The buzz about PBMs

LAVAL, QC, Nov. 29, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Have you heard people talking about PBMs? Do you know what they are? PBMs are Preferential bus measures. Maybe you've heard about them from one of our ads on the web or on your travels around Laval. Well, here's the explanation.

The Société de transport de Laval (STL) is responsible for Laval's largest work project to implement five measures that will prioritize public transit. The changes being made will allow us to increase service on city's the largest arteries and improve public transit in Laval.

These PBMs include:

• 13.4 Kilometres of reserved lanes: avoiding traffic congestion by driving in lanes exclusively reserved for public transit
• 1 central reserved lane: 1 kilometre of additional exclusivity in the centre of boulevard Le Corbusier between avenue Albert-Duquesne and boulevard du Souvenir
• 6 bypass lanes: preventing congestion; especially at the approach of intersections
• 10 Candlestick lights: red, yellow, green and white? The vertical white stripe added to some traffic lights allows buses to leave the intersection before cars
• 227 smart traffic lights: the cornerstone of our PBM implementation plan! Buses can now send a signal to the traffic light informing it about the number of riders on the bus and whether it is ahead of, or behind, schedule. This information is then used to extend or shorten the green light by a few seconds to facilitate re-entry into the traffic flow. 227 new traffic lights with this innovative technology represent 90% of the traffic lights in the city of Laval crossed by the STL.
• 55 moved stops and shelters: in addition to the 227 smart traffic lights, several stops and shelters have been moved to the other side of intersections, rather than being located before the light, for buses to get a head start.

"The implementation of these preferential bus measures will undoubtedly mean improved performance and reliability for our network. It will save time for our clients, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time, encourage current and future urban development" says David DeCotis, President of the STL's Board of Directors "In fact, our riders can count on saving up to 5 minutes of travel time. That means, 50,000 hours saved by our clients every year!" he adds.

That's not all!
The city of Laval will also be taking this opportunity to make improvements to its network of roads, pedestrian walkways and bike paths. The Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) is also involved in this work, implementing a new reserved lane along boulevard Notre-Dame. As a reminder, this work is 100% funded by the ministère des Transports, de la Mobilité durable et de l'Électrification des transports (MTMDET).

Status of the roadwork
The PBM implementation effort is in full swing. The work on boulevard des Laurentides and terminus Cartier; Curé-Labelle, Notre-Dame and De La Concorde boulevards; terminus Le Carrefour and the approaches to the Lachapelle Bridge will continue until the end of December. Please note that continued improvement work will be done until June 2017. Also note, the work on boulevard Le Corbusier, between avenue Albert-Duquesne and boulevard du Souvenir will be restarting in Spring 2017.

For more information about the eight major projects, visit www.stl.laval.qc.ca.

* more photos available by request

SOURCE Société de transport de Laval

Image with caption: "David De Cotis, President of the STL’s Board of Directors and Vice President of the City of Laval Executive Committee; Gilbert Dumas, Vice President of the STL’s Board of Directors; Municipal Councillor Marc-Aurèle-Fortin and Guy Picard, Director General of the STL, apresenting the entire preferential bus measures plan for the bus network. (CNW Group/Société de transport de Laval)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161129_C2608_PHOTO_EN_827971.jpg

Image with caption: "Left to right: David De Cotis, President of the STL’s Board of Directors and Vice President of the City of Laval Executive Committee; Guy Picard, Director General of the STL; Gilbert Dumas, Vice President of the STL’s Board of Directors and Municipal Councillor Marc-Aurèle-Fortin onboard one the the STL’s hybrid buses. (CNW Group/Société de transport de Laval)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161129_C2608_PHOTO_EN_827969.jpg

Daniel Boismenu, Director, Communications and marketing, 450 662-5400, Ext. 2360, [email protected]