Longueuil is lagging behind in terms of electrification. The City has not updated its directives on the acquisition of low-emission vehicles since 2012 and its most recent orientation focuses only on the acquisition of hybrid cars, excluding electric models. Result: the transition does not take place, according to elected officials.
In the most recent directive on sustainable development dated April 2012, obtained through an access to information request, it is stated that “replacement road vehicles as well as new road vehicles acquired or leased by the City of Longueuil […] will have to be hybrid vehicles”.
In response to our questions, the City of Longueuil acknowledges that its last administrative directive dates back 11 years, but assures that the conversion of the fleet of gasoline vehicles to “hybrid or electric vehicles is well underway”. The administration says it currently has “106 electric and hybrid vehicles,” but did not specify how many are all-electric.
“In cases where hybrid or electric vehicles are not available on the market, the equipment must be fitted with minimum equipment aimed at reducing its environmental impact, [including] lower displacement engines, automatic shutdown devices engine and other devices with similar function,” a spokeswoman continued, via email.
The City of Longueuil also ensures that it continues to install electric charging stations on its territory, including in municipal buildings. The City says it is working on a “GHG reduction plan that will be adopted and made public within a few months, which will be part [integral] of a global climate plan that will guide the City towards a major ecological transition”.
“However, this will not be enough, we must go much further, particularly in terms of reducing GHG emissions from municipal buildings, but also emissions [produced] by the City of Longueuil’s subcontractors. “, supports the press attaché Camille Desrosiers-Laferrière.
According to the independent adviser in Saint-Lambert Loïc Blancquaert, we must do better. “It is on this directive that officials base their purchases. At the moment, the only directive they have is to favor hybrids. But by buying only the hybrid, we are not making the paradigm shift. And we are not planning our infrastructure for the next 50 years,” he insists.
According to our sources, the Longueuil agglomeration police department (SPAL) does not yet have any fully electrified vehicles. The municipal councilor in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Vincent Fortier, who has already sat on the public safety commission, sees this as an issue. “With the RESO shift, not all police officers are constantly on patrol now. I think that at least for what is peripheral to the patrol, we should pick up the pace, and quickly, ”continues Mr. Fortier.
After a winter break, the reconstruction of the overpass on Boulevard des Galeries-d’Anjou will resume next Monday, above Highway 40. This vast project started in 2021 should be completed by the end of 2023. Several obstacles will again be expected in the coming months. On Highway 40, complete closures, both in the evening and at night or on weekends, will therefore have to be carried out in the coming weeks. “Westbound, night closures of ramps in the Anjou interchange will be required by default”, warns the Ministry from the outset.
The redevelopment of a street taken every day by thousands of students and CEGEP students divides the elected officials of Longueuil and Saint-Lambert. The impasse to improve road safety is pushing the patience of parents to the limit as this week began in Quebec the second national day to put an end to road insecurity on the school route. In total, approximately 7,500 children, teenagers and young adults converge on the Chemin Tiffin area every day.
You have been reading and hearing his name for years, but in a few weeks, maybe a few months, it will come true. The Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is preparing its big launch on the South Shore in the spring and promises to “transform mobility” in Greater Montreal. On one condition: to be as reliable as promised. La Presse provided an update earlier this week on this vast infrastructure project, notably conducting interviews with the manager, CDPQ Infra, and several experts.
