Concordia Journal Home > Archives > September 13, 2007 issue >

De Maisonneuve changing, as bike path built 

By Karen Herland

Quartier Concordia continues to emerge, as the framework of the John Molson School of Business building grows higher each week.

Changes are also well underway at ground level.

The first phase of the reconfiguration of Place Bethune started with the replacement of the water conduits on the portion of De Maisonneuve Boulevard, just north of the Norman Bethune statue.

The north side of the new Place Bethune will be completed by September 2008 and the south side by September 2009.

In the meantime, the city’s plans to extend the De Maisonneuve bike path from St. Hubert through to Westmount are well underway.

Work on the south side of the street will replace the existing parking spaces and taxi stand with a two-lane bicycle path that will ultimately connect the downtown campuses of UQAM, McGill, Concordia and Dawson College.

A barrier will separate cyclists from cars and new traffic lights will be installed to ensure safety of pedestrians.

The sidewalks at the northwest and southwest corners of De Maisonneuve and Mackay (where the Second Cup and Café Depot are) will be enlarged to better handle pedestrian traffic and improve safety at the intersection.

These changes will cut into traffic flow on De Maisonneuve.

They coincide with the completion of the tunnel under Guy St. that will connect the JMSB and EV Buildings.

With that work ended, regular traffic circulation will resume on Guy St. and buses will no longer be rerouted to De Maisonneuve.