The Presidents Cup golf tournament is creating long traffic jams to and from the island, despite traffic control measures.
With frustrated motorists honking their horns at police or waving their middle fingers, Montreal city officials insisted Thursday that the traffic situation accessing Île Bizard was much improved.
About 35,000 people are expected at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, but traffic was already backed up on the tournament’s first two practice days on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some residents complaining that it took them more than an hour to get off the three-lane Jacques-Bizard Bridge.
“Use your judgment, do these sound like happy people,” asked Doug Hurley, the mayor of Île-Bizard—Ste-Geneviève borough. “I’ve heard so many horror stories from residents. Buses coming back were delayed for more than an hour and a half and some kids on them ended up going to the bathroom on the bus.”
Hurley said it took him 40 minutes to travel 400 metres in order to get off the island on Tuesday, and he lives on the street leading to the bridge.
Traffic on Thursday afternoon at 2:15 p.m. was backed up on eastbound Pierrefonds Blvd. for more than a kilometre between St-Charles Blvd. and Jacques-Bizard Blvd. Only residents of Île Bizard are permitted to access the bridge coming from the west on Pierrefonds Blvd. All others, including ticket holders with parking passes, must access the bridge from the east between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. through Sunday. The vast majority of those who are attending, working or participating in the tournament are expected to arrive by shuttle buses.
Ticket holders are told to take Exit 52 from Highway 40, go north on St-Jean Blvd., then west on Pierrefonds Blvd., into a sorting area at the intersection of Pierrefonds and St-Pierre St. From there, they’ll be directed to turn right onto Jacques-Bizard and to their preassigned parking lot number.
On Thursday, the city announced four new measures it adopted to ease congestion, which were put in place on Thursday morning.
They are:
- To free up the bridge’s middle lane so that it can be used in morning rush hour for those leaving the island and in the afternoon for those returning.
- To allow buses to use the middle lane during the rest of day.
- To allow motorists to access the bridge from both directions on Pierrefonds Blvd. during the afternoon rush.
- To suspend the traffic filtration process after golfing activities are completed for the day.
Montreal police Constable Maxime St-Pierre agreed that it was frustrating for motorists. He said rush hour on Tuesday lasted four hours, until 10:30 a.m., and until 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. He said on Thursday there was almost no wait to get off the island.
Despite an improvement, city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said motorists should still expect delays.
“We understand their frustration, and we are listening to motorists,” Sabourin said. “I think the four measures will make a big difference and be welcomed by citizens.”
Hurley welcomed the four measures, but he believes the city has erred in having police direct traffic and forcing cars to use different access routes to get to the island.
“I think the whole idea of filtration is wrong. Period,” he said. “If people are using the roads normally, we don’t need this. We could deal with this amount of traffic with a light.”
It was not only Île Bizard residents who were disturbed by the traffic situation. A Pierrefonds resident who lives near the bridge said STM buses were delayed on Tuesday near his house, so he had to drive his daughter to Fairview to catch another bus in order to get to John Abbott College, where she attends school.
“All the roads were backed up, so it took 45 minutes for her to get to Fairview, and she took a late bus, so she was late for class,” said Felix Meier, who lives on Dieppe St.
Meier, who walked across Pierrefonds Blvd. to buy a coffee, said he thought there was more congestion on Thursday afternoon than he had seen all week.
Meier has lived in the area for 27 years and he doesn’t ever remember there being congestion issues, despite the fact that Île Bizard has hosted several major international golf tournaments over the years.
At a local restaurant situated on Pierrefonds Blvd. near the bridge, the owner complained that business has been affected by the congestion issues.
“It’s totally dead here because no one can get here,” said the man, who did not want his name published. “I had a customer yesterday who complained that it took him 45 minutes to get here from the St-Charles Blvd. exit on Highway 40.”