4.9
Chemin de la
Côte-de-Liesse
General goals
- Improve access to the various parts of the area, by reviewing the role
of Chemin de la Côte-de-Liesse
- Optimize development in the area, by taking advantage
of the proximity of Montréal – Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
and of highways 13, 20 and 40
- Improve the image of Chemin de la Côte-de-Liesse corridor in accordance with the role of the airport as the main gateway to Montréal
Planning issues
The Autoroute de la Côte-de-Liesse serves both as a major access route to Montréal – Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and as a link between highways 20 and 40. It is bordered by industrial and retail areas that support numerous jobs. Businesses benefit from the expressway network, which enhances their visibility and facilitates freight and passenger transportation.
This link between highways 20 and 40 is not as functional as it should be, however. The problems are located at its junctions with the Décarie interchange and the Dorval traffic circle, where the present configuration of lanes is complex and impedes traffic flow.
Local traffic is also a problem, as the expressway constitutes a barrier between the employment zones on its two sides. Sites are therefore isolated between the expressway and the airport on the north or between the expressway and the railway tracks on the south. In addition, the limited number of entrances and exits along the Autoroute de la Côte-de-Liesse further complicates access routes. The solution to these problems depends largely on decisions by the Ministère des Transports du Québec, which is responsible for this transportation corridor.
Up to the end of 2001, planning for the area along the expressway came under four different municipalities, which did not necessarily share the same goals. This resulted in the absence of a design and development strategy for the area. However, it should be noted that this corridor has a heavy concentration of industrial and commercial firms that are active in fields that complement airport operations, a tendency that may be reflected in a development strategy.
Furthermore, several sites are currently used below their potential: parking lots are huge and outdoor storage is a widespread practice. Buildings are frequently low-slung and have reduced lot coverage. The resulting strong impression of a destructured built form is accentuated by huge billboards and the lack of tree lines or vegetation.
These factors, combined with the poor architectural quality of the buildings and the presence of the expressway and overhead telephone and power lines, convey a substandard image for a City gateway.
