Review of on-street parking in Saint-Laurent: Status in 2024

Last updated March 12, 2024
Reading time: 4 min

On-street parking is being revised to promote safety, improve residents’ quality of life and, lastly, make the area greener.

WHY?
The strong growth of Saint-Laurent’s population on an ever-developing territory, telecommuting and the opening of five REM stations on the territory starting in 2024 are creating new challenges.

As safe travelling is a priority for Saint-Laurent’s administration, it aims to optimize parking rules on its public property by taking these new realities into account in collaboration with the populations concerned.

The objective is to enable a high level of mobility for the entire population and to create sustainable, safe and appealing multi-modal experiences.

WHAT? 
Three types of actions are being taken:

Enforcing the 5-metre clearance at intersections required by the Québec Highway Safety Code

How?
By installing new signs

Advantage?
To improve visibility and safety at intersections

Other advantages:

  • To reduce the risks of collisions between vehicles and pedestrians
  • To provide more space for active mobility on sidewalks
  • To make it easier for people to cross the street safely

Implementation of new time slots for on-street parking

How?
By changing the regulations governing alternative parking to increase the amount of parking allowed on both sides of the street simultaneously.

Advantages?
To simplify and harmonize street signage. 
To improve the efficiency of snow removal and street maintenance operations.

Other advantages:

  • To meet the needs of telecommuters
  • To make it easier and safer for people with limited mobility to get around
  • To slow down the speed of traffic
  • To improve traffic flow

Consult with affected populations on the possible implementation of resident-only parking stickers in certain areas.

IMPORTANT: Only for the areas around certain REM stations.

How?
By setting up various means of consultation allowing all residents to express their views on this issue, at their convenience.

Advantage?
To give residents the opportunity to express their needs and make it possible for the borough to take these into account.

Important: The citizen consultation exercise was carried out in the fall of 2023. Its results are being analyzed and its conclusions will be annonced shortly.

WHERE and WHEN?

The entire territory will be progressively covered starting in May 2023 and the interventions should continue until 2027. Implementation will be done sector by sector.

MAP OF INTERVENTIONS BY SECTOR AND BY YEAR

IMPORTANT
Parking restrictions in accordance with current regulations (no parking or stopping on a curve, in front of a fire hydrant, reserved lanes, etc.) will be maintained. 

These maps are for information purposes only and may be modified without notice to reflect the reality on the ground.

If you live in sector F, click on the button below for parking restrictions.

If you live in sector G, click on the button below for parking restrictions.

If you live in sector H, click on the button below for parking restrictions.

If you live in sector I, click on the button below for parking restrictions.

INTERVENTIONS COMPLETED IN 2023

Click on the button below to find out what interventions were carried out in 2023.

Public Information Session - April 3, 2023

A public information session in hybrid mode was held on April 3, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. at the mairie de Saint-Laurent. The objective of this session was to present the interventions and answer questions from the citizens of Saint-Laurent.

Frequently asked questions

1. How will this project make the streets safer?
Street corners will be cleared for motorists and pedestrians to see and will allow for a quicker reaction time if a pedestrian or cyclist comes to the intersection.
The revised on-street parking hours will have the impact of narrowing the width of the streets and slowing down the speed of traffic.

2. Why launch this project now?
About 100 citizen requests regarding parking have been received since 2019 on parking restrictions and about 10 questions have been addressed directly to Borough Council since May 2020. So this meets a need expressed by the population. In addition, telecommuting and the upcoming arrival of five REM stations on the territory starting in 2024 are creating new issues that need to be addressed.

3. How does this project meet the borough’s sustainable development objectives?
The optimization of parking spaces allows for better access to active and public transportation, promoting sustainable and safe mobility: improvements to Communauto’s services, more spaces for active modes of transportation, creation of mini-mobility hubs (cab, carpooling, etc.).

This new optimized management of public space is also in line with the desire of Saint-Laurent and the Ville de Montréal to encourage a greater number of people to adopt public and active transportation. 

Furthermore, when parking spaces become available, after analysis, a certain number of spaces will be converted into vegetated projections or drainage projections, promoting the greening of the territory.

4. How long will the deployment of the project last?
Starting in May 2023, until 2027 to cover the entire territory. The year 2025 will serve as a buffer period to allow the borough to analyze the impact of the first changes made and make any required adjustments.

5. How many parking spaces are removed with the 5-metre intersection clearance and why?
In reality, no parking spaces are being removed as the Quebec Highway Safety Code already requires a 5 metre clearance at street corners to improve pedestrian visibility at intersections. It will be a matter of ensuring that this restriction is respected on the territory.

6. a. Does intersection clearance apply to T-shaped intersections?
Yes, the 5-metre clearance at street corners required by the Québec Highway Safety Code also applies to T-shaped intersections. These intersections will therefore be subject to the same sign installations as the other intersections within this project. 

6. b. Does intersection clearance apply to curves?
The same 5-metre clearance standards at street corners will be applied to curves managed by a stop sign.

Parking will be prohibited on both sides from the beginning to the end of the curve for street corners without stop signs.

Prohibitions will be adapted to the specific features of the site (fire hydrants, driveways, etc.).

7. What other parking restrictions are or will be in effect?
All prohibitions under provincial standards and municipal by-laws in effect. Some examples include

  • fire hydrants
  • driveways
  • drop-offs for persons with reduced mobility
  • approaches to intersections
  • traffic lanes
  • bus stop areas
  • bicycle lanes
  • certain sections of the arterial road network
  • curves
  • reserved spaces for electric vehicles
  • reserved spaces for Communauto vehicles
     

8. How does Saint-Laurent plan to ensure the new restrictions are being respected?

The Agence de mobilité durable is responsible of ensuring that parking restrictions on public roads are respected in Montreal. It is informed of the on-street parking review in Saint-Laurent as the project progresses so it can optimize its operations.

9. How will the REM affect parking in Saint-Laurent?
Although the benefits of the REM are undeniable for our citizens, the implementation of this major public transit infrastructure may bring some challenges, such as congestion on certain arteries around the stations and the marauding for unrestricted parking spaces.

To limit these challenges and preserve the quality of life of our citizens, we wish to adopt an evolving, modernized and sustainable management of on-street parking.

10. Why is the borough planning to implement a sticker system around the REM stations?
Saint-Laurent wants to give priority to residents. However, the implementation of reserved vignette sectors for residents (SRRR) as early as 2024 around certain REM stations will depend on the results of the 2023 consultations. In addition, fares could be adjusted according to the actual dates of operation of the REM stations in the territory.

 

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