The Marchand administration is working to improve road safety in Quebec, with record investments of $120 million over the next 10 years, Le Journal has learned.
“This is the largest amount invested in road safety in the last 10 years. This is the first time that we have set ourselves this much ambition over 10 years, and we are very proud of it,” confirmed in an interview the vice-president of the executive committee and head of road safety, Pierre-Luc Lachance.
The City of Quebec will inject $12 million per year in investments for the next 10 years. These amounts will be included in the ten-year capital expenditure program. To this will be added operating budgets, to be determined according to the actions to be taken.
For comparison, the last five-year road safety strategy allocated $55 million in investments and $5 million in operations. Previously, since 2007, road safety was financed from the budgets of City services, indicates Mr. Lachance.
Every intersection reviewed
Concretely, citizens could see changes on the ground on every street corner. The City will in fact review each intersection to adapt the traffic lights. We are studying the addition of pedestrian lights, the increase in crossing time and the installation of automated pedestrian lights, which do not require pressing a call button, for example.
There are 886 intersections with traffic lights in Quebec. “It’s a lot, but we won’t do that in a year. We will have a plan of attack,” said Mr. Lachance.
The mayor’s team also wants to secure routes to travel generators such as parks and community centers, complete the improvement of the safety of school routes, improve signage, review the configuration of certain streets, widen sidewalks or develop slowdown thresholds.
Whether we travel by car, bus, bike, on foot, quad bike or scooter, we will be safer, promises the administration of Mayor Bruno Marchand. “We want to work to ensure that all forms of mobility coexist in a respectful manner,” submits Mr. Lachance.
Reduction of accidents
Already, the latest strategy has borne fruit. In the territory, accidents have decreased by 19.6% since 2020, while they have increased by 16% elsewhere in Quebec. This is thanks, among other things, to the improvement of educational pathways and better awareness, analyzes Pierre-Luc Lachance.
Citizens will be involved, he assures. Starting this month, consultations will be held to find out the opinion of the population. We will also create monitoring committees to adjust everything along the way, if necessary. The contribution of neighborhood councils will also be requested.
By the numbers
Road safety strategy 2025-2029: $60 million in investments
Years 2030 to 2034: $60 million in investments
886 intersections with lights in Quebec, of which 807 are equipped with pedestrian lights
90% of residential streets now have a speed limit of 30 km/h
