Royalmount

To ensure our quality of life, the Peter Malouf Team will​​ oppose residential housing in Royalmount​​ and reassess all current PPUs *.

 

* special town planning program (PPU)  

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Dear fellow citizens,

 

 

Team Peter Malouf recognizes the relevance of revitalizing this sector of Town of Mount Royal, but the strong concerns raised by the Royalmount project in its current form, make its acceptability impossible.  

 

After having studied and analyzed the conclusions of the public consultation organized by the city of Montreal, the impact study on travel carried out by WSP, the technical opinion carried out by the infrastructure, roads and transport department - Direction des transport and the 70 briefs submitted on the Royalmount Project (2018-2019), the impact studies carried out by various specialists and working groups made public for nearly 5 years, the Peter Malouf Team is of the opinion that:  

 

Residential development at Royalmount will irreversibly mark the end of our quality of life in Town of Mount Royal, and the end of the garden city.

 

This project, in its current form, and its impact of environmental, social and economic blast, does not respond in a sustainable manner to the challenges and needs of the metropolis, the metropolitan community and even the Province of Quebec.

 

Recently, voices have been raised to call for a referendum on the issue. But would a referendum alone solve the many related problems and would it be the royal road to the disappearance of major dead ends in the sector?

 

We think not; because studies show that the Royalmount project will have major negative impacts in an already oversaturated sector.

 

Here are the arguments on which our thinking is based:

 

Complexity of sector properties:  

 

This large territory is geographically divided into large private land and it is also divided administratively between different authorities. Since the beginnings of this project, no overall strategy has been established with the various owners to plan the physical development of the area.

 

The sector is completely enclosed by railways and a motorway network. There is no solution envisaged in the short, medium and long terms to open up the sector. In addition, there is currently no entity mandated to plan real estate projects and mobility in the area and on neighboring highways, despite the recommendations of the Florence Junca-Adenot report.

 

The lack of coordination between many authorities is problematic: Two boroughs in the City of Montreal, as well as Mont-Royal and Côte-Saint-Luc, the MTQ, the ARTM, the STM, the CP and the CN in addition to Higher planning authorities (Montreal Agglomeration Council, CMM, MTQ, MAMH) must assume responsibility for supervision and overall objectives.

 

The other hazards of the site and its surroundings:

 

Lack of a network of continuous streets and presence of colossal blocks limiting the attractiveness of active and public transport.

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Complexity of accessibility for all types of users.

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Little direct access from motorways.

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No direct link with REM and metro.

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Creation of increased vehicle traffic and conversely a decrease in safety.

 

Traffic on local roads by heavy and individual vehicles.

 

Open to trucking traffic at all times in a residential area.

 

Need to cross the A-15 motorway right-of-way to reach De la Savane metro station.

 

Lack of infrastructure dedicated to active travel, and the immediate environment that is not very user-friendly, even dangerous (presence of heavy vehicles and private vehicles) for active users.

 

Limited availability of the bus line that serves the territory only during peak hours and weekdays.

 

Maximum land use coefficient (SOC) expected to be very high on the Royalmount site compared to other commercial and residential sectors on the territory of the Town of Mount Royal.

 

Lack of plans to mitigate the impacts of highway nuisances: constant noise, dust, atmospheric pollutants, lighting and heat islands.

 

Obsolescence of the functionality of the deconstructed urban fabric.

 

Lack of a global vision, of coordination of dynamic relations between new redevelopment projects (Triangle Namur / Jean-Talon and former Blue Bonnets racecourse) near Royalmount which will attract several thousand residents in 15 years and which will almost double car traffic in the area.

 

Presence of toxic products in the industrial sector.

 

Risk of devitalizing downtown Montreal as well as neighborhood centers and shopping centers.

 

The need to transform the urban planning and development plan.

 

The sales erosion of the commercial structure in place at present between 0% and 15% and to 6% on the downtown area.

 

The lack of impact studies on the environment and sustainable development, on public health and on social development.  

 

The importance of the costs associated with road congestion in the greater Montreal area.

 

The difficulties of several companies established in the Namur / De la Savane sector in retaining and recruiting their workforce due to road congestion and shortcomings in the public transport service in the sector.

 

Lack of diversified housing supply that responds to new socio-demographic trends as well as to various cooperative incomes, land trusts, social housing.

 

Finally, the actors involved and the urban environment:

 

Lack of convincing commitments from the promoter on the issue of the complementarity of:

 

The commercial offer between the Royalmount project and the other commercial centers may suffer serious consequences (Center Rockland, Downtown Montreal, Place-Vertu, Marché Central, Fairview, Marcel Laurin artery, etc.).  

 

The offer of local shops and services between the Royalmount project and local shops in neighboring districts.  

 

The cultural offer between the Royalmount project and the other centers of dissemination of cultural events that will be in competition (Place des Arts, Center Bell, all theaters and performance halls in Montreal, Salle André-Mathieu, Place Bell in Laval, temporary events such as Cavalia, Parc Jean-Drapeau, etc.).  

 

The residential offer between the Royalmount project and other large neighboring residential projects (sector of the former Blue Bonnets, Square Décarie, the Triangle, the TODs near the intersection of highways 15 and 40, etc.).

 

Our position in the face of this highly complex challenge

 

The current situation and the concerns of Monterois in the face of this project and its strangers suggest that a call for a referendum is justified. What would a referendum bring before settling all the negative aspects of this project? Nothing; because it would not contain any requirement to resolve these negative impacts and no guarantee that they would be considered in a responsible manner.

 

Do we still have to spend taxpayers' money to understand that this project does not meet the needs of Monterois?

 

We must allow ourselves the time necessary to make it a truly sustainable, integrated and beneficial project for Town of Mount-Royal and the greater metropolitan area. The development of any project on this key site must therefore be as beneficial and sustainable as possible; in line with the social, environmental and economic needs of the metropolis and adequately respond to contemporary challenges of economic vitality and balance, mobility, sustainable development, as well as social equity.

 

CONSIDERING THAT:

 

Coordination and an integrated urban plan are necessary to achieve the targeted objectives.

 

The impacts of adding the residential component to the Royalmount project are likely to be felt well beyond the borders of Town of Mount Royal, that is to say on the scale of Montreal and that of the greater metropolitan area.

 

These impacts could even affect the Quebec economy (congestion, delivery, delays, etc.).

 

The physical mitigation measures and demand management proposed are therefore not sufficient to

limit the impacts of the project on travel;

 

The Royalmount project is not at all a TOD (Transit-Oriented Development), it cannot even be qualified as TAD (Transit Adjacent Development), since it is necessary to cross a motorway and its two service lanes to join the network. metro.

 

There are a lot of concerns expressed by the population and the lack of social acceptability surrounding the Royalmount project in its current form.

 

Above all, Équipe Peter Malouf will prioritize of the quality of life of all the residents of Town of Mount Royal.​

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