Cavendish Blvd. extension

A north-south Cavendish Blvd. link is the missing piece in the island of Montreal road network. Initial discussions on connecting its two parts started in the mid 1960s and major studies were done in 1981, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 2000.

The goal of the Cavendish extension project is to complete the road network to:

• Create north-south link from Côte Saint-Luc to Borough of Saint-Laurent
• Create east-west link to Décarie Blvd.

The Cavendish link will improve accessibility to, from and within this sector for all means of transport and to ensure that the traffic conditions are conducive to the economic prosperity and well-being of residents.

On August 19, 2007, Mayor Anthony Housefather and Councillor Dida Berku appeared before an island-wide commission studying the Montreal Transport Plan . They explained the importance of the Cavendish Blvd. link and why it should be built according the schedule previously agreed to by the City of Montreal.

View the August 2007 presentation by the City of Côte Saint-Luc on the subject of the Cavendish Blvd. extension project (PDF, 2.2 MB)

View the resolutions of July and August 2007 in support of the Cavendish Blvd. extension project by Côte Saint-Luc, Côte des Neiges - NDG, Dollard des Ormeaux, Montreal West, Hampstead, Dorval, and the Town of Mount Royal (PDF, 670 KB)

View the op-ed by Mayor Housefather and Councillor Berku, which was published in The Gazette on May 30, 2007

Map overview

To better understand the area, review this map of the area or view the maps below.

Cavendish extension map

The green circle represents the end of Cavendish Blvd. in Côte Saint-Luc. The yellow circle represents the end of Royalmount in TMR. The red circle represents the end of Cavendish in Saint-Laurent.

Click below to watch a video overview of the area.

Maps courtesy of Google Maps

History of the project

* Initial discussion started in mid 1960s
* Studies done in 1981, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000
* Côte Saint-Luc proposed extension in 2000
* Quebec government agreed in principle to project in 2000
* Included in island-wide urban plan in 2005
* Project Bureau created in 2005 to study and prepare proposals

Project Bureau

* Bureau de project – Boulevard Cavendish
* Headed by Project Director Chantal Aylwin and Technical Director Benoit Champagne
* Mandate:
– Gather data
– Study traffic simulations
– Study environmental issues
– Conduct technical feasibility of route options
– Make recommendations
* Members includes:
– Design team
– Management team
– Engineers

Project variables: multiple stakeholders

Project is complex because it requires input from:

* Côte Saint-Luc
* Town of Mount Royal
* Saint-Laurent
* CDN-NDG
* Canadian Pacific (CP)
* Canadian National (CN)
* Montreal Transport Commission (MTC)
* Quebec Transport Ministry
* Hydro Québec
* Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l‘environoment (BAPE)
* City of Montreal

Interests of Côte Saint-Luc

* Give residents new north and east exit
* Quicker access to western part of island for families, workers
* Enhance Cavendish Mall and city centre development
* Better response time from emergency services
* New protected bike paths
* Better/quicker access Metro
* Minimize through traffic and heavy vehicle traffic
* No part of potential new structure to extend south of Wallenberg Rd.

Interests of other parties

City of Montreal

* Develop Hippodrome and parts of CP site
* Try to keep the Royalmount snow dump
* Reduce dependence on cars and promote public transit use
* Increase use of active transport (bikes, etc.)
* Support economic development of area

Borough of Côte-des-Neiges / NDG

* Support development of and provide better road access to Hippodrome and Cité scientifique sites
* Minimize through traffic to Loyola-area (Cavendish Blvd. south of Côte Saint-Luc Rd.)

Town of Mount Royal (TMR)

* Reinvigorate and increase value of industrial area
* Help recruitment of workforce to area
* Bring public transit to area
* Manage truck traffic

Quebec Ministry of Transport

* Allow local traffic to use local roads
* Extend Jean Talon St. W. along the Hippodrome site

Montreal Transit Commission

* Improve public transit in TMR industrial park
* Give residents on western half of island better access to the Metro system
* Improve public transit in Côte Saint-Luc's residential area

Canadian Pacific & Canadian National

* Maintain operations at the Saint-Luc rail yards
* Continue railway activity

Economic spin-offs

* Revitalize Cavendish Mall and city centre development
* Better access to western part of island (makes Côte Saint-Luc more desirable to families)
* Development of Hippodrome area
* Growth of the Cité scientifique

Project variables: geography (lay of the land)

* Route depends on physical constraints
* Northern land higher than southern land
* Negotiate two sets of train tracks exiting Côte Saint-Luc
* Respect minimum slope requirements for underpass
* Operations of three railway tracks must not be affected
* Minimum distance of 200m to accommodate 5 percent down slope
o Current Cavendish underpass is 350m long

Project variables: traffic

* Traffic currently moves to north-west
* Alleviate traffic on Fleet and Côte Saint-Luc Rd.
* Morning rush hour traffic on Cavendish near Wallenberg may be similar to current traffic on Fleet (at Cavendish)
* In process of measuring it
* More studies to come

Project variables: road profile

Different lane configuration options are being studied, including protected bike paths.