BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report

The Quebec government’s announcement last week of the start of a $59-million project to improve traffic flow along Cité des Jeunes Boulevard in anticipation of the opening of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Hospital was given a lukewarm endorsement from St. Lazare Mayor Geneviève Lachance.

“It’s an improvement to what it is, but it’s not enough,” Lachance said in an interview with The 1019 Report. “It’s clearly not what we wanted to improve safety and traffic.”

The first phase of the work to be carried out in Vaudreuil-Dorion beginning in the coming days, will see the construction of two roundabouts on Harwood Boulevard — at the intersection with Henry-Ford Street and at the junction of the Highway 30 ramp and De la Gare Boulevard.

A pedestrian and cycle path will be extended to connect the roundabouts to an existing multi-purpose path.

In addition, two intersections in front of the hospital will be reconfigured — at the eastbound Highway 30 ramp and at De la Petite-Rivière Road.

Quebec will also repave the Cité des Jeunes from Ste. Angélique Road in St. Lazare to Henry Ford Road in Vaudreuil-Dorion.

“The widening work will alleviate current traffic issues and accommodate the new traffic resulting from the arrival of hospital services,” said Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon in a statement.

Requests from municipal officials to widen the stretch of Cité des Jeunes Boulevard that runs through St. Lazare leading to the hospital, however, have been ignored. Instead, the province will add a turning lane at three intersections along the artery that cuts through the municipality — at Ste. Angélique Road; at St. Louis Road; and at Montée Labossière, where a traffic light will be installed, Lachance said. That work, however, is only scheduled to be carried out in 2027 and 2028, after the hospital is expected to open.

“It’s underwhelming,” Lachance said. “Logically, you would want to address roads before the opening of the hospital, not after. It’s not enough and it’s not being proactive.”

Traffic around the new $2.6-billion hospital, now scheduled to open in the summer of 2027, is expected to increase dramatically. The facility will have just over 3,000 employees and attract thousands of patients and visitors on a daily basis. The opening of the hospital is also expected to spur development along the length of the artery, with the addition of housing and commercial outlets.

In contradiction to Lachance and in clear contrast to St. Lazare’s demand since 2021 to widen Cité des Jeunes into a four-lane artery to facilitate anticipated increased traffic flow on a road that already sees significant rush-hour congestion, Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault said:

“This highly structuring project is a concrete response to the current and future mobility needs of the population of Vaudreuil-Dorion and St. Lazare. Our commitment to providing Quebecers, wherever they are in our territory, with access to the best services is once again demonstrated here.”