Valérie Plante Wants To Plop A New Public Space Over Part Of The Décarie Expressway

Like their counterparts at Ensemble Montréal, Valérie Plante and Project Montréal are also planning to cover a portion of the infamous Décarie Expressway should she win re-election.

But unlike their political opponents, those in the Project Montréal camp vowed to cover a much smaller portion of the highway as part of their plan to revitalize the Namur-Hippodrome sector.

At a Tuesday press conference, the mayor said her party would aim for a "decongestion in all aspects" in the area and include dedicated space for cars, public transit and bikes.

"As for mobility links towards Namur metro, we're talking about the partial coverage between rue Jockeys and Jean-Talon in order to have a huge place for pedestrians and cyclists that are going towards the station."

The Expressway, which cuts through Ville Saint-Laurent and Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, has been a point of contention during the mayoral election.

Plante's rival, Denis Coderre, announced his party's own plans to cover the Expressway with green space between chemins Queen-Mary and Côte-Saint-Luc — a much larger and more daunting proposition than Plante's.

Coderre also wants to cover a large portion of the Ville-Marie Expressway between rue Sanguinet and boulevard Saint-Laurent.

Plante says her plan would earmark $95 million to cover the portion between Jockeys and Jean-Talon whereas Coderre said his plan would cost $700 million.

This article's right-hand cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.