CAQ snubs transit, funds highways
Thursday’s new provincial budget has irked Valérie Plante by snubbing public transit: the CAQ knows where its voters are – living out on the autoroutes, which have been generously funded. There’s no bang for the CAQ buck in funding new transit in Montreal: even its vaunted money for transit studies has as its pièce de résistance the idea of extending the yellow line.
Faiz Imam 22:53 on 2019-03-21 Permalink
Speaking of, Longueuil today just approved its new master plan that will turn the Longueuil metro area into a much larger and denser urban core, as well as reduce the highways in the area. A big chunk of it requires the yellow line extension to happen, so overall I’m happy that its not in perpetual limbo.
But overall its pretty weak sauce.
I don’t know if its because Im spending too much time watching Ontario politics, not to mention the garbage fire down south, but I was actually expecting way worse from the CAQ.
I’m bracing for massive cuts and more austerity, but at least that has not happened yet.
But to bring up the statistic we were talking about a month ago, this budget again spends 24% on public transit, and 76% on the road network. Same old same old.
Steve Q 00:05 on 2019-03-22 Permalink
If they end up extending the yellow line in Longueuil, well, at least it will be done and we could then concentrate on the ”pink line”. The yellow line needs to be extended anyway therefor they might as well please their voters and do it.
Ian 12:34 on 2019-03-22 Permalink
Now the Pink Liners know how people west of Dorval feel.
qatzelok 14:07 on 2019-03-22 Permalink
Pink Liners live in dense urban neighborhoods that were originally designed for transit and walking. West of Dorval (WeDo) was designed to make people drive cars. Empathy between them would be illogical.
Ian 16:26 on 2019-03-22 Permalink
You have demonstrated on many occasions that you don’t know about anything in Montreal west of NDG, qatzi. There is history in the west end that predates suburban sprawl by many generations, including thousands of daily commuters going to Sainte Anne for school and work from all neighbourhoods in Montreal and beyond, but I won’t bore you with that reality since you clearly don’t give a hoot.
The proposed pink line north of pie-ix isn’t a dense urban neighbourhood designed for transit and walking, either. I’m going to go out on a limb and say you probably know about as much about that neighbourhood as you do about the west island, you just like it better on principle because it’s less English.
qatzelok 17:26 on 2019-03-22 Permalink
Ian, I have combed the entire province of Quebec – especially Greater Montreal – on my bike, where you can really see the ugly dysfunctionality of our suburban sprawl at a nice reflective speed. Let’s just say that my own little corner of the city isn’t THE ONLY area that I’m deeply familiar with.
Ian 19:16 on 2019-03-22 Permalink
You may have looked at it, but you clearly didn’t “see” it, and gained no perspective. Your concept of the history and context of anything other than your very narrow experience is consistently revealed to be lacking. That you would laud the pink line and in the same breath criticize the west island is patently absurd. You have clearly spent very little time in St-Léonard if you think it is somehow culturally superior to the amalgamated towns in the West Island like Pointe Claire or Sainte Anne… and Montreal North? Please. That is no “dense urban neighbourhood designed for transit and walking”.