Coderre promises truck summit, off-peak for deliveries

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Montreal’s 100 most dangerous intersections would be redesigned and a truck safety summit would be held in the first 100 days of a possible Denis Coderre term.

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Those were the highlights of the road safety plan outlined by Coderre and his team, standing in front of the Berri St. bus terminal on a cold Wednesday morning.

Speaking to journalists, the mayoral candidate noted that it was under his 2013-2017 mandate that the city adopted a Vision Zero strategy.

“When I think of pedestrians, I think of everyone,” he said. “Road safety is not exclusive to a political party. Everybody wants to work to improve road safety ”.

Coderre said his opponent has made some changes to improve safety, but accused Valérie Plante of “thinking only of a group of users”, in areas such as the Plâteau-Mont-Royal district, referring to cyclists. He said more thought needs to be given to all road users, and that includes truckers, as delivery vehicles within the city are a big safety issue.

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“Trucks have a lot of blind spots,” he said. “Having everyone around the table will be good, so that we can know the best practices and the best way to apply them.”

If elected, Coderre would push for improvements to the city’s truck fleet, including 360-degree security cameras.

While in opposition, Ensemble Montréal lobbied for the city to require that all snow removal trucks working under contract for the city be equipped with side safety bars, but incumbent mayoral candidate Valérie Plante only adopted the requirement earlier this year. The bars are mounted on the sides of the trucks, helping to prevent pedestrians and cyclists from being run over by the rear wheels.

Coderre pledged to hold a trucking industry summit within 100 days of the election, where leaders representing all modes of transportation would be invited to comment on how to improve truck safety within the city. .

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Among the ideas Coderre is considering is allowing trucks to only deliver off-peak during the day, to avoid wreaking havoc during peak hours. Another possibility is to create a logistics center where large trucks make their deliveries to a central location and then smaller trucks or cars would deliver the packages for the last kilometer or so.

The party would also launch a mobile app to solicit feedback from residents. They could take pictures of near misses or intersections they deem unsafe, and that information will be collected to help determine priority intersections to redesign, Coderre explained.

The city would also work with the trucking industry to implement certain safety measures that would be required of all trucks. Examples include so-called flat nose trucks, which improve driver visibility, and side bars.

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“We can definitely take inspiration from the City of London and create a Montreal standard (for trucks),” said Hadrien Parizeau, a candidate in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville district.

Coderre said he was proud of his road safety record during his tenure, during which he began the process of equipping the city’s trucks with side bars.

“We started the work, and if (Plante) didn’t do much in the last four years, she is the one who has to answer for that, not me,” Coderre said.

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