New attempt to improve traffic on Principale Street

Châteauguay’s City Council has begun a process in an attempt to improve traffic on Principale, which it qualifies as problematic. This is not a first. In the past, the artery has undergone many changes, always with the same objective. “Principale Street has everything but mobility going for it. There are such delays on that street,” Mayor Pierre-Paul Routhier lamented during the city council meeting held on November 16^th. He observed that various developments had contributed to increasing the flow of traffic on that street and that new investments, such as a seniors’ residence and a building with 72 social housing units, would only exacerbate the issue. City council therefore decided to establish a committee mandated with finding a new configuration for the street. The committee’s reflections will serve to guide an engineering firm that will offer concrete solutions. “We can’t simply tell an engineering firm to find a way to make mobility more fluid. We want to be able to say that we would either prefer to keep the median, or that we would prefer no median at all. We have to weigh our options and then provide the engineering firm with a framework which it will in turn study, as it takes into account the space, the allowances and everything else that needs to be considered,” explained Mayor Routhier. The flow of traffic is particularly dense at rush hours between d’Youville and Primeau Boulevards. A single lane in each direction makes it hard for emergency vehicles to get through during high traffic periods. [caption id="attachment_95227" align="alignnone" width="2093"] Le rond-point à l'époque où le marché Laberge existait toujours[/caption] Past Measures Over the past years, Principale Street has seen its share of changes to improve traffic. Wilbrod Street was aligned with d’Youville Boulevard, among others. Prior to that, it opened up a few dozen meters from the intersection. A roundabout was created close to Arthur-Laberge Bridge when Principale Street was redone a few years ago. A median was also added in front of Marguerite-Bourgeois School to prevent left turns, which were slowing traffic. The roundabout was removed when Laberge Bridge was rebuilt in 2015. (Translation Amanda Bennett)