The borough mayor of Cote-des-Neiges-NDG says its time the city invest in overhauling a busy intersection in the area, before more pedestrians get killed.
Sue Montgomery says for years, people have been complaining about the intersection of De Maisonneuve and Decarie boulevards and Upper Lachine Road. Just last month, an 84-year-old woman died after being hit by a car there in what police called a hit and run.
Montgomery says the borough undertook a stop-gap measure this week when it had crosswalks at the intersection repainted. But she says in advance of Montreal’s budget next month, the city should make redoing the area a priority.
‘It’s been years. How many people have to die before we get action from this administration?” Montgomery said.
“It really needs a rethink and major investment from this administration, and that is what I am demanding.”
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Montgomery says studies done over the years indicate it would cost at least $8 million to redo the intersection. She said it was initially included in the city budget last year, but it was taken out.
NDG councillor Peter McQueen says one of the reasons it was removed from the city budget last year was because Transport Quebec had said no major infrastructure projects in that area would happen until the Turcot interchange was finished, which happened this week.
“We all want things improved there; it was a question of delaying it one year,” said McQueen. “There is a lot of debate about what should be done.”
Montgomery says there have been about 20 pedestrians and cyclists injured in the area over the years.
She says until the area is overhauled, she would like to see temporary measures put in place to make the crossing safer, including adding a dedicated bike traffic crossing and extending the length of time pedestrians can take to cross the street.
“We are close to a hospital. There are a lot of elderly people coming for appointments, so they need time to cross safely,” Montgomery said.
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Jason Savard, spokesperson for the Association of NDG Pedestrians and Cyclists, says similar changes were made to the intersection of Girouard and Terrbonne avenues, which helped make the area safer.
‘We are suggesting the same thing be done immediately. It would save lives starting today,” he said. “It definitely needs to be made safer immediately, given this history of incidents on that intersection.”
Montgomery says the intersection is considered a major artery, so is under the control of the centre city.
For her part, Valerie Plante says the city is working on the file, without offering any specifics.
“My message is we are taking this vey seriously. This is what happened that a woman died and it’s a dangerous one,” Plante said.
“Our administration truly believes in zero vision, so we will do everything we can as fast as we can to do it.”
