The mayors of Quebec and Lévis are joining forces to find mobility solutions in the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches regions. Dissatisfied with progress on major transportation projects under CAQ leadership, elected officials want to “take action.”
“We will work together,” promised Gilles Lehouillier after an hour-long meeting with his Quebec counterpart at Lévis town hall.
Mayor Lehouillier has not hidden his anger since the Legault government abandoned the project for a third highway connection between Quebec and Lévis last spring.
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Gilles Lehouillier, mayor of the city of Lévis, in the press crowd
Photo: Radio-Canada / Daniel Coulombe
However, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is now proposing to turn its back on the tram, which Mayor Marchand supports.
My God, it takes time to make a difference to mobility here in our regions. It’s incredible!
For Gilles Lehouillier, the CAQ’s record when it comes to transport is not rosy.
Does this mean he could support the Quebec tram despite an $8.4 billion bill in return for Mayor Marchand’s support on the third link issue?
“We’ll see how we implement our strategy,” he says.
We get along really well
“Gilles and I get along really well,” confirmed Bruno Marchand to the journalists.
Despite the growing uncertainty surrounding the tram project, he refused to cross the river to gain the support of the mayor of Lévis.
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Quebec’s mayor wants to work more closely with his counterpart in Lévis to improve mobility between cities.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Israel Tanguay
That’s not how it works, he assures us. Our goal, Gilles and I, is to find out together how we can improve inner-city mobility for all citizens.
At the same time, he again called on the Legault government to agree to transfer the construction of the tram to the city of Quebec by the end of the month.
Unlike a transport company
The two mayors make no secret of their reservations about the transport agency project that Geneviève Guilbault loves.
The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility supports the creation of an independent entity that could manage major infrastructure and public transport projects in the province.
Geneviève Guilbault sees this as a way to speed up the completion of large projects while gaining better control over project costs.
Bruno Marchand, on the other hand, fears that a new authority will further delay tram construction.
Does that set us back six months, a year, two years? he asks.
For his part, Gilles Lehouillier defends local autonomy.
“I prefer the French model, which consists of delegating responsibility for mobility to large metropolitan areas,” he explains.