Joel Ceausu – The Suburban LJI Reporter
“Don’t take us for fools.”
That was just one message delivered last Thursday night as some 300 people came to Benny library for a long-awaited info session on the controversial Terrebonne bike path planned for next summer.
CDN-NDG borough announced that Terrebonne would be transformed into two one-way roads from Cavendish heading east toward Girouard and west towards Belmore, and according to the plan there would only be 171 parking spaces left of the original 478, with all parking removed on the north side.
Borough mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa subsequently clarified at Monday’s council that it will not be 300 parking spaces removed per se from Terrebonne, but rather 200. The discrepancy in numbers is due to the fact that remaining spaces would not actually be removed, but rather liberated by the borough enforcing parking rules already in place, i.e., restrictions on cars parking too close to the intersections.
It’s the newest version of a plan which went ahead in 2020 as a pilot project but quickly scrapped due to overwhelming opposition.
The new plan comes from a technical report the borough commissioned at a cost of $150,000, and requires installation of 200 signs, 350 bollards, eight planters and thousands of linear metres of street markings for an estimated cost of $219,000.
Valerie Keszey bought her home on Terrebonne some 20 years ago with the ability to park outside, she told a group of fellow bike path opponents before the meeting. “I don’t have private parking, I have to park on the street. I can’t put my car in my pocket… Removing 300 parking spaces on Terrebonne is unacceptable.”
More than 200 people filled the room to capacity, leaving some 50 frustrated residents in the lobby waiting for people to leave so they could enter. One man stormed out early saying if the city’s experts “don’t live on Terrebonne then they are not experts.” The presentation was in French, spoken and displayed, but printed English copies were handed out and Loyola councillor Despina Sourias translated responses from the staff during question period, where residents were cautioned to ask only technical and not political questions.
The session was not billed as a consult, which raised the ire of many opponents. “When are we going to have a real consultation?” Irwin Rappoport asked NDG councillor Peter McQueen before the session began. “This is a consultation” replied McQueen, gesturing to the panel. “You know that’s not true” Rappoport replied.
Confusion reigned over the meeting’s vocation, critics repeatedly demanding true consultation take place, the plan seen as a fait accompli by many around the room when Katahwa spoke about discussions with residents, suggesting consultation had taken place. “Where was the consultation?” many shouted.
Katahwa said the study was released in October “so we would have a good six months to answer your questions.” On social media and in a press conference the day before the meeting, opponents of the plan insisted they support bike paths but not without proper consultation of residents affected. “Your concerns are really valid and that’s why I want to hear from you,” said the mayor. “Our goal tonight is to foster a real dialogue where your voices are heard… This is not the end,” she assured, suggesting even after a vote is taken in the new year “we still have time to listen and hear how we can improve the configuration… We are not only here to explain but to listen.”
While reasons cited for opposing the plan are numerous, some slam what they call skewed city priorities, with residents on the road still waiting for Montreal to change their lead water pipes, which won’t happen for at least a year after the path is implemented. Borough planner Jonathan Leduc said currently 400-500 bikes travel the road daily.
Despite rules that only technical questions would be entertained, some residents lambasted the administration for what they claim was bad data, ignoring residents’ positions, lack of consultation, making assumptions on winter usage, selectivity in data collection days and more.
“How are we going to keep paths clear and safe for cyclists if we can’t keep sidewalks clear for pedestrians” asked one woman, to which Sourias replied that a pilot project for Walkley and Lacombe bike paths would determine how. Another resident said the previous bike path attempt, which for her as a woman with a rare disease and who walks with a cane to her car, “was revolting.” She noted Projet Montréal sent out a notice “telling people to come and support this… As a citizen,” she asked Katahwa and McQueen, “respect people for once. Don’t take us for fools!”
Sourias insisted there is no fait accompli, good news for EMSB chair Joe Ortona who told the panel that Willingdon, St. Monica and Mackay schools are on Terrebonne, and administrators’ impression of meetings they had with the borough was precisely that. “If you’re telling us tonight that this is not, I find that reassuring because there were several issues.” For example, he says at Mackay, where many students are severely handicapped, “we have a drop-off on the land but there’s currently a drop-off zone on the north side of Terrebonne on the street. They would be moved to the south” and families drive big vans because they have disabled children that they have to carry and now they have to cross the street.” For all schools he says school buses, pick-up and drop-off on Terrebonne would be disrupted because of the new one-way configuration. The borough “is open to some adjustments,” said Leduc. “We will continue the dialogue with your schools.”