A new public transportation agreement for the Montreal metropolitan region, which Laval might be signing in the next two months, could resolve outstanding issues like the higher fares Laval Metro users pay, compared to riders from Longueuil, says Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt.
New transit deal?
During Laval city council’s monthly meeting last Monday, the mayor confirmed to David De Cotis, a resident who is also president of the opposition Mouvement lavallois, that “it is highly probable that we will arrive within the next 60 days at a situation that is a lot more interesting for the majority of the citizens and the members of the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC).”
The MMC is a regional authority that coordinates the overall direction and development for a wide-ranging area of the Montreal region. Amélie Cliche, the mayor’s political aide, told the Laval News afterwards that a new regional commission is about to be launched under the auspices of the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT).
Regional equity
She said the commission will try to come to a decision on how more equity can be achieved in the public transit fare structure for all the Montreal region. “Everybody agreed that they were giving this commission a mandate to solve the problem,” she said, referring to the dozens of municipalities that constitute the membership of the MMC.
Also during last Monday’s council meeting, Emilio Migliozzi, a former candidate for the Mouvement lavallois, came close to being ejected by the Laval Police when he violated council protocol. The ML is critical of a $93 million sportsplex Laval will start building this fall as too centralized and not sufficiently considerate of local residents’ needs. Vaillancourt maintained that it won’t necessarily be just a sporting facility, but rather a staging venue for all kinds of events.
Unhappy with answers
The mayor pointed out that for the longest time Laval’s main sports event venue was the arena owned by the Frères Maristes in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, which was built in the 1940s and which has nearly come to the end of its usefulness. He also noted that it is not located in the centre of Laval, like the new sportsplex which will be on Saint-Martin Boulevard a short distance from the A-15.
It was then that Migliozzi started to lose his cool. Seemingly frustrated with the answers he was getting from Vaillancourt, he suddenly stepped out of the zone reserved for residents during question period. As members of the audience reacted with startled amazement, Migliozzi began advancing on the edge of the area where the mayor and councillors are seated. A police officer reacted quickly and followed Migliozzi, who stopped short of passing through a gate leading into the council area. Although the officer stood beside Migliozzi as he continued speaking, in the end the policeman didn’t remove him.
Missed the point
De Cotis said in an interview that one of the points Migliozzi wanted to make was that there is already an overabundance of restaurants in Laval, and that the sportsplex, which will include some eating facilities under its roof, will hurt established restaurants nearby. “That’s what he wanted to communicate to the mayor,” he said.
“But as soon as there is some controversy, the microphones close, the police come out front and they pull you out. This is intimidation. We came here tonight, we said we’re not going to make a fuss, we’re going to ask simple questions. That’s what we did. But as soon as he feels the pressure there’s intimidation. It’s unacceptable.”
PSC tables petition
Robert Bordeleau, leader of the opposition party Parti au Service du Citoyen, asked the mayor to reconsider a decision the city took to require parking permits on Alexandre Street between Grenon Street and Lévesque Boulevard. The permits rule has been in effect since May 1. He deposited a petition on the residents’ behalf with more than 50 signatures. The area is within a half-dozen blocks of the Cartier Metro station. Bordeleau maintains the parking permits are a “hidden tax.”