With more and more families settling in the easternmost borough of the island, municipal election candidates in the biggest district of Rivière-des-Prairies/Pointe-aux-Trembles are jockeying for their votes with promises to improve their quality of life.
Incumbent borough councillor Manuel Guedes is seeking his second mandate for Team Coderre in the La Pointe-aux-Prairies district, Lisa Christensen is running for Projet Montreal and Alain Lanoue is an independent candidate. The latter two are first timers in politics.
Nearly half of the families in the district are couples with children, according to the 2016 census. Guedes said keeping families in Montreal's second largest borough and changing perceptions are priorities.
"Many people when they think, RDP-PAT, the first reaction is, it's too far," said Guedes.
TEAM CODERRE
He's pushing for better public transit, just like Christensen; both agree it takes too long just to get from Rivière-des-Prairies to Pointe-aux-Trembles. Her party is promising more hybrid buses.
"If we can make it easier to get from one end of the island to the other, from RDP to PAT, we can encourage people to buy locally," said Christensen, host of the Car Show on CJAD 800.
Guedes said fixing up Gouin and Sherbrooke are at the top of his agenda.
"We really want to make sure that our Boulevard Gouin gets the love it deserves," said Guedes, adding that there was recently money set aside in the capital works budget for that roadwork.
Christensen said she wants to cut down on red tape and ensure there's more communication and transparence when it comes to governance and roadwork.
"How come it takes so long for a sidewalk to get put in where people are having trouble parking their cars or crossing the streets?" said Christensen.
"If you're going to do this street, then please talk to the next street and don't close that one as well."
PROJET MONTREAL
Lanoue also agrees that better planning is needed in areas such as roadwork.
"After many complaints, a pothole is filled and in the same month, the same pothole is filled three or four times. It doesn't make sense," said Lanoue.
Lanoue also wants to see more parks, community centres and other family-friendly facilities in the borough.
"There is a lack of such infrastructure," said Lanoue, a father of three girls.
Voting day is November 5.
ALAIN LANOUE