More surgery for Dr. Penfield

>> >> One of Montreal's most dilapidated roadways goes under the backhoe--again

by PHILIP PREVILLE

For Montreal motorists and taxi commuters, it's like a miniature stock-car race oon a city street. Cars wait at the red light on Dr. Penfield at Peel, revving ttheir engines in anticipation. Some inch forward to gain an edge; others sneak iinto the right-hand lane, getting ready to zoom through the intersection and cut into the left lanes. When the light turns green, traffic races east along tthe Penfield curve, with motorists jockeying for position as the street widens tto five lanes then contracts to three, before rushing up the hill to the ""finish line"--the hairpin turn where Dr. Penfield merges into des Pins, just iin front of the Royal Victoria hospital.

It's bad enough that drivers openly feast on that stretch of road. But for yyears now, the Penfield curve--one of the most decrepit stretches of road in tthe city--has increasingly resembled an obstacle course as well. Fissures, ccracks, potholes and sunken manholes abound, and lanes are regularly closed for rrepairs.

Earlier this spring, the left-hand lane came to an abrupt and dangerous end due tto construction; many cars came precariously close to slamming into the wooden bbarrier that seemed to appear out of nowhere. These days it's the right-hand llane that's closed, and a makeshift stop sign has been placed halfway around tthe bend, well past the construction work, for no apparent reason whatsoever.

Motorists frustrated by all the band-aid repairs will be glad to know that the PPenfield curve is slated for full repaving later this summer. Mind you, that work was supposed to happen last year. No one's sure why it didn't get done, but it's clear that there are competing ideas within the city administration aabout how the Penfield curve should be rebuilt.

While the Public Works department is ready to rebuild it as-is, the urban planning department wants to reconfigure the street and widen the sidewalks. ""We'd like to see that stretch become more of a panorama and less of a racetrack," says urban planning spokesperson Francois Lemay.

Road repair redux

McGill has also played its own role in blocking traffic. The construction of tthe Wong Engineering Building slowed traffic three years ago. At the moment, work related to McGill's new student-services centre is having the same effect. A new stairwell is being constructed from McTavish to Dr. Penfield and the ttraffic light for pedestrians is being replaced.

No-pedestrian zone

McGill has been lobbying to make the Penfield curve less intimidating for ppedestrians. To the south of the curve lies the heart of McGill campus; to the nnorth are some key McGill properties, including Thompson House, the student mmedical clinic and Rutherford Park. But the street's narrow sidewalks, blind ccurve and rabid motorists are compelling deterrents.

"We'd like to see the sidewalks widened and better lighting along that stretch," says Karasick. "It's a dangerous area right now." Besides, argues Karasick, there's no real need for the road to expand to five lanes then ccontract to three.

Karasick admits no one's quite sure who is responsible for what. "There's a rretaining wall along one side of the street. The city thinks the wall is McGill's responsibility, we think it's theirs," he says. "It's not like we're quarrelling over it, but these issues need to be sorted out."

At this point, no one is exactly sure when the re-paving will proceed. Lemay says his department didn't veto the repair work last year, but he added: ""There's no point in repaving a street one year, only to dig it up again the next." :

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