Log in & Sign up
You are not logged in.
Most Commented
Mayor Bill Tierney stands along Anciens Combattants Blvd., which the town will now have to upkeep. (TIM SNOW/The Gazette
Ste. Anne to face heavy debts for roads
Town will be given responsibility for boulevard and two overpasses
JASON MAGDER
The Gazette
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Mayor Bill Tierney stands along Anciens Combattants Blvd., which the town will now have to upkeep. (TIM SNOW/The Gazette
When the demerged suburbs were cheering new political powers granted through the passage of Bill 22 in Quebec’s National Assembly, Ste. Anne de Bellevue Mayor Bill Tierney knew his town was the clear loser.
The provision of the law that gives suburbs control of arterial roads in their territory will mean a heavy debt load for the small town, because that means taking responsibility of 11 kilometres of road, as well as two overpasses over Highway 40.
“We can’t possibly afford to take those back,” Tierney said.
He estimated it would add $2 million to the town’s debt load because the city of Montreal did a lot of work on Anciens Combattants Blvd., including installing new traffic lights at the exit off Highway 20 into the town.
“I knew that it was better for all the other towns to get their roads back, so I supported the idea when we were lobbying for it,” Tierney said.
Westmount Mayor Karin Marks, who is the chairperson of the association of suburban mayors, said for all other suburbs, it makes sense to have responsibility for arterial roads.
She explained that prior to the merger, all the suburbs paid into a fund for arterial roads, but the city of Montreal would decide how that money would be spent.
“Only four per cent of the work was done on roads in the suburbs,” Marks said, adding that the suburbs paid 20 per cent of all bills. “So we felt we were subsidizing Montreal’s roads, which weren’t kept in decent shape. We felt it wasn’t fair. This way, we believe we’ll be better off in the long run.”
Tierney said he’ll ask the Quebec government to either make a change to Bill 22 – which comes into effect in January – or to come up with a special arrangement for Ste. Anne de Bellevue.
“We have to ask for something to be done, because it can be very negative for us.”
Louise Quintin, a spokesperson for Municipal Affairs Minister Nathalie Normandeau said this week her ministry has not yet considered making an exception for Ste. Anne de Bellevue.
“We have not yet received any requests to do so,” Quintin said. “This is an agreement that was made with 15 cities, so I think it would be quite complex to make changes.”