For a number of years now, the Borough of Saint-Laurent has aimed at becoming
families’ choice location for their home environment. This objective is reflected in its
Family Policy, its Local Transportation Plan, and its its Local Sustainable Development
Plan for 2011-2015. The actions it has taken over the past few years have proven
successful, and consequently, in Statistics Canada’s 2011 census, Saint-Laurent was
named a leader in Montréal’s demographic growth, with a rate of 10.6%, compared to
1.8% for the City as a whole.
Saint-Laurent therefore has many young families on its territory, with 14-year-olds and
under even representing 18% of its population. In addition, with its central geographic
location, Saint-Laurent is subject to considerable traffic (the population and the 100,000
or so workers on its territory daily generate 400,000 trips, connecting with Saint-Laurent,
all means of transportation combined—including 80,000 during morning rush hours,
coming from the island. Its 43-kilometre territory boasts a major industrial sector.
More precisely, the Borough consists of nearly 380 km of roads to maintain, including a
number of major arteries of the City of Montreal (autoroutes 13, 15, 40). In addition to
regular maintenance of the public roadways in winter, its snow clearance crews carry
out an average of six big snow loading operations per year, representing a challenge to
the safety of both pedestrians and motorists alike. Furthermore, there are some almost
non-stop operations, such as spreading abrasives. Some vehicles—salt spreaders for
example—may be used more than 2,000 hours during the season.
Added to all this, over the past few winter seasons, there was a lot of ice, increasing the
risk of pedestrians falling. Installing lateral protection (side guards) is therefore intended
as a very efficient, effective precaution that has the advantage of being economical as
well.
And lastly, Saint-Laurent’s Administration must ensure that the public roadways are
shared equally and safely.
