Montreal Is Carving Out Space From 4 More Major Streets To Create Reserved STM Bus Lanes

Montreal is set to add new reserved bus lanes to parts of four major thoroughfares, adding to its extensive network of public transit corridors. The city already claims to have the most kilometres of bus-only lanes on the continent. The additional lanes will bring Montreal's total to 300 kilometres, facilitating upwards of 20,000 daily trips, officials say.

The new lanes will be on chemin de la Côte-Saint-Luc and rue Sherbrooke Ouest in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, rue Provost in the borough of Lachine, and boulevard Saint-Laurent in the boroughs of Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension.

Parts of the Provost, Saint-Laurent and Sherbrooke reserved passages will also allow cyclists.

In statements, city and STM executives said the overall goal of bus-only lanes is to make the whole transit system more dependable and appealing to residents. Carving out parts of the road network for buses makes them a competitive alternative to driving, especially in areas without other forms of rapid transit.

According to Montreal Executive Committee Member Responsible for Transportation Sophie Mauzerolle, "the addition of these reserved lanes will make it possible to improve the fluidity, reliability and, by extension, the overall performance of the bus network."

"These are concrete measures that will directly contribute to making active and public transportation even more attractive in order to encourage the population to change their habits and move away from solo driving. The network of reserved lanes provides efficient mobility options in areas not served by the metro, so it is an important addition to the service that we are proud of."

The new reserved bus lanes come after the city added 10.8 kilometres of transit-only lanes in the fall, and the opening of the Pie-IX BRT (bus rapid transit; SRB in French), an 11-kilometre bus-only line that extended across the width of Montreal Island.