Concerned about heat islands, Montérégie's public health department (DSP) recommended that the future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital be provided with a multi-level parking lot, rather than the huge above-ground parking lot chosen by Quebec to reduce costs.
Posted at 5:00 am.
“It is scientifically obvious that a layered parking lot requires less concrete area, an area that causes urban heat islands,” emphasizes the DSP in an email to La Presse.
INFOGRAPHICS THE PRESS
“It is difficult to estimate the impact of this particular parking, but the consequences of heat islands in general will impact both the environment and human health.” »
The center under construction in Vaudreuil-Dorion will be described as a “hospital of the future” by the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSMO) and will be surrounded by a large car park. The 1,869 parking spaces will take up 5.7 hectares or 23% of the site area, regrets the city, which has repeatedly requested tiered parking spaces as originally planned.
“The development of a 5-hectare parking lot violates all municipal and regional planning and regulatory documents,” the DSP added in its email, which is “intended as an academic opinion.”
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE SOCIÉTÉ QUÉBÉCOISE DES INFRASTRUCTURES (SQI)
The location of the future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital
“According to the evidence and literature, the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion’s parking development proposal is the one we recommend. »
The city had already claimed to have the support of the DSP, but the nearly three-page argument received in April 2019 had not been disseminated.
The DSP also produced a sheet on responsible parking and participated in the consultation on the city's urban plan, its spokesperson Chantal Vallée told us.
“Floor parking spaces should be preferred over surface parking spaces,” states the DSP of Montérégie in its fact sheet.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital, currently under construction, will be built at the intersection of Boulevard de la Cité-des-Jeunes and Highway 30 in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
Participants in the municipality's citizen survey said they wanted to avoid “repeating the mistakes of the past, that is, finding huge outdoor parking spaces,” according to the report published in 2020.
Vaudreuil-Dorion initially wanted an underground car park, but the Société québécoise des Infrastructures (SQI), which manages the project, “said it would be very difficult to integrate it into the budget,” says the city's general manager, Olivier Van Neste. “They came with a compromise proposal that included tiered parking. »
In a presentation to the local Chamber of Commerce in spring 2021, the CISSSMO mentioned “more than 50% underground parking.”
But Quebec ultimately concluded that even this compromise was too expensive.
Since “overheating in the construction sector” increased the budget by $900 million, a “rigorous optimization measure must be carried out” to meet the new budget of $2.6 billion, the door wrote to us – spokeswoman for the CISSSMO, Jade St Jean.
“Consequently, the project was able to save more than $50 million through surface parking without impacting the services of the future hospital. »
This scenario caused an outcry in the region.
In June last year, the city officially asked Quebec to allocate the necessary budget to build a parking garage or underground car park. His resolution received widespread support. The Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM), the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) and the local Chamber of Commerce did not hesitate to call Quebec to order.
It is inconceivable that a project of this magnitude, which represents a significant investment, would not respect best practices in terms of sustainable development, especially since the additional costs of elevated or underground parking represent only a fraction of the total budget.
The Union of Municipalities of Quebec
The National Policy on Architecture and Land Use Planning confirms that the government has done this […] Provide the necessary impetus for Quebec's architecture and territory to be managed and developed sustainably.
The Montreal metropolitan region
Despite the associated restrictions, companies in the region undertake to comply with current construction and environmental protection standards when carrying out their project, without exception being possible.
The Vaudreuil-Soulanges Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The community also created an illustration to show that surface parking would take up even more space than the original, tiered scenario.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF VAUDREUIL-DORION
Illustration created by Vaudreuil-Dorion based on plans submitted to the city to show that parking spaces (in red) took up less space when partially layered.
A petition with more than 2,600 names launched by Mères au front was also submitted to the National Assembly in mid-November by the independent MP for Vaudreuil, Marie-Claude Nichols.
Despite local and national media coverage, the situation has failed to change.
“We are moving forward with the current decision,” affirmed the office of the Minister of Health and Social Affairs, Christian Dubé.
“However, several remedial measures are being taken, in particular we will green more than 40% of the park area,” said his press spokesman via email (see other text).
“Everything else in the project went very well,” but when it came to parking, we wanted “the state to set an example,” emphasizes the CEO of Vaudreuil-Dorion.
This is what the municipality has done with its “community center,” which combines the town hall and library, argues Mr. Van Neste. Even though “it’s expensive,” the city preferred underground parking.
He recalls that newer hospitals like the MUHC in Montreal and the New Hospital Complex (NCH) in Quebec have floor or underground parking.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Olivier Van Neste, general manager of Vaudreuil-Dorion
Why can't we make this investment somewhere else? We don't have to expand because we're in the suburbs, it's against government guidelines!
Olivier Van Neste, general manager of Vaudreuil-Dorion
The freedom taken by Quebec risks encouraging real estate developers to challenge municipal density requirements, the DG fears.
“I expect to hear the argument at some point: ‘But look at the other side, there’s the equivalent of an American football stadium in the parking lots and I have to go underground.’ It’s safe! »
Visit the website of the future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital