday by the Alliance of Citizens for a Real Highway 20 calling on the Quebec government to immediately start building a bypass route to eliminate the traffic lights along the Highway 20 corridor through Dorion and Île Perrot. The artery is seeing unprecedented congestion due to the ongoing work on the Île aux Tourtes Bridge.

Credit:

The 1019 Report