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Standing earlier this week at the crumbling base of the barricaded St-Roch street pedestrian overpass, which has been shut over the past few years for safety reasons, incumbent borough mayor Anie Samson and Vision Montreal city council candidate Costa Zafiropoulos claimed the structure stands out as the most flagrant example that the administration of Mayor Gérald Tremblay doesn’t really care about the residents of Park Extension.
Shut over two years
The overpass, which provided a crucial link over the railway line to Jarry Park from Park Extension for decades, was closed more than two years ago because its advancing state of decay had made it too hazardous for anyone to walk on again. Since restoring the structure has been ruled out, attempts have been made to create a new ground-level pedestrian crossing in another location. But there have been difficulties in finding a solution, partly because of the railway’s concerns that a level-crossing would compromise safety.
To emphasize what they claim is the Tremblay administration’s way of dealing with an urgent dossier, Samson and Zafiropoulos met with community journalists in front of the overpass last Monday. “This overpass is yet another example of the administration’s laxity,” she said. “When we informed the central city that the overpass was not safe for its users, rather than plan for a secure pedestrian crossing that would allow the residents to cross the train tracks, Team Tremblay’s magical solution was to cut off the steps to the overpass, yet leaving a dangerous and dilapidated structure in place.
Stairs cut, the rest stayed
“This overpass is symbolic of the inaction of the City of Montreal,” Samson continued. “Why? When the city found out that the overpass was very dangerous for our pedestrians, what did they do? They cut off the stairs. They left the structure there, which is very dangerous. There are pieces falling off and holes. But instead of fixing their problem, by admitting it’s dangerous and taking it away or demolishing it, they take away the stairs and leave the rest there.” Samson then pointed across the street to a new condo project that went up on St. Roch in the past year. “Millions are being spent on condos. But what do they see from their bedroom? An old overpass in pieces and about to fall down.”
While incumbent Park Extension city councillor and Tremblay executive-committee member Mary Deros has pointed out that the difficulty in resolving the St. Roch pedestrian crossing issue is not all within the control of the Tremblay administration, Samson is promising to get all the key players in the dossier together, including the Centre City and representatives of the railway, to work out a solution. “There is an inaction on the part of the Tremblay administration,” said Zafiropoulos who grew up in Park Extension. “And even with the local councillor on the executive-committee we are still not seeing things moving forward.
“We often hear her complain that our recycling bins are different and that the flowers here aren’t as nice as in other districts,” Zafiropoulos added. “But taking care of things that really affect our district are pushed aside and this overpass is one example. We have to stop seeing this district as the borough’s unfortunate child. We have the borough’s nicest library and pool, thanks in part to the investments made under the Vision Montreal administration. Rather than focus on the negative, we should promote these installations and encourage local investments so that our communities can continue to prosper here.”