Mobility. More. Better. For everyone. Everywhere.

Mobility is the keystone that supports both our environmental and economic priorities. Most of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are related to transportation. It is therefore the duty of municipalities to implement initiatives to reduce the modal share of combustion vehicles.

We will not favour one mode of transportation over another. Mobility must be thought of as a cocktail of possibilities whose main challenge is to reduce GHG emissions while facilitating travel from point A to point B. It is also important to enable true harmony between modes of transportation.

In order to find the best mode of transportation at the right time and place, let’s stop making gradual decisions and instead think holistically and with evidence. That’s why our party proposes to:

Multiply initiatives to massively collect data on mobility and parking usage in Montreal;
Increase the number of bicycle counters along the bicycle routes;
Publish a report every two years on the evolution of mobility options;

A strategy for the development of public transit projects in Montreal

Successive unfulfilled promises on public transit only increase citizens’ cynicism about these major projects.

Our party will actively work to deploy mechanisms that will allow the projects in Montreal to really move forward. There is a real and necessary need for structural transportation to connect the peripheral neighbourhoods to downtown.

Before promising the moon, let’s first give ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions. To make concrete progress on transportation projects, we must stop being dependent on other levels of government. This is why we want Montreal to assume leadership and autonomy in the development and financing of transportation infrastructure (for the construction of new metro lines, for example). To achieve this, we will need to:

Work with the Quebec government to allow the City of Montreal to mandate the ARTM to study new structuring transportation axes and to make it a true “permanent project office” working on the needs of public transportation in the metropolis.

Project in progress: Realize, for real!

The current administration is waiting for major public transit projects: it is waiting for the train from Quebec City or Ottawa.

We want to turn the tide: let’s take matters into our own hands by being real partners in accelerating the timelines and improving current public transit projects. To achieve this, the Coderre-Gelly administration will :

Set up a follow-up committee with a timetable adopted by all stakeholders to :
- Make concrete progress on the Metro Blue Line extension project in the East;
- Redouble its efforts to deliver the structural transportation project to connect Lachine and LaSalle to downtown;
- Accelerate the project to extend the western branch of the Orange Line to Bois-Franc;
- Create a structuring public transit project on Cavendish to efficiently connect the north and south of the West Island.

A more modern STM

In order to encourage massive use of public transit by Montrealers, they must have confidence in their transportation service. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) must therefore offer its users an exemplary service that takes into account the new technologies and realities of the 21st century. This means, among other things, the implementation of a payment system using bank cards and smartphones in buses and metro stations and a bus service punctuality rate that is close to perfection. Our party wants to see the STM:

Accelerate the deployment of a credit card and smartphone payment system at the STM’s bus and metro station validators;
Deploy WIFI throughout the STM’s metro network;
Create a “Charte d’engagement de la qualité” “Quality Commitment Charter” to ensure cleanliness, punctuality, safety and comfort for riders;
Implementing a program to equip the doors of each kiosk with a motorized system in order to make the metro system accessible to all Montrealers during the mandate;
Implementing free public transit for people 65 years of age and older;
Ensuring that the frequency of bus service is respected and improved. One of the main barriers to creating interest in taking the bus is its lack of predictability. Not only are they often late, but sometimes they arrive three at a time.

Offer real alternatives to the solo car

Projet Montréal’s war on the automobile is not working. Year after year, there are, on the contrary, more and more cars in Montreal. We want to offer real alternatives that will improve the daily life of all and reduce dependence on the automobile and especially on the “solo car”. This logic must be expressed at the island level, but also at the metropolitan region level.

Create a 21st century mobility plan to reduce the use of the solo car at the MMC level
- Increasing 10 times the use of self-service vehicle (SSV) and carpooling;
- Using river shuttles as a replacement for the solo car;
- Opening up cities for active transportation.

We have a goal: access to a self-service vehicle (SSV) within a 5-minute walk, in every populated neighbourhood in Montreal. To achieve this, the City of Montreal must be the spark plug. We propose to :

Implement a program to gradually reduce the city’s fleet of passenger vehicles to use only self-service vehicles (SSVs) for municipal employees’ trips. This strategy will reduce the City of Montreal’s costs (by stopping the acquisition of new cars and the maintenance of a large fleet of vehicles) and at the same time increase the fleet of self-service vehicles available to all Montrealers;
Allow SSV and carpooling users to use all STM reserved lanes in the city;
Make parking meters free for SSVs;
Reducing the cost of permits for electric-powered vehicles to $1, hybrid vehicles to $300 and gas-powered vehicles to $835;
Encouraging the parking of SSVs in City-owned parking lots; and creating incentives for private parking lot owners to make spaces available for SSVs.

