No cars allowed on urban boulevard leading to future Kirkland REM station

Concerns about ban on cars near Kirkland REM Cars will be banned from a new urban boulevard leading to the future Kirkland REM station, and that's causing frustration.

A West Island mayor is speaking out against Montreal's decision to ban cars from the new urban boulevard leading up to the future REM station in Kirkland.

Montreal City Council approved a $20-million loan bylaw Tuesday that will allow construction to proceed on an access road to the station, running from Antoine-Faucon Street in Pierrefonds-Roxboro to Ste-Marie Road in Kirkland.

In a decision made by Valerie Plante's administration, only bikes and buses will have access to the new street.

But Pierrefonds-Roxboro mayor Jim Beis says it's not practical, arguing the move doesn't respond to the realities of the community.

"We are for all means of transportation, and we believe in giving folks the option with what makes sense in an area, where it involves the local community," Beis told CTV News in an interview Wednesday. "We as a local community have never, and will not be heard by this administration."

The $60 million project is a north-south artery that has been in the works for years, long before the REM was part of the equation.

"After this long bylaw that passed at council this week, I am furious. Because, again, we're spending a lot of money, many millions, tens of millions of dollars, for something that isn't really wanted by the local community," said Beis.

At one point, the land was reserved by the provincial government for an extension of Highway 440, but the project was ultimately scrapped.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante says her administration's goal is to connect to an eventual urban park that's planned for the West Island.

"That road will be something to access, essentially, the park. And there will be buses, because that's important -- we want for the last kilometre from the REM, for example, that people can access it with other types of public transit," Plante told reporters Wednesday.

Work on the new urban boulevard is slated to start this year and is expected to be completed in 2027.