On Thursday, September 12, Marie-Claude Nichols, MNA for Vaudreuil, welcomed committed citizens from her riding to the National Assembly to present a petition with 16,222 signatures demanding that the Quebec government proceed, without further delay, with the completion of Highway 20 in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region.

The MNA has agreed to act as sponsor of the petition, a necessary step before it can be tabled in the National Assembly. She now hopes that the government will agree to study it in parliamentary committee.

MNA Nichols, who has made this issue one of her hobbyhorses in recent years, was very impressed by the hard work of e-petition instigator Amandine Lengelé and the group of people who launched the paper petition at the initiative of Odette Lalonde, an involved citizen from her riding. 

” The problems of traffic congestion in our region are unbearable for the population as well as for businesses,” says the MP. Given the CAQ's lack of sensitivity to the proposed solutions, I'm not surprised that some citizens have decided to take action. It's not normal for our population to be hemmed in like this. Minister Bonnardel, when he was in charge of the Ministry of Transport, undertook to seriously study the bypass file submitted by the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion, but no follow-up was done. This demonstrates, once again, the CAQ's lack of sensitivity to our region. The land expropriations have already been carried out and the route is ready; all that remains is to receive the government's approval. This is a safety issue.”  

For Amandine Lengelé, the quality of life of her family and those around her is greatly affected by traffic problems in the region, and that's why she launched this petition. ” With the partial or total closure of the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge, traffic congestion in the region has been exacerbated, and is having a considerable impact on our quality of life,” says Ms. Lengelé. I now have to wake my children up at dawn, feed them breakfast in the car, and still arrive late for work. It's the same for many families in the area. Even the school buses don't get to school on time, resulting in the loss of several hours of teaching a week for our children.” The mother also notes the danger of the Harwood Boulevard area, where Highway 20 becomes an urban boulevard with traffic lights, often causing accidents and congestion. What's more, she points out that businesses in the area, like the one she works for, also suffer the consequences of the lack of fluidity in the sector, affecting their productivity and ability to serve their customers efficiently. 

Odette Lalonde, a committed citizen, has been campaigning for many years for the completion of Highway 20 between Vaudreuil-Dorion and L'Île-Perrot. She believes that the situation is worse than ever. ” The towns of Vaudreuil-Dorion and L'Île-Perrot are landlocked between autoroutes 20 and 40, which necessarily causes overflow onto one or the other when one of the two autoroutes has to be partially or totally closed,” she says. As Highway 20 becomes an urban boulevard, Vaudreuil-Dorion finds itself paralyzed by traffic at any time of day, seven days a week. What's more, given the region's strong population growth, the existing highway network is no longer sufficient. The construction of the Autoroute 20 bypass in the Dorion sector and the completion of Autoroute 20 on Île Perrot would help keep traffic flowing smoothly.” She is also concerned about the economic vitality of the area, as traffic problems discourage some consumers from visiting local businesses. Several shopkeepers have told her of the significant drop in their sales since the repeated closures of the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge.”

MNA Nichols is calling on François Legault's government to agree to study the petition, consider the proposals put forward by regional players and work to find lasting solutions.

For her, this is not a partisan issue, but one of quality of life and economic vitality, the latter being a priority for the CAQ government.