We also want to implement measures that will encourage Montrealers to consider alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle use:

Implement incentive pricing for parking in Montreal so that Montrealers pay less for parking when they carpool or drive electric cars;
Implement financial incentives to encourage City employees to use public and/or active transportation instead of solo cars when commuting;
Work with Montreal’s major employers to help them offer solutions to reduce the use of single-occupant vehicles among their employees, including carpooling;
Implementing a check-out system for parking meters, which will allow Montrealers to avoid paying the full parking fee when not using the parking meter for the full period purchased;
Allow payment for all the Agence de mobilité durable parking lots through the P$ Service mobile application;
Encourage the development of a network of electric charging stations.

Have a serious active transportation plan

Increasing the modal share of active transportation is good for the environment, traffic flow, the health of citizens and the city as a whole. However, active transportation must not be developed at the expense of public transit or in a “war on the automobile” perspective.

The development of active transportation facilities should not result in conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists or between cyclists, buses and cars. We believe that everyone has a place in Montreal, regardless of their mode of travel.

In order to participate in the increase of the modal share of active transportation, we must have quality and safe infrastructures, develop more and better infrastructures and encourage the practice by measures to help cyclists. In this sense, Ensemble Montréal proposes :

Improve and secure

Improve the Bicycle Express Network (EBN) on Saint-Denis Street by making it safer, notably by adding bicycle lights at strategic locations and by improving the cohabitation between pedestrians and cyclists, notably at intersections;
Redesigning Bellechasse Street to improve the cohabitation between the various road users, pedestrians, cyclists, cars and other vehicles and to make it safer;
Plan the redevelopment of Camillien-Houde Way to ensure the safety of cyclists while allowing access to the mountain for numerous visitors and tourists;
Secure and modernize the existing bicycle paths:
Convert Montreal’s cycling network into a safe and accessible network for all;
Interchange bike lanes and parking;
Add bike lanes at high-traffic intersections.

Encourage

Increase the coverage of the BIXI service and extend it to all boroughs;
Ask BIXI to develop a self-service electric scooter system with anchoring;
Implement a pilot project of 50 to 100 cargo bikes that will be added to the current BIXI fleet;
Accelerate the deployment of BIXI’s electric bikes;
Expand the bicycle trailer rental project in the boroughs;
Implement safe bicycle parking near metro stations, train stations and schools (“Bike Station”), in collaboration with the STM and the ARTM;
Implement a subsidy program for the purchase of electrically assisted bicycles;
Support and increase the number of bicycle training workshops for children;
Review the regulations on the use of the bicycle network in order to regulate the circulation of electric scooters, electric unicycle, onewheel and any other micro mobility vehicle according to defined criteria.

Develop, properly

Implement a Bikeway in the axis of the Western REM, between Bois-de-Liesse Nature Park and Montpellier Station;
Link the Marie-Clarac sector (Montréal-Nord) to the Eastern Health Innovation Pole via the Francon quarry area;
Develop a safe axis to connect the north of Saint-Leonard to the future stations of the blue line of the metro;
Mandate the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) to consult the population in order to define the location of the next North-South and East-West axes of the EBN, and the priority axes for the implementation of the 2017 bicycle plan;
Catalyze the efficiency of the bicycle network by focusing on greater connectivity (e.g., linking the EBN Saint-Denis to Frédéric-Back Park).

Better and Safer Streets

The current administration has cut $100 million in funding to maintain our streets. The result is visible throughout the city: our streets have rarely been in such poor condition.

To restore the enjoyment of our beautiful city and make it safe for all users, we propose to:

Reinvest in the rehabilitation of our roadways, sidewalks and all of our road infrastructure;
Increase the budget for preventive maintenance to reduce the number of potholes;
Prioritizing snow and ice removal on sidewalks (as opposed to streets and bike paths) in the winter to protect pedestrians and the most vulnerable first;
Continue the Notre-Dame Street redevelopment project East of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.