St. Laurent Mayor Alan DeSousa, on the other hand, would be satisfied with an extension to the Bois-Franc train station. "Côte-Vertu station has never been designed to be a final stop," he said.
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Public transportation
Laval wants to keep its connection
Linking Laval and Montreal by prolonging the orange metro line starting at Côte Vertu? In light of the great success at the other end of the line, the mayor of Laval brought this possibility up during his city’s budget presentation. For now, studies primarily concern an additional station at the Bois Franc train station. Connecting Laval and St. Laurent through public transportation could have a profound effect on automobile traffic, but there is a long way to go until that may happen.
Ten years. Our children will have time to grow up and may choose public transportation more often. Ten years is also when Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt believes it will be necessary to prolong the metro line to connect the Côte Vertu station to the north shore. Following the city’s budget presentation a few weeks ago, Vaillancourt has again expressed his hope to have a second line connecting the two islands, but this time more towards the west.
The success of the Laval metro stations can only reassure the mayor in his request: at the other end of the line, the call was heard and it did not take long for it to be answered; an abundance of visitors have frequented the corridors of the new structures since they opened.
However, the Montreal administration has not been overly enthusiastic about this project. During the development of the City of Montreal’s transportation plan last summer, the main points examined concerning the development of the underground network were prolonging the blue and green lines to the east, and the orange line to the north – but only in relation to one station.
Vaillancourt’s proposed project includes four new stations, two of which would be in Montreal, including the famous supplementary station allowing for a connection with the Bois Franc train station. For André Lavallée, who is responsible for urban planning on the executive committee, it seems this plan is getting ahead of itself, as the metro development plan in Laval is not one of the public transportation priorities on the list.
Moving too fast?
St. Laurent Mayor Alan DeSousa seems to be split in his position. “We have our long term plan, which has been the same since the 1980s. It was formed to allow inter-modal connections with the modes of transportation at the Bois Franc train station,” said the mayor. “Reaching to Laval is something that will go much further. I’d prefer not to get into this debate. For now, I hope the initially planned extension will be done, which seems reasonable, less costly, and will allow for better service for clients in St. Laurent and Laval. We’re already seeing the benefits from the Du Ruisseau station. The connection with the Bois Franc station would permit to juggle the automobile traffic toward the downtown area.”
And, in addition to an optimistic timeline for the project – negotiations and constructing the stations are spread out over a number of years – it will remain a delicate subject.
The mayor of Laval estimates that the total cost of prolonging the line will reach about $1 billion, hopefully with help from the provincial government. With the City of Montreal currently raising the frequency of service on the metro lines, this last project has once again been put on the table.
(Translated by Elyse Amend)
Météo: Montréal, 4 juillet 2008 / 22°C
/ Quelques nuages
/ Vents: 20 Km/h / Humidité relative: 57 % 
par Sylvain Sarrazin 
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