The number of accidents has increased on Sainte-Anne Boulevard in recent years. The mayor of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré is asking the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility to make the section safer.
With a growing population on Côte-de-Beaupré, Sainte-Anne Boulevard is becoming increasingly busy and prone to accidents. In recent days, a pedestrian was fatally struck on this section.
According to data from the Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec (SAAQ), material collisions and fatal or injured accidents are regularly recorded in the portion between Boischatel and Beaupré.
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On the side of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, it is indicated that “each time there is a fatal accident, the [ministère] produces an accident report and a site safety analysis. If the cause is related to infrastructure, adjustments are made. »
In Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Mayor Jacques Bouchard wants to find solutions quickly.
We regularly hear the police and ambulances passing by. It’s certain that the population is impatient
points out the mayor.
Since his election, Jacques Bouchard has been in communication with the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility to secure the sector. Several scenarios were put on the table: reduction of speed, addition of a 5e way.
The City has placed an educational radar, a sign instantly displaying the speed at which a user is traveling, on Route 138 to dissuade motorists from exceeding 70 km/h, but Jacques Bouchard would rather a punitive radar
.
We try to be imaginative but it’s not easy, it’s a big machine to make things happen, we make do with what we have.
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The mayor of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Jacques Bouchard. (Archive photo)
Photo: - / Pierre-Alexandre Bolduc
Per day, we are talking about 21,000 vehicles passing on the 138
he said. We have a lot of tourists who come, who see a business, they turn around and that leads to a lot of traffic jams and accidents.
notes the mayor of the municipality of Côte-de-Beaupré.
The portion between rue Gagnon and rue du Sanctuaire has the highest accident rate, according to him.
Professor in the geography department of Laval University, Marie-Hélène Vandersmissen, is not surprised that this road is the scene of several accidents. With four lanes, without any median… These are really favorable conditions for incidents, it calls for a redevelopment of this boulevard
she believes.
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A fifth lane is one of the solutions envisaged to reduce collisions in this sector of Côte-de-Beaupré.
Photo: - / Philippe L’Heureux
After several discussions with the ministry, the scenario of a fifth lane was the most preferred on Sainte-Anne Boulevard, Jacques Bouchard said. But since August, the file has not moved forward.
A qualified response amazing
by the professor from Laval University. Reducing a speed seems much less burdensome in terms of infrastructure than building a new lane
mentions Marie-Hélène Vandersmissen, who also believes that an additional route would worsen the problem.
Diversifying transport, a solution?
The mayor of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré also mentions that options are being sought to avoid further congesting the roads, such as mobile PLU transport, free for the people of Côte-de-Beaupré, as well as the river shuttle, which connects the Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré wharf to Quebec.
This year, we had more than 35,000 transports. Which means that this 35,000 is not on the 138. We put it on the river. We try to find innovative ways […] but it remains the only road to go into Charlevoix.
With information from Philippe L’Heureux and Louis-Simon Lapointe
