Westmount

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

A pilot project in Westmount has some residents concerned.

The closing of the Notre-Dame-de-Grace Avenue diagonal roadway around the Claremont triangle to cars reclaims 515 square metres for potentially more greenspace and safer passage on foot and bicycles, particularly around Marianopolis.

Forcing motorists right on Claremont to go south and then left on Westmount if heading east, that intersection is a major problem, says local Shona Godwin. “It’s poorly designed,” she said, noting the short block between NDG Ave. and Claremont is now two lanes, one way, and accommodating a bus stop where the stop sign is obscured when buses actually stop.

The diagonal still has a bike lane with a stop sign, but the stop on eastbound Westmount is gone. The Suburban witnessed several close calls as cyclists rode through their stop across Westmount while eastbound vehicles approached. Eastbound cyclists on NDG at Claremont are also pressured by impatient motorists forced to turn right. (A shockingly close call occurred with a public works truck reversing at the intersection, nearly striking some pedestrians. When alerted loudly by citizens, the driver expressed surprise, seemingly annoyed by the callout while waiting for them to pass).

Godwin says it’s a recipe for disaster. “They’re planning to completely redo Claremont and using this opportunity to try this,” she said, but questions “why now, and why wasn’t the neighborhood consulted?”

Westmount Mayor Christina Smith insists the project, running through October, is part of that process. “In 2025 Claremont will be reconstructed entirely from NDG Ave. to Sherbrooke. It gives us an opportunity to re-imagine how it should be. It’s long overdue.”

She says the city heard from citizens in the spring about crossings, signage and more, “but we did not come with a design of any sort. We’re really going with a blank slate. The major player is right here, where people walk from Villa Maria or Vendôme, how pedestrians move about.”

A final Claremont design will be tendered in winter, she said, adding the SPVM and Westmount Public Safety are monitoring the situation. “I understand it causes a bit of confusion and sometimes people take the wrong lane to turn east onto Westmount. We are constrained by space, but once we rebuild, we’ll have flexibility to address that…That’s the point of a pilot project, to see if it works. It doesn’t mean it will.” A public consultation is scheduled for September 25.

Godwin says NDG Avenue “is now a bicycle lane, bus lane, fire lane and traffic lane, which means it will back up to Décarie putting pressure on other roads. We’re just dumping traffic into NDG, forcing people onto Grey or Vendôme.” Councillor Elisabeth Roux opposes the project “but was in the minority” she told The Suburban. “Since it is a pilot project, it is now up to residents to voice their opinion. I truly hope the outcome of all this will be a design that is safest for pedestrians and most respectful for residents.”

Smith agrees traffic changes are difficult, “but I’ve also been around long enough to know that people adjust. If it doesn’t work, we will look at that in terms of overall design. I don’t discount that it impacts a family who has difficulty getting home. We will 100% listen to them. But we rebuild a road every 50 years and it’s not the same as before. We have 3,000 students walking around. The intent is all about pedestrian safety, how we can improve it. Nothing is off the table.” n