Stricter deadlines and higher fines
During this summit, which notably brings together property developers, real estate developers, contractors, civil society representatives and municipal officials, the city first proposed setting a maximum time limit of 12 hours for the installation and removal of roadworks signs to reduce traffic delays.
The many construction sites not only harm traffic, but also the merchants who have to struggle with these goodwill losses.
Photo: Radio Canada / Jean-Sebastien Cloutier
This imposed time window is intended to eliminate phantom workplaces where signage and detours remain in place for days around work sites that have not yet started or completed.
The city emphasizes that work at certain construction sites may need to be suspended for a variety of reasons, but intends to give Mobility Command officials additional powers to demobilize inactive construction sites and, if necessary, revoke occupancy permits from the public domain, reporting two notices of unjustified inactivity.
Finally, to give its regulations more bite, the city plans to increase the value of insult reports filed by Mobility Command officers. The new fine amounts will be announced at a later date.
Construction sites that drag on for too long and slow down traffic are a major nuisance in Montreal, both for residents and for visitors who flock to the streets of the metropolis in the summer.
Too many construction sites and superfluous signage
It is not uncommon for traffic cones or signs to be left lying around on certain roads for weeks without any work taking place.
Photo: Radio Canada / Carl Boivin
Sometime from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022, 94% of downtown streets were partially or fully closed, according to a study released in January by the Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
In total, no fewer than 5,521 permits for the temporary use of the public space were issued by the Municipality of Ville-Marie this year. The study also showed that almost all of these applications were approved by the city, ie 96.4%.
A census taken in September 2022 in a particular city center quadrangle also found that 27% of orange cones, signs and other signs had no reason to be on the street.
In 2022, Mobility Squad officers collected 3,122 useless beacons and traffic signs on Montreal’s streets.
Centralized site coordination
In Montreal, it is the boroughs, and not the central government, that grant permits to contractors and clients to use the public space related to road works. That’s a lot of permitting issues on an island with 19 counties and 16 municipalities.
To coordinate everything, the city uses an internal platform called AGIR (Assistant à la gestion des interventions dans la rue) where you can find all the work permits issued by the districts, be it for the CSEM, the STM or the RTUs.
But we have to admit that the overall management of road works has raised many questions in Montreal in recent years, where congestion has peaked in certain sectors, particularly downtown and around major expressways. It must be said that major construction sites such as the Turcot interchange, the new Champlain Bridge and the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel also contributed significantly to the obstacles.
The city is aware of the problem and suggests enlisting the expertise of its Central Road Network Infrastructure Department (SIRR) before issuing work permits in the city centre, on major thoroughfares and in sectors considered sensitive.
Experts with an overview of traffic and road obstructions can thus ensure better coordination and minimal impact on the overall network, the city explains in a press release.
The city government also announces that the city will now require contractors and principals to submit a traffic maintenance plan before allowing them to work on priority thoroughfares.