Île Saint-Bernard : City considers paid parking

The City of Châteauguay is considering charging users of the parking lot on Saint-Bernard Island to encourage people to use the summer shuttle service and thus reduce traffic in this busy area.

Translation Amanda Bennett

Gabrielle Chaput, a resident of Saint-Bernard Island, questioned elected officials at the April 17th council meeting about additional measures they plan to put in place to improve safety and traffic in the area this summer.

“One of the first things is that we are going to increase the use of the shuttle bus,” replied Éric Allard, Mayor of Châteauguay. It is one of the elements that is very important for removing cars from the street and limiting traffic.

This shuttle was available the last two summers on weekends. It connects the island to a satellite parking lot with about 100 spaces located nearby.

However, this is not the only measure being considered in the long term.

“We are trying to implement paid parking on the island to try to limit people who will park there for nothing,” added the mayor. […] If we have a choice between paid parking or the shuttle, maybe some people will take the shuttle.”

Not the First Choice of Héritage Saint-Bernard

Questioned by the newspaper about the possibility of charging for parking, Héritage Saint-Bernard, the organization that manages the part of the wildlife refuge, said it had reservations. “From the outset, based on our values, our vision and our mission to make nature accessible, it is clear that this is not the first solution we would consider,” explained Marie-Hélène Dorais, Executive Director. “But we are not opposed to it either.”

She believes that the city needs to think about the benefits, but also the consequences of such a measure. “There are social economy businesses on the island. What would be the impact on them? Would there be a different rate for Châteauguay residents?

If the city goes ahead, it is important that there be alternatives to paid parking, such as the shuttle bus,” added Ms. Dorais.

Héritage Saint-Bernard would like to see the shuttle go into service earlier than June. “The last two weekends in April were very busy on the island. The parking lot was full,” Dorais said.

The newspaper asked the city if a parking fee is planned for this year, as well as the shuttle’s ridership statistics. At the time of writing, we had not received a reply.

Number of visitors to the island*:

2022 : 289 477

2021 : 239 146

2020 : 224 392

2019 : 286 095

(Source: Héritage Saint-Bernard)

*All services: visitors to the knoll, special events, hotel, bistro, shows, youth groups, hikers at the refuge, river shuttle)