For its part, the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension district is preparing to implement a comprehensive traffic calming plan. Speed limits, raised intersections, sidewalk ledges and one-way streets will soon see the light of day, four years after the death of a pedestrian outside a school left its mark.
Published at 1:10 am. Updated at 5:00 am.
“We really want to reduce traffic on Highway 40 in our neighborhood. “This is a reality for residents everywhere,” the district’s mayor, Laurence Lavigne Lalonde, told La Presse. We feel it everywhere in Montreal: there are more and more vehicles and traffic. So people are more impatient. In short, on every street corner we see people stopping halfway. »
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Laurence Lavigne Lalonde, mayor of the Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension district
The plan initially primarily affects the center of the district, namely the Villeray district. Saint-Michel and Parc-Extension are then entitled to this. “What is coming is at least sixty speed bumps, many sidewalk ledges, speed reductions on certain streets and some changes of direction where necessary,” claims Ms. Lavigne Lalonde.
However, it will still take some time before the operation, which is the result of several months of consultations and studies, becomes noticeable in practice. “Starting in the spring we will slowly start rolling out measures, but after that it will certainly take a few more years to cover the entire district with the amount of things we need to do,” says the elected official.
We wanted to act less fragmented and stay ahead of the requests. The idea is to think security more broadly and reassure the entire industry.
Laurence Lavigne Lalonde, mayor of the Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension district
Four years after a tragic event
All this comes just over four years after the death of a 79-year-old woman who was hit by the driver of an SUV in the Villeray district at the intersection of Lajeunesse and Liège streets.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Intersection of Lajeunesse and Liège streets in the Villeray district
It was January 4, 2020. Rosa Presta, who had lived in the neighborhood for over 30 years, tragically died. Her relatives believe she may have been on her way to the grocery store when she crossed Rue Lajeunesse around 5 p.m. At the same time, a driver behind the wheel of an SUV turned left from Rue de Liège and hit the woman head-on.
At that time, a close family friend, André Aubin, loudly urged drivers to slow down and pay attention when turning.
Coroner Géhane Kamel recommended in a report shortly after the events that an “exclusive phase” be introduced, allowing pedestrians to cross the street without having to be near cars. According to Ms Kamel, such a measure would “undoubtedly have reduced” the risk of a collision between Ms Presta and the motorist, reducing the potential interaction with a motorist at the source.
Since last spring, this street corner actually has an exclusive pedestrian crossing. The crossing times were also extended last spring. “We have recently improved the measures taken after the accident, but we did not stop there. We will install a one-way street, ledges and speed bumps nearby,” specifies the district mayor.
Transmission and windshield pillars
However, Ms Presta's death shows that several other factors need to be taken into account. According to the coroner, “the most likely theory of the accident.” […] is that the driver did not see Ms. Presta in his blind spot when turning left because the A-pillar of the vehicle blocked his view.
Across Quebec, blind spots created by A-pillars or windshield pillars are being blamed for a growing number of deaths, La Presse reported last October. From the summer of 2019 to the summer of 2022, no fewer than ten court reports in Montreal mentioned windshield pillar clogging as one of the probable or proven causes of an accident resulting in the death of a pedestrian.
According to coroner Kamel, the 30 km/h limit in force on Rue de Liège also remains “a problem” because it is rarely adhered to. From 2017 to 2020 alone, no fewer than 764 traffic tickets were issued on this residential street, which borders an elementary school, we learn from the coroner's report.
For several months there has been a collective awareness of road safety, which has led to the Ministry of Transport recently adopting a national strategy aimed in particular at doubling fines for road users' infringements.
A speed limit of 30 km/h must now apply in all school zones in order to reduce the number of accidents near schools.
Learn more
392 In June 2023, the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) announced in its annual report that 392 people died on the road network in 2022, the highest number in the last decade across Quebec.
Source: SAAQ