Brenda O'Farrell: Ample parking at new train stations a must

Message to West Island mayors and Caisse de depot officials: If you want commuters to use the new light-rail commuter train service in the West Island, don’t underestimate the need for parking at the new stations.

MontrealGazette.com
Aug. 17, 2016
By Brenda O'Farrell

Skimping on parking facilities now, while the project is in the planning stages, would be the modern-day example of how being penny wise and pound foolish could seriously harm the user experience and, ultimately, affect the viability of the undertaking.

Or would that be penny foolish and pound wise, seeing that the Caisse is pumping in $3 billion, while the feds and the provincial government are expected to pitch in about $2.5 billion? To ignore providing adequate parking for the target number of users after spending that kind of money would be irresponsible. Because providing a good user experience will be the key to its success.

All partners involved in the planning phase for this major public transit infrastructure program need to keep their eyes on the prize: the goal is to get cars off the roads. It is not about trying to convince West Islanders and Off-Islanders to give up their cars. It’s about making it easier for them not to use their vehicles for their daily commute to and from work, school, hospital visits, etc. 

Commuters want to drive to the stations and not worry about whether they will find a parking spot. And if anyone thinks setting up parking lots in remote locations and providing shuttle bus service to the train stations will encourage ridership, they should take the time to talk to real people. The service has to be convenient — and that means it has to dovetail with all the comings and goings of their day. That includes dropping kids off at daycare and/or school before heading to work and returning to daycare centres within a very precise time frame to pick their kids up, stop by the grocery store on the way home, and head out to any one of a long list of activities - soccer practice, the local hockey arena, tutoring sessions. Planners would be mistaken to presume that a parent has the time or the stamina get their kids off in the morning and then drive to a parking lot to line up for a shuttle bus to be taken to the train station and then board a train. And then do it all over again at night, make it home, jump in their cars and rush to the daycare, arena, soccer pitch.

And if this does not hold enough support for the argument in favour of ample parking lots, let’s look at what is already happening at other stations.

In Pierrefonds-Roxboro, the Agence Metropolitain de Transport has two stations - the Roxboro-Pierrefonds and Sunnybrooke stops. They are part of the Deux Montagnes commuter rail line. There are 918 parking spots at Roxboro-Pierrefonds and 515 at Sunnybrooke. Neither lot meets the demand for spots as it stands now. It will not magically get better once these stations are integrated into the new light rail line that will go into service in 2020. The goal will be to boost ridership. The demand for parking will only grow.

Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough Mayor Jim Beis has been clear: parking is an issue.

As he said in an interview with Montreal Gazette reporter Kathryn Greenaway: “We want to prevent train parking from spilling into the residential streets, but it’s been challenging and it will only get more challenging.”

At the two stations in Pierrefonds-Roxboro the situation will definitely be challenging, but not insurmountable, because these stations are already built and the space to expand the lots simply does not exist.

But at the new stations being planned for Pointe-Claire, Kirkland and Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, now is the time to ensure adequate parking is included.

The most crucial site will be Ste-Anne, where commuters from the growing Off-Island region will most likely access the new train line.

Commuters from the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area will be encouraged to use the line. They will drive to Ste-Anne to board the trains. But they have to park somewhere. Forcing them to park in Vaudreuil and take a shuttle bus to the train station is not an attractive option.

This new rail line is the biggest investment in public transit in a generation. We have been waiting for it a long time. Let’s seize the opportunity and do it right.