{"id":2233,"date":"2009-03-18T17:37:16","date_gmt":"2009-03-18T21:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingmontreal.ca\/2009\/03\/18\/independent-experts-question-turcot-plans\/"},"modified":"2013-01-21T11:36:56","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T16:36:56","slug":"independent-experts-question-turcot-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2009\/03\/18\/independent-experts-question-turcot-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Independent Experts Question Turcot Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Turcot<\/a><\/p>\n

Turcot Think Tank: independent experts held a press conference March 17th. <\/em><\/p>\n

A team of independent experts calling themselves the Turcot Think Tank (TTT)<\/em> have put their heads together to come up with a coherent critique of the Quebec Transportation Minister’s (MTQ) plans to redesign the Turcot interchange<\/a>. St-Henri and NDG<\/a> residents are worried about the impacts<\/a>, and even the City has asked Quebec to re-think<\/a> their plans, which do not so much as mention the municipal transportation plan. The project is going to BAPE environmental consultation<\/a> later this month.<\/p>\n

The expert panel includes an architect specializing in transportation infrastructure, an urban planner, a founding member of Quebec’s Green Party, a Concordia University professor, and two community organizers.<\/p>\n

At a press conference yesterday, Mobilisation Turcot<\/em> member Gaetan Legault said that that the BAPE must expand its scope: the environmental consultation process does not necessarily take into account the far-reaching impacts of highway development on the urban fabric.<\/p>\n

The panel outlined their 4 main concerns:<\/p>\n

1. Transportation:\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Jean D\u00e9carie, a retired urban planner who has worked for the City of Montreal, pointed out that the MTQ’s plans would increase the capacity of the interchange by 20% rather than decreasing automobile traffic, a priority set out in the municipal transportation plan. The $1.5 billion dollar project makes no concession for public transit. D\u00e9carie emphasized that, while the 15 is an important regional axis which must remain fluid for the transportation of goods, highway 20 is used mainly by commuters from Montreal’s West Island. He says that much of the traffic on the 20 could be replaced with transit if an adequate infrastructure were in place.<\/p>\n

2. The Structure:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The MTQ plans to deconstruct the tangle of overpasses and build on solid ground. However, the highway would be built on an embankment so that cross streets could pass underneath. D\u00e9carie pointed out that the proposed embankments are 3 times wider than the current highway structure, which is part of the reason that the project would require dozens of homes to be expropriated and demolished. The embankments would also become an impenetrable barrier, blocking movement and line of sight. Furthermore, the noise, pollution and possible danger associated with the highway would be closer to people’s living space.<\/p>\n

The panel suggest several alternatives: either re-enforce the existing elevated structure, for instance with metal arches, or build the highway underground. Both these options would maximize the amount of space available for public use or redevelopment, and allow the urban fabric to be stitched back together at the ground level.
\n\"Woven<\/a><\/p>\n

Elevated highways put distance between traffic, noise, pollution and local residents. The land underneath the highways, now that it is no longer used by CN, could become a park and could connect St-Henri with NDG.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

3. Integration with the urban fabric and other projects: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Pierre Gauthier, professor of geography, urban studies and the environment at Concordia University, said that the MTQ’s investment should be an opportunity to repair the errors of the past: to begin to re-knit tears in the urban fabric caused by highway and rail development in the past and to reduce greenhouse gasses by favouring public transit over automobile dependency.<\/p>\n

A document penned by the TTT proposes alternate routes which would deviate traffic around Pointe-St-Charles and St-Henri. It also lists some of the opportunities that the MTQ paves over with the proposed interchange: the plans do not consider the future airport shuttle, a possible tram line to Lachine, or plans to re-use CN facilities as ATM workshops. The falaise St-Jacques has potential to be developed as a park, and there is even the possibility of unearthing part of the the St-Pierre river, but these would become permanently inaccessible if the MTQ’S plans go through. Although the MTQ has included some green space in their plans, there’s no promise that it would actually be accessible.<\/p>\n

4. Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n

The document concluded that, while the MTQ is responsible for building the interchange, land-use planning\u00a0 and design should be municipal. A project of this scale should require a plan particulier d’urbanisme<\/em>, along with the consultation that entails.<\/p>\n

—-<\/p>\n

Fortunately, these citizen experts are going to raise their voices whether they are officially consulted or not. They have amassed 40 signatures from professional planners, academics from all 4 universities, and individuals representing various community organizations, on a letter outlining these and other concerns. The letter has been sent to Mayor Tremblay and the MTQ, as well as the provincial Ministers of the Environment and Municipal affairs.
\n\"Village<\/a><\/p>\n

A message board at the entrance to <\/em>Village des Tanneries keeps locals informed about the project. Most of the Tanneries neighbourhood was razed when the original Turcot interchange was built in the 1960s. The current MTQ plans would take down another entire block as well as an loft with about 100 residents.<\/em><\/p>\n

To get involved as a citizen, visit the Mobilisation Turcot website<\/a>. This website also offers further information about the BAPE consultation process<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turcot Think Tank: independent experts held a press conference March 17th. A team of independent experts calling themselves the Turcot Think Tank (TTT) have put their heads together to come up with a coherent critique of the Quebec Transportation Minister’s (MTQ) plans to redesign the Turcot interchange. St-Henri and NDG residents are worried about theContinue reading “Independent Experts Question Turcot Plans”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5022,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[213,7839,31,33,7842],"tags":[3797,3788,1199,3799,91,673,683,3792,346,3798,3794,125,3795,666,5,1170,3790,292,3789,59,3793,830,3796,554,120,694,3791,302,46],"class_list":["post-2233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-infrastructure","category-neighbourhoods","category-traffic","category-transit","category-urban-design","tag-adequate-infrastructure","tag-and-two-community-organizers","tag-architect","tag-atm","tag-bridges-and-spans","tag-concordia-university","tag-green-party","tag-jean-decarie","tag-mayor","tag-metal-arches","tag-mobilisation-turcot","tag-montreal","tag-municipal-transportation-plan","tag-pierre-gauthier","tag-planning","tag-professor","tag-professor-of-geography","tag-quebec","tag-quebec-transportation-minister","tag-st-henri","tag-st-pierre-river","tag-transportation-2","tag-transportation-infrastructure","tag-tremblay","tag-turcot-interchange","tag-urban-planner","tag-urban-studies-and-the-environment","tag-usd","tag-west-island"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIndependent Experts Question Turcot Plans - Spacing Montreal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2009\/03\/18\/independent-experts-question-turcot-plans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Independent Experts Question Turcot Plans - Spacing Montreal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Turcot Think Tank: independent experts held a press conference March 17th. 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