Road extension to ease Port of Montreal truck traffic could cut through greenspace

Extending de l’Assomption Boulevard, in Montreal’s east end, could mean taking a chunk out of a greenspace that’s long been defended by residents and citizen’s groups.

The City of Montreal wants to extend de l’Assomption Boulevard and Souligny Avenue to divert trucks leaving the nearby port.

Officials say the Assomption-Souligny project – in the Assomption-Sud–Longue-Pointe sector – is looking ahead to what it predicts will be an increase in heavy vehicles in the coming years.

But one of the options being explored would extend the boulevard through the Boisé Steinberg, a greenspace in the neighbourhood.

“The first scenario includes a street intended for local traffic on a small part of the Boisé Steinberg,” the city wrote in a new release. “This scenario aims to attenuate the traffic generated in the surrounding neighbourhoods by the residential densification expected in the Assomption-Nord sector.

“The second scenario does not include the creation of this local link. It would therefore preserve the wooded area, but it would shift part of the anticipated road pressure onto neighbouring residential neighborhoods.”

The city is presenting its options to the residents of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve at an information session on Tuesday evening.

The city plans to conduct consultations, including an online survey, in the coming months. A decision is expected to be made this fall.

“We’re working really hard to save as much green space as possible, so even though we’re putting a local road in the Boisé, we’re going to take as less space as possible,” said Sophie Mauzerolle, an executive committee member. “We have to remind everyone that we bought a part of the Boisé to make sure that we protect it.

“What we want to do is reshare the road and optimize the green space. It’s not really convivial right now, so we want to add green spaces and reshare the road so it’s more interesting for pedestrians, for active mobility, to go around their neighbourhood.”

The planned work includes the development of three other individual projects in the area:

• The Longue-Pointe wasteland
• The Hochelaga Street sustainable mobility corridor
• The redevelopment of the Dickson axis between Hochelaga Street and Notre-Dame Street.

Protesters made their voices heard over the weekend to oppose the construction project and advocate for saving the Boisé Steinberg in its entirety.