Elevated Trains Are Good, Actually

The opening of the REM is bittersweet. Montreal is getting a lot more transit and that’s exciting! But it also highlights just how frustrating it is that activists and politicians said “no” to the east end getting its own REM.

Keep Urbanity rolling:

The lines we quote from from the "DÉCLARATION COMMUNE : ARRÊTONS LE PROJET DU REM DE L’EST ! – 21 février 2022" from the Collectif en environnement Mercier-Est, notably:

·Le REM aérien écrasera, défigurera et fracturera nos quartiers, en plus d’augmenter considérablement ou de rendre impossible la protection ou la requalification future de bâtiments et de milieux de vie dont plusieurs sites patrimoniaux, historiques ou emblématiques.
·Des horreurs comme l’autoroute Métropolitaine construite dans les années 60 au nom de la mobilité automobile sont des erreurs du passé. CDPQ Infra impose déjà un modèle semblable avec le REM de l’Ouest et elle persiste à répéter les mêmes erreurs dans l’Est, au nom du transport collectif.

Translation:

· The aerial REM will be a behemoth of concrete and steel, inflicting significant nuisances (noise, vibrations, wind vortices, visual pollution, etc.) on the populations of densely populated neighbourhoods, with a definite impact on the physical, psychological and mental health of citizens, including an increased sense of public insecurity.
· REM will crush, disfigure and fracture our neighbourhoods, as well as considerably increase or render impossible the future protection or requalification of buildings and living environments, including many heritage, historic or emblematic sites.
· Horrors like the Metropolitan Expressway, built in the 1960s in the name of automobile mobility, are mistakes of the past. CDPQ Infra is already imposing a similar model with the REM in the West, and persists in repeating the same mistakes in the East, in the name of public transit.

[omnipotent_arcanis]

I do love the irony that an ‘environmental group’ is advocating for more cars and traffic.

[gmkgoat]

"It would ruin this 8-lane boulevard" lmao

[thastayapongsak]

Any environmentalist group that outright reject mass transit project should not be taken seriously. There can be opposition in detail, but being a NIMBY isn't it.

[nickrreese]

Anyone who's anti transit should be stripped of their "environmentalist" title. Of course, there are bad examples of transit like the proposed monorail in LA, but any reasonable analysis of the REM should be self evident of its environmentalist bona fides.

[JustClaude]

In Japan, elevated rails are a development opportunity. The area under the tracks is filled in with shops and apartments.
The tracks are only visible at street crossings.

[MaximeKG]

I actually love elevated metros. They look so cool and futuristic and riding them is a ton of fun, you feel like you're in a theme park.

[knarf_on_a_bike]

Ironic that the protesters saying the REM would ruin the neighbourhood loaded their protest signs into their cars. . . 😂😂😂

[Sturmwaffles]

As a Chicagoan, it blows my mind to think that anybody would think elevated rails are an eye-sore, or hurt the quality or visuals of a neighborhood. Elevated trains become an iconic part of the modern city environment, and aid people every day in getting to where they go. Huge win for Montreal, so happy about it.

[ukaszb]

I admire your calm. I try to be zen about life and people but I can't imagine making this kind of video without calling the protesters brain-dead morons at least once.

[xoxxobob]

MIAMI has an Elevated Metro too and we heard the same arguments about it being Ugly and a Eyesore when it was proposed yet nobody expressed the same outrage over that Highway system in the city when it destroyed so many neighborhoods!

[chickennoodle]

This was a point of contention for elevated rail or 'skyrail' in Melbourne built to grade separate level crossings. The opposition to it had really weird arguments like saying that creeps would watch children playing in the backyards. After it was built, however, the opposition disappeared when the benefits of open space under the tracks as well as improved traffic were immediately apparent.

[isimerias]

I feel like I’m living in the wildest timeline where, being from the West Island, there has been effectively zero opposition to the REM. And I also WANT the east end to be better connected. From the opposite end of the island it just is never feasible to reach the east without a car. Out of all places for NYMBYism for it to come from the east is insane

[DiscoverMontréal]

I'm convinced the more people ride the REM, they will start asking why they don't have a station in their neighbourhood. Thanks for this video, it's so nice to hear common sense versus the bizarre arguments of NIMBYs.

[Stefi]

The Skytrain is a blessing. I couldn't imagine Vancouver without it. The benefits massively outweigh the drawbacks

[stevesurf]

The biggest benefit to elevated in my opinion is it is much more enjoyable ride then being in a tunnel. Better for tourism and even commuters mental and physical health.

[montrealgoalie]

The Premier of Quebec, Francois Legault, really wants this project in the east end. He even made a snarky comment towards the mayor (Who destroyed the CDPQ's version of the project) yesterday at the REM inauguration. The eastern part of Montreal is electorally favorable to the current government, there is no way Legault will give up on this project.

[krisrizakis]

I grew up on a stretch of the Deux-Montagne line that was taken over for the REM. I remember as a kid that the old train line effectively cut our neighbourhood in half because the train was street level. It split a park in half. Kids would walk along the tracks or slide under the barriers as they came down when the train was passing through which was extremely dangerous. The cops were frequently patrolling the area and having to constantly warn people to stay away from the tracks. I recently went back to my old neighbourhood. The train barriers are gone. You can walk under the REM. No need to worry about kids walking the tracks and possibly getting hit by an uncomming train.

[Gary_C]

You make a really good case for elevated rail. Larger system, cheaper price tag, and faster construction. Plus, it can be buried over time to spread out the cost if it's what people really want.

[SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

6:14 I’m actually writing a video about the sound of trains right now! We have a similar issue where an astroturf group is trying to undermine construction of our train which will go through the sepulveda pass in LA and part of their issue is the elevated section over a road.

One of their flyers claiming that the noise would be too loud got me so worked up that I grabbed a decibel meter and checked the sound levels next to a current train track vs next to the road where we want to build the elevated train…and the car traffic on the road is ALREADY louder than the train!

[ianhomerpura]

Here in Manila, most of the metro rail lines are elevated, but mainly due to another reason: floods.

Even before the original streetcar network was destroyed in 1945 during WW2, streetcar services always ground to a halt because of floods. Hence why when the first line was opened in 1984, it was fully elevated. Lines 2 and 3 are also mostly elevated, but mainly because of NIMBYs around the gated communities of the elite.

Currently we are building Line 9, which will be our first subway once it opens in 2029. The North South Commuter Railway, also elevated, is being built and will probably be opened in its entirety in 2028.