Cavendish extension plans push forward
Posted By: CJAD news@cjad.com · 8/13/2012 5:48:00 PM
The Quebec Liberals today raised an idea that politicians have been talking about for decades.
No less than five west-end Liberal candidates are touting the project, four of them on hand in Cote St. Luc this afternoon to discuss extending Cavendish boulevard, beyond Cote St. Luc, and into St. Laurent: Lawrence Bergman from D’Arcy-McGee, Jean-Marc Fournier from Saint-Laurent, Kathleen Weil from Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, and Pierre Arcand from Mont-Royal. Raymond Bachand from Outremont could not be there for the announcement.
There was no timetable or estimated cost. But what is on the table is the political will from the Liberal candidates to work with the city of Montreal to finally get the Cavendish extension done.
That commitment includes putting some of the government share of the profits of the sale of the Hippodrome land towards the project.
Liberal candidate for St. Laurent, Jean-Marc Fournier told reporters that the commitment to some of the funding was key to help convince and entice Montreal to push the project along.
“We could put a portion of it, we hope the best part. It’s up to the negotiation. We don’t want to take the decision from Montreal,” Fournier said.
St. Laurent borough mayor and Montreal executive committee vice-chairman Alan de Sousa said it’s a positive announcement.
“That’s a very important component of the puzzle and I can only be happy about that,” de Sousa told reporters.
But de Sousa said they still have to work out the details with the Transport Ministry.
Photo: Shuyee Lee (CJAD), Illustration: City of Cote St. luc
West End MNAs and Mayors, including D’Arcy McGee MNA Lawrence Bergman and Cote Saint-Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather, at press conference announcing Cavendish link
Len Wolman
Aug 14, 2012 @ 12:14:14
I have lived in Cote St Luc for 60 years and seen this same election promise many times. This time I am certain it will not be accomplished in the next parliament by this cast of the same characters who promised this before.
Irving Itman
Aug 14, 2012 @ 22:34:50
We had these type of photo ops & announcements manny times & with different politicle parties & Montreal Mayors in the last several decades.Tell us when the shovels hit the ground & then maybe we’ll believe it.Remember the MOSHIACH might be here before that.
Sidney Margles
Aug 15, 2012 @ 09:01:19
The skeptics will always see the dark side.
Now, the catalyst is the pending development of the old Blue Bonnets site. When the land is sold to developers, the province and the city of Montreal will share in the profit.
The Liberals say the Quebec share of the profits (depending on Montreal’s contribution) will be used to help pay for the Cavendish-to Cavendish extension.
The ball is now in Montreal’s court. The land value would probably double with the opening of Cavendish to Jean Talon and along the western side of the TMR industrial area to Royalmount and then over tracks to join Cavendish in St. Laurent.
It is now up to Mayor Tremblay to step up to the plate.
stlaurentdude
Aug 17, 2012 @ 19:55:39
Two points:
1)Montreal has already allocated its $45 million share of the $100 million price tag,according to this article:
https://gjnashen.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/cavendish-link-now-closer-to-realization-mnas/
2)The original price was between $100 and $150 million but reduced because CP plans to move some of its tracks allowed for a shorter span of the new viaduc:
http://www.lesactualites.ca/?site=CDN§ion=page&1=C120307&2=C120307_raccordement
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So assuming nobody already asked the obvious question, why not make the price as low as possible by including unused CP tracks to the west of Blue Bonnets as part of the development project, sale of which profits CP but costs the taxpayer nothing, yet reduces the span of tracks to a single pair of tracks, for a dirt cheap shortest possible span that could be affordable immediately?
stlaurentdude
Aug 17, 2012 @ 20:44:04
Another thought just occured to me.Even if CP wants to keep its section of tracks just to the immediate west of Blue Bonnets, it would not necessarily interfere with a flat rail crossing for car traffic to traverse a couple of access tracks.
Remember Cavendish is not an autoroute and there’s nothing wrong with a relatively inexpensive flat rail crossing and traffic lights as opposed to a megaproject overpass or tunnel.
For heavens sake, the amount of minutes of the day that a train would be populating that tiny section of track blocking Cavendish would be as much as say, drivers on Sunnybrooke have to wait at the rail crossing near Roxboro-Pierrefonds station,i.e. a very small proportion of the day.
So flat rail crossing traffic lights = cheap , immediate solution, even if used as a temporary measure.
stlaurentdude
Aug 18, 2012 @ 10:14:15
Sorry,it was an erroneous comparison on my part between the waiting time at the Roxboro-Pierrefonds rail crossing, which has relatively short fast-moving commuter trains, as opposed to the long, slow freight train traffic on the CP line that crosses the proposed Cavendish extension. Hence the use of viaducs (bridges) instead of rail crossings where this track crosses Decarie , Marcel Laurin, etc.