Nineteen STL circuits will converge toward the new Cartier terminus which replaces the old terminus at Henri-Bourassa. - (Photo:Martin Alarie>([:AC:]$p>
A new bus network for the STL
Six new lines, about thirty modified routes, several more direct connections and an average gain of ten minutes for more than 50% of the users. The arrival of the metro has given the STL an opportunity for a veritable renewal.
It’s not just a question of simply rerouting the existing services toward the new Laval metro stations. What is the shortest distance between point A and point B? That’s the prime directive of the system’s new map, developed through a process of integrating the essence of comments, suggestions and recommendations culled in public hearings held in June of 2006. “We redesigned the routes to win time,” explains Pierre Lavigueur, the STL’s director of planning and development.
The east-west axis
The new transit plan is based on the east-west axis of de la Concorde and Notre Dame boulevards, respictively serviced by a more direct route 42, and the 26 route that also travels along Bord-de-l’eau road (along the river).
While the majority of the lines now converge toward the metro stations, only three links to Montreal have been kept, compared with the 26 which headed in that direction before the changes. “We know that some people will not want to use the metro for various reasons,” Mr. Lavigueur explains, adding that the intention was to also “avoid a bottleneck” forming along the routes to the Laval metro.
As a result, the circuits leading to Côte-Vertu Station (144, 151, and l’Express Carrefour 902 will remain operative. In the western sector of the island, where a substantial population growth has occurred in the last few years, two new train-bus services offer a link to the Deux-Montagnes Train Line through the Sainte-Dorothée train station.
The STL has also taken into account the ramifications of a decision to remove line 35, serving principally Laval-des-Rapides. Route 63 replaces route 35 along Laval Boulevard, Rue Argenteuil, and Giroux Avenue, assuring a link to the Cartier and Montmorency stations. Domaine Renaud, on the eastern borders of Chomedey, previously serviced by line 35 will now fall along route 56 (which also includes the western part of the old 50 route), with stops at Carrefour Laval and Montmorency Station. The new STL map can be consulted at
www.stl.qc.ca
The new STL network
Number of lines: from 34 to 40
35 regular routes
2 train-bus connections
3 express lines
Cartier Station: 19 circuits
Concorde Station: 3 circuits
Montmorency Station: 14 circuits
Météo: Laval, 20 août 2008 / 16°C
/ Ciel variable
/ Vents: 9 Km/h / Humidité relative: 68 % 
Steven Guilbeault - Chronique environnement
Richard Cléroux - Le fouineur politique
