Over the next few years, people in Quebec will have to be patient and adapt because traffic around the streetcar platform will be changed twice, during the work and after opening, acknowledges the city, which promises to provide predictability to riders.
The newspaper met with transportation and traffic officials regarding the light rail project, which will open in 2024 with a view to commissioning in 2029. Martin Côté, coordinator of mobility mitigation measures at the Light Rail Project Bureau, and Marc des Rivières, director of the City’s Transportation and Intelligent Mobility Department, explained that the creation of a tram corridor will “bring about a significant improvement for pedestrians and cyclists, but for motorists it will require adaptations of habits and routes.
Two planes
Sir. des Rivières points out that there will be two traffic plans: one for the period of the work and another when the tram is running. “There are some relationships that will be the same, but others that won’t.”
“The perceived limitations will be greater during the work period than afterwards,” he says.
Mr. Côté adds that the city will actually try to make sure people can adjust as soon as work begins. “When we have to close an intersection, we do not open it again afterwards. So already now the traffic patterns will be integrated by the residents,” he emphasizes.
We must also completely restructure the parking, especially on René-Lévesque, where the spaces will be removed and redistributed in the neighbourhoods.
Communicate in advance
Making everything predictable for as many people as possible will be the “nerve of the war”, insists the Project Office, which intends to communicate intensively. In addition, the main arteries on the edge of the future construction site have all been connected to the arterial conductor, which enables traffic management, which helps to relieve if necessary.
Safer for pedestrians and cyclists
Among the winners of this new traffic in Quebec, pedestrians and cyclists will see many improvements, the project office claims. Along the entire route, the number of safe sleepers will be multiplied. “At the moment, there are 76 places that are signposted where you can cross. What we plan to do is just increase it by 57% to 119”, informs Martin Côté. Pedestrians and cyclists will therefore benefit from traffic lights [pour] pedestrians or signs, with markings on the ground that give them priority in a safe way. At the intersection there will be shelters for walkers. The car lanes will not be linear, but slightly deviated to reduce speed.
Infographic City of Quebec and Le Journal
At crossing junctions of the tramway, pedestrian crossings are set up, with refuge lanes, the tracks are realigned to slow down traffic and the asphalt is raised to the level of the platform to allow vehicles to pass.
Firefighters will be able to cross the platform
The tram platform, 15 cm high, is causing a lot of talk, and many fear that it will “split the city in two”. The project office insists: “It’s not the Berlin Wall.” Made of reinforced concrete, it will be the height of a mobile phone. Cars will not be able to cross it at multiple junctions, mainly to ensure the reliability and commercial speed of the tram, but also to avoid collisions with the tram. But in the event of an emergency, fire trucks will be able to cross it, assures Martin Côté. In addition, at intersections where cars can cross the platform, it is the carriageway that will be raised to the height of the platform and not the other way around.
Courtesy City of Quebec
With the arrival of the tram, intersections like this one, the corner René-Lévesque-Maguire, will be changed to provide safe passages for pedestrians and cyclists. Courtesy City of Quebec
Local traffic plans in seven neighbourhoods
On the edge of the stretch, with a ban on left turns in several places, the municipality will have to carry out “finer” analyses, which it calls “local traffic plans”, both to keep residents calm, but also to ensure smooth circulation. This is especially the case for the Henri-IV-Duchesneau square, where there is a particular “complexity”, declares the project office, after the exit of the opposition and business people from the sector, who fear the consequences of the arrival of the tram. The project office does not have all the answers to the concerns at this time, but promises meetings and more details in the autumn. The other sectors where such plans are being prepared are Pie-XII, boulevard Laurier-Saint-Yves, Saint-Sacrement, Montcalm, Saint-Roch and Vieux-Limoilou-Maizerets.
Adaptations for couriers, garbage men, postal workers and co.
The installation of the tramway platform will change the everyday life of many road users, who will have to revise their routes according to the new traffic rules. This will, among other things, be the case for truck drivers, couriers, Canada Post employees, emergency services and garbage collectors, says Martin Côté. Waste collection schedules are subject to change. “There may be changes in collection days or times.” More detailed analysis will be needed, but the impacts will be “minor”, we are sure. All the affected users will be notified of the changes in good time to give them time to adapt and to avoid unpleasant surprises, insists Mr Côté.
