A delivery truck was unable to pass a checkpoint on Île-Bizard to bring medication to a pharmacy there amid the Presidents Cup.
This all comes as residents continue to deal with traffic woes — hours of delays and limited access to the island unless you have a vignette for the Presidents Cup golf tournament.
It’s posed a problem for some delivery trucks over the last days, including one serving the Jean Coutu on Jacques Bizard Blvd.
Resident Sonia Viel says her 9-year-old son wasn’t able to initially get his medication on Tuesday.
“He takes a medication that is controlled by the doctors and that cannot be stopped abruptly,” Viel said, adding that it’s for anxiety. “It has to be a close follow-up. Unfortunately, we were waiting two days for the delivery and the delivery truck was returned by the police officers because the Jean Coutu delivery truck did not have the sticker on the car window.”
For Pascale Djandji, the pharmacy owner of the Jean Coutu on Île-Bizard, finding out her delivery truck was turned away became chaotic.
“We were really panicking because we had a lot of medication on it that was very important,” she said. “We have a lot of patients that have cancer that needed their medication, the injections 24 hours after their chemotherapy, so we knew we had to get the medication.”
Djandji says the day revolved around contacting the 30 or so patients affected and finding out whether their renewal of their medications could wait a few extra days.
She also collaborated with nearby Jean Coutus, asking them if they had certain medications in stock.
She said one employee volunteered to bring it to the pharmacy on Île-Bizard.
“For people that really needed it for the next day, then that employee that actually lives in Île-Bizard, well, she has the vignette, so that way whenever she left work, then she was able to bring us the medication,” said Djandji.
She said that they have also coordinated to give vignettes to the other pharmacies not on Île-Bizard, in the event that the delivery trucks don’t already have one before travelling onto the island to avoid being turned away.
Even school buses without vignettes were turned away, as police are verifying them from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Viel’s son was on a school bus that saw significant delays in obtaining a vignette Tuesday.
“We’re told it wouldn’t affect our lifestyle, besides the vignette,” said Viel. “Now my son’s not getting his medication, my son is waiting two and a half hours in the school bus.”
Doug Hurley, borough mayor of Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève says travel onto the island has become “a nightmare since yesterday and that needs to be addressed now.”
In an effort to help traffic, a second outbound lane was opened briefly Wednesday morning, but police closed it for emergency work in Pierrefonds, Hurley said.
“I congratulate our citizens on being patient and that’s what they do need for the next few days,” Hurley said. “It’s up to people in Montreal to try and make this access easier.”
Viel says her request is to make the reserved lane for VIPs, shuttles and emergency vehicles accessible to school buses.
Hurley says he has been working with borough mayor of Pierrefonds-Roxboro Jim Beis on improving access to the island, but says it is ultimately up to city crews coordinating with the SPVM.
Meanwhile, Beis took to Facebook on Wednesday saying the ferry connecting Laval to Île-Bizard has increased their prices amid excessive traffic on the roads. What is usually a $2 ride for pedestrians is now $5, according to Beis, and $10 for vehicles instead of $6.
The best golfers in the world will be at the Royal Montreal golf club until Sunday and an estimated 30,000 golf fans are expected to be there daily.
But for taxpayers, there’s a $9 million price tag, as the provincial and federal governments pledged funding – something Quebec’s opposition parties critiqued Wednesday.
“It’s bringing over $60 million in tourism to Montreal, not necessarily to my borough here, because people coming on the island by shuttle, watching the game and leaving by shuttle, they’re not exactly spending their money here,” Hurley said. “So what are the advantages? Not much locally, but overall for the city of Montreal, it’s a great way to improve our image worldwide.”
Viel says she thinks the tournament is great for visibility, but wants to see better coordination around mobility.
“I’m not against a tournament,” she said. “What I’m against is the lack of planning, the lack of communication with the residents that live here.”