Tunnel trouble coming
Radio-Canada reports that next month’s partial closure of the La Fontaine tunnel will have an impact on the city’s economy; on the weekend, the Journal had a piece discussing how its intermittent closures are already blighting the lives of some commuters.
Jonathan 16:38 on 2022-10-11 Permalink
I say that we ban all personal vehicles from the tunnel. Only busses and transport trucks allowed. As an emergency measure, the park and ride de Mortagne gets relocated on the other side, in the giant parking lot with the Home Depot. Special AMT shuttles run directly to Radisson metro and Galeries d’Anjou. Those who prefer to drive can take the other bridges.
Kate 19:04 on 2022-10-11 Permalink
That would go a long way to solving the problem, Jonathan. It makes so much sense it would never be implemented.
steph 19:23 on 2022-10-11 Permalink
The access from Radisson (Sherbrooke St E) onto the 25 south has been closed since august…
Blork 09:27 on 2022-10-12 Permalink
Closing the tunnel to personal vehicles would just route thousands of cars through the core of the city every day. How is that a good thing?
…bearing in mind that many (perhaps most) cars coming through the tunnel are not headed downtown. They’re going to Laval, or the east end, or even the West Island. You’d rather see those cars routed through the core? Why?
Anyone going from Boucherville to downtown or the Plateau will go via the Jacques-Cartier or Victoria, thus avoiding the interminable slog from the 25 to the city core.
Blork 13:58 on 2022-10-12 Permalink
Further to the point: the three cases discussed in the JDM article are:
A person who lives in Repentigny and works in Boucherville.
A person who lives in Tétreaultville and works in Sorel-Tracy.
A person who lives in Longueuil and works at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital.
It makes no sense to route people like that across the Jacques-Cartier bridge and Sherbrooke/Notre-Dame, etc. Especially since we’re always going on about finding ways to route non-central traffic AWAY from the core.
Jonathan 14:21 on 2022-10-12 Permalink
Those car drivers are going to be flooding the other bridges anyway. If we are truly concerned about the economic impact of closing the tunnel, then we should prioritize transporting goods. Individual car commuters are an economic drain. Providing an alternative and public transit through the tunnel could lure some commuters who see it as more convenient than the extra time in the tunnel traffic. Others will reroute, as they are anticipating already with such a limited capacity during the closure.