(screenshot above : google maps)Just announced recently (link), all the houses on May street will be demolished for the new Champlain bridge replacement. The highway is currently two lanes on both sides and they'll expand it to three lanes on each sides which means May street has got to go. Some of the houses date back to the 1800s and many of the owners spent a good dime on renovations. This is truly sad. This is not the first time that planners take the Godzilla approach with mega-projects when alternatives were or are available.
More photos on Flickr
---------
Tout juste annoncé récement (lien - en Anglais), toutes les maisons de la rue May seront démolies pour le nouveau projet du replacement pour le pont Champlain. L'autoroute est actuellement de deux voies sur les deux côtés et ils vont l'élargir à trois voies de chaque côté qui veut dire que la rue May va être gober. Des maisons datent des années 1800 et de nombreux propriétaires ont depensé une bonne fortune sur les rénovations. C'est vraiment triste. Ce n'est pas la première fois que les planificateurs prennent un approche Godzilla avec des méga-projets lorsque des alternatives sont toujours disponibles.
Plus de photos sur Flickr
Those are some cool houses. Are those the ones that look like Victorian houses when you're driving on the 15 South bound?
ReplyDeleteBut as much as I like those houses, I think it was inevitable. All the buildings built close to the highways in Montreal (especially the Metropolitain) leave no place for expansion.
And although I would much prefer alternatives like more, better, efficient public transit and bike paths... I think that in the big picture, this bridge upgrade needs to be done!
If you look at the Google Maps screenshot, there's much more room on the Pointe Saint Charles side than the Verdun side. They could design it so the expansion only affects the PSC side. A new bridge is needed but I'm sure there's a solution other than destroying those old houses. Oh well...
ReplyDeleteI totally agree: there is a small, under-used service road on that side that would provide ample space. Did no one actually take a look before making a decision?
ReplyDelete