Residents blast STM over lack of proper consultation on proposed ventilation station project [Video]

Montreal’s transit authority failed to properly consult with the public over its “indefensible” plan to force an elderly couple out of their home to build a new ventilation station in the Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie borough, a commission was told Tuesday evening.

Several upset residents attended the first of three input sessions for the controversial construction project to serve the Metro’s Orange line.

The proposed station would be built on Bellechasse Street between Chateaubriand Avenue and Saint-Vallier Street, and last month the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) told a family living in a duplex on Bellechase Street since 1983 that they would expropriate their home to proceed with the project.

Residents accused the STM of ignoring the impact of four years of construction on the street, which they say has more than two dozen families living within 30 metres of the work site.

“Residents need a real and impactful say much earlier in the process. They need full and timely access to all information. They need the …