More than 100 fines in three hours

Operation “carpooling” in Aylmer

Laurent Robillard-Cardinal

On May 6, Gatineau police responded to the many complaints received regarding the non-respect of carpooling reserved lanes.

Aylmer Road has reserved lanes for peak times – between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. eastbound and between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. westbound. The lanes are reserved to vehicles with three or more passengers, but some drivers break the rule.

So, between 6:15 a.m. and 9 a.m., Gatineau police set up an operation on Aylmer Road near the Augusta Street intersection.

During this special operation, 108 fines of $148 were given out for the non-respect of the carpooling lane rule as well as six fines for driving with a cell phone in hand.

Right now, only vehicles with three or more passengers, buses and taxis can use the carpooling lanes. To limit traffic congestion, some Aylmerites have asked the city to change the number of passengers from three to two on Aylmer Road, as it is on Champlain Bridge. Deschênes councillor Richard Bégin believes this option can be considered.

“Before going ahead with such an option, we would need to make sure that this would not slow down the buses since our priority is still a fast, effective and fluid public transportation service. If we do not want to end up living the unbearable rush hour congestion that metropolitan Montreal has on its roads, our city and citizens must prioritize public transportation. Some improvements were made over the last few years and we are pushing for more such as adding an electric or rail transport system for the west end of the city,” explains Mr. Bégin.

(Trans.: CB)