MONTREAL — The authority overseeing the Montreal airport has announced measures to reduce congestion after a surge in car traffic over the summer prompted a wave of frustration among passengers trying to make their gate on time.
Gridlock on the road leading to Trudeau airport routinely pushed passengers to exit their vehicles and haul their bags hundreds of metres to the entrance, with pedestrians on the highway off-ramp becoming aroutine sight — particularly in late afternoon and early evening.
On Wednesday, the Aéroports de Montréal said that by next summer, it will set up two alternative drop-off zones to divert car traffic from the airport's main entrance, both served by a shuttle bus for arriving and departing travellers.
"Passengers will be able to choose between going to the main drop-off zone at the front of the terminal or travelling more quickly to a remote drop-off zone served by a five-minute shuttle service," the airport said in a release.
In an interview, CEO Yves Beauchamp said all parking spaces will also be free for roughly 40 minutes within a three-hour window between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., when flights butt up against afternoon rush hour. The drop-off zones will only operate between May 1 and Oct. 1.
He called the traffic delays of up to 40 minutes "unacceptable."
"People were getting impatient and getting out of their vehicles with their suitcases. Of course, this was an undesirable situation," he said.
"The reason why we are putting in place alternative drop-off zones and important measures is to ensure we don't let this type of situation happen again."
A new airport parking lot hosting 2,800 spots is also set to open early next year. Discounts will be available for bookings of four hours or less in some parking lots and special rates will be introduced for lots that are further away, the authority said.
Meanwhile, ramped-up public bus service from the city centre kicked off earlier this season with the goal of thinning out the number of airport-bound cars.
The measures come after Montreal's public transit authority scrambled to find detours for its 747 airport shuttle last summer, while the airport authority added a third free parking area, traffic-control staff and a new Uber service pick-up area. The bottlenecks persisted nonetheless.
By 2028, the airport authority said it plans to triple the capacity of its curbside roadway that runs past the main entrance, construct more parking and reconfigure the road network to serve the new drop-off areas.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2023.
Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press
