Districts with Substandard Road Infrastructure

In a move aimed at focusing investments, the Plante administration cut $100 million from the repair of local streets in 2021, channeling funds towards the arterial network. This decision, however, has raised concerns about the maintenance of Montreal's local roads.

The auditor general's report warns that the lack of an Asset Management Plan for local streets in boroughs leads to unequal degradation of the streets and variable service quality. The report, published last Monday, found a significant disparity in the condition of local streets between different boroughs.

Each borough manages its network of side streets, while the central city administers the main arteries. Engineer Eric Lachance-Tremblay considers the split between technical teams on the ground and city or borough councils problematic, as it may hinder the effective management of local roads.

Resident Éléonore Robert-D'Amour experienced the consequences of this choice firsthand. While cycling in the rain, she had an accident on Aylwin Street due to a water-filled pothole, resulting in damaged bicycle, torn clothes, and a few scrapes.

The city has a map available based on open data to show mechanized work on main arteries or local streets. As of August 9, there has been significant mechanized work on main arteries in Montreal. However, the map also reveals that more than half of the side streets in five neighboring boroughs at the heart of Montreal are in "poor" or "very poor" condition.

Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie has 59% of its internal network at the end of its life. The communications officer for the borough, Alexandra Proulx, notes that the density of the territory, high automobile pressure, and complexity directly affect their ability to plan and intervene quickly. The increase in the cost of work and a local Decennial Capital Works Program that does not keep up with inflation hinder their catch-up efforts.

Saint-Laurent, on the other hand, has the lowest degradation rate of all boroughs, with only 8% of its network deemed deficient. Similarly, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, and Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension also stand out with more than half of their local road network in poor condition. At the city scale, 37% of the streets under the responsibility of the arrondissements are in this range. This proportion would have risen to 40% by 2024, according to an estimate by the Service des infrastructures du réseau routier.

Hugo Bourgoin, spokesperson for the City of Montreal, attributes differences in the condition of the roadways between boroughs to technical and historical factors, including the nature and volume of traffic, as well as the age and techniques used to construct the foundation and sub-foundation layers.

Marielle Calvé, spokesperson for Mercier-Hochelague-Maisonneuve, states that the borough has prioritized the securing of different types of users, notably with the redevelopment of key intersections and around schools, as well as the deployment and enhancement of pedestrian and cycling networks.

Despite these efforts, Alan DeSousa, the borough mayor of Saint-Laurent, is preparing for the degradation of local roads to affect his borough one day. The city is taking steps to address the maintenance of local roads as part of the ongoing budget process.

The city's blue-collar workers had patched 74,159 potholes in 2025, a significant increase from the 50,401 patched in the entire year of 2024. However, it remains to be seen whether these efforts will be enough to address the growing inequalities in the quality of local roads between Montreal's arrondissements.