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Whipping cold winds outside the Glen site of the McGill University Health Centre are forcing a steady stream of patients and employees to improvise and trek through the busy underground parking lot to reach the superhospital — with pedestrians sometimes dodging passing cars as they use an emergency exit.

The emergency exit at the back of the hospital’sparking lot opens to the Vendôme métro station on de Maisonneuve Blvd. But the exit — a single door — was never designed by contractor SNC-Lavalin for the heavy volume of pedestrians who have been using it as part of a makeshift tunnel to the superhospital, in the absence of a real one. The emergency alarm has tripped so many times that it was deactivated, and the door has been kept open as January winter temperatures have plunged.

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A narrow car lane in the underground parking lot crosses right in front of the emergency exit, and despite the presence of additional stop signs, visibility is far from ideal for some passing motorists.