Valerie Plante's proposal for a new crosstown metro line — the pink line — was the major topic of discussion as candidates from both major municipal parties crossed paths, and sometimes talked over one another, on the Natasha Hall Show on Wednesday.
Plante insists the proposal — which would see a new metro line begin in Lachine, run above ground until downtown, and then run under ground through Rosemont and on to Montreal North — would cost $6 billion and could be completed by 2028. The idea is to alleviate chronic congestion on the existing metro network — especially for those going between downtown and the east end.
Craig Sauvé, Projet Montreal's transport critic who's running for re-election as a councillor in the South West borough, says the pressure on the existing network needs to be addressed now, before it gets worse over the coming years and decades.
"We're starting to feel this pressure on the system," Sauvé says. "Anybody knows if you get on the orange line in the morning coming towards downtown, you might have to wait two or three metros before you get on. If you're a parent with a baby stroller, you're not getting on that metro, either. Right now, it's difficult, but in ten years it's going to be even more difficult, and in 20, 25 years, it's going to be unworkable."
Zach Macklovitch, an engineer, Team Coderre's borough mayor candidate in Plateau Mont-Royal, echoed his boss' skepticism about the pink line proposal.
"We need to be honest about the feasibility of the pink line," Macklovitch said. "At this point, you guys haven't pulled together any funding or support for it, because it was kind of pulled out of thin air."