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In what is being billed as a North American first, the city of Montreal announced Monday it has will bury its controversial Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie bus depot three storeys underground in order to lessen negative effects on the heavily populated neighbourhood that surrounds it. The submergence will mean less visual pollution in the neighbourhood, and can be done for the same price first estimated for an above-ground multi-storey garage, the city said.

At the same time, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante addressed issues of overcrowding on the métro system, saying more buses are not the answer.

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“Yes, the 300 extra buses (that Montreal is adding to its fleet) will help, but it’s to improve service all over. It won’t help so much on the crowded Orange Line,” she said. “Yes, having more buses is a good idea, but it’s still more buses on the road, more traffic on the street. In Montreal, we have a big population, we have people from all different suburbs who use the Orange Line. My message to all people listening is we need to take care of the heart of the system. I want to have all kinds of subway lines and other options, but we have to make sure the heart stays strong.”