Key takeaways:
- Mayor Bruno Marchand states the project is required to lower emissions and improve mobility.
- Quebec City’s tramway project has been growing for years, but the CAQ government is intimidated to put constraints on its support.
The Legault government has ultimately allowed Quebec City to launch its long-delayed tramway project, and Mayor Bruno Marchand states he’s willing to begin.
“We have multiple environmental problems that we have to manage. And we have to provide solutions. This is a great solution,” Marchand stated on Wednesday after the cabinet agreed on rules without any earlier discussed conditions.
Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel said it is now up to the city’s mayor to share better the advantages of the tramway project to convince as many citizens as possible.
And that’s just what Marchand started that afternoon, touting the extent of a project that he said would allow carrying the city into a more environmentally friendly future by lessening emissions and improving mobility.
“It’s the best way to reply to some of the big environmental challenges we face,” he stated.
Premier François Legault and his government had voiced worries over the project’s possible effect on vehicular traffic.
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The government demanded better social acceptability before authorizing the tramway. It was at first saying the adoption of related ministerial decrees would be conditional on the outcome of shared streets along the route.
The previous month, Marchand severely condemned the Legault government for standing in the way of the project.
Then on Tuesday, Legault stated he would not interrupt the city’s powers by remodeling “the layout and the fact.”
“It will be up to the mayor of Quebec City to decide how he does that,” he told journalists.
Bonnardel said that of the absolute decrees, the regional government still predicts a certain level of social acceptability for the project. However, he refused to delve further into what that implies.
“Everyone can have their definition of social acceptability. I have mine. I will keep it to myself,” he stated.
Source – cbc.ca
