To allow the passage of the tramway at Laval University, the City of Quebec will have to cut down 330 of the 731 trees that are in its wake. Also, a portion of 5.8% of the surface area of the Lacerte woods will disappear.
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This is one of the highlights of the presentation made yesterday by the tramway project office to describe “the sensitive territory for public transport” that will be Université Laval (UL).
Courtesy illustration, Quebec City
The Desjardins tram station on University Street.
The Municipality relativizes this figure of 330 by mentioning that it includes 134 ash trees (condemned to die because of the borer) as well as 37 “replaceable” trees or shrubs.
We recall the commitment to replant 20 trees for each tree felled. More than 1,200 trees will be planted on campus to compensate for those that have disappeared.
Even if it will be necessary to sacrifice 0.2 hectares of the surface area of the Lacerte woods, the Municipality assures that it has opted for the most optimal integration scenario.
Courtesy illustration, Quebec City
” The price to pay “
Asked regarding it, the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, maintained yesterday that “unfortunately it is the price to pay to have a tramway which passes through the heart of the UL and which is an exchange hub which connects for all mobility needs. Philosophically, we might not have made any other choice. Not going through the University would have been scandalous, it would have been tragic. »
Courtesy illustration, Quebec City
Here is the route of the tramway on the Université Laval campus, unveiled on Monday.
The UL interchange will be the busiest on the tram route. It will be located at the intersection of Avenue de la Médecine and Rue de l’Université.
Buses heading north of the city will leave from that hub, and no longer in front of the Desjardins pavilion.
Courtesy illustration, Quebec City
A view of the tramway station at Pôle de l’Université Laval.
Less car traffic
One of the guiding principles of yesterday’s agreement is to “reduce traffic on and near campus”. This requires the multiplication of one-way streets on campus, we explained.
Here once more, Mayor Marchand, the rector of Laval University, Sophie D’Amours, and even the leader of Quebec First, Claude Villeneuve, defended this choice by explaining that it was normal to limit the place of car at UL.
Courtesy illustration, Quebec City
“When the University decided to close the street east of the [pavillon] From Koninck, there was no disaster, there was no chaos,” recalled Mr. Marchand.
At the same time, some 150 parking spaces (out of the current 8,900) will be abolished on campus due to the passage of the tramway.
Courtesy illustration, Quebec City
The City of Quebec will pay $10 million to UL as compensation for the encroachment on the campus.
UL is giving itself the option of taking advantage of future work to build a 400-meter pedestrian tunnel between the Desjardins and Lacerte pavilions.
Its budget – from $7 million to $8 million – would not, however, be part of the tramway envelope.
Courtesy illustration, Quebec City
Skepticism
Quebec 21 said it welcomed yesterday’s announcement “with skepticism”. According to its leader, Eric Ralph Mercier, “it is ironic that the City of Quebec chooses to cut down hundreds of trees on the territory of Laval University when the University has just received a mandate from the City, in November 2020, to preserve the trees along the tramway route”.
Courtesy City of Quebec
The Regional Council for the Environment welcomed the agreement, stating that the integration scenario chosen was the one that had “the least impact for the campus, its users and its underground infrastructures”.
