Montreal borough unveils traffic-calming plan

The borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal has a plan to slow down all the traffic that's clogging the streets withcars and trucks,and the air with pollution.

Cars and trucks make more than 500,000 trips through the borough every day.

On Monday, the borough unveiled a 15-year plan to slow traffic and encourage the use of public transit, a plan that will cost about $2 million a year.

Itincludes:

• Secondary roads with 30 km/h speed limits.
• Pedestrian-only streets.
• Wider sidewalks.
• More taxi stands.
• Better access to public transit.

Plateau Coun. Michel Labrecque said the goal is not to demonize car owners.

"We don't have in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough good and bad citizens, those who have cars and those who don't. Those who have cars have a really good reason to have one, [and] they want to park it," Labrecque said.

"What we want to say to those who live in the borough, those who pass through the borough, that we want to slow down a bit, and they will have the opportunity to change how they move around."

The plan also includes a 10-yearprogram to build a tramway line on Park Avenue.