Mount Royal cemetery threatening legal action over closure of Camillien-Houde to vehicles

The Mount Royal cemetery says the City of Montreal’s plan to close Camillien-Houde to vehicles goes against an agreement – dating back to 1928 – between Montreal and the cemetery.

In a letter obtained by The Montreal Gazette – the cemetery is threatening legal action against the city if it follows through with its plan to close Camillien-Houde to vehicles in 2027.

The letter sent in September – a week before the City of Montreal made its plans public – says the move will cause damages to the cemetery’s clients.

It also says it will divert traffic to the cemetery’s roads – which will damage their infrastructure.

In September, the Plante administration announced it would be converting Camillien-Houde making it accessible only to cyclists and pedestrians.

The city says emergency vehicles will still have access to the route.

In a statement to CityNews, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s office said: “Cemeteries are important institutions of Mount Royal and it is absolutely essential that they are accessible to all people who wish to go there.”

The cemeteries will continue to be accessible by car or bus from the west or through their entrances at the foot of the mountain. The city says pedestrians can access Camillie-Houde on foot and also “the new paths that this will allow us to develop.”

“We are working on this project in collaboration with all stakeholders, including the Mount-Royal cemetery, with which working meetings took place last spring. We are very sensitive to the concerns of families and cemetery owners and we remain open to their development proposals which we can take into account in the detailed design of the project.”

In 2019, the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) recommended that traffic stay open on Camillien-Houde but that the road be converted so it has lower speed limits and more room for pedestrians and cyclists.