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The Streetcar

In the 18th and 19th centuries, boulevard LaSalle was a very frequently used road by residents, who travelled along there in various ways: Before 1899, a stage coach service connecting Montréal to Lachine passed along the boulevard LaSalle. In the spring of 1899, the City of Verdun and Montreal Street Railway Company entered into an agreement to build an electric streetcar system in Verdun. 

 

    

One segment was planned along the Lower Lachine Road, between rue Wellington and rue Mullarky (present-day boulevard LaSalle). Verdun required that drivers speak both languages. A one-day fare was set at 5 cents and enabled transit users to travel within Verdun, up to the limits of Montréal. 

A total of three streetcar lines ran along the boulevard LaSalle: routes 25, 53 and 58. Over time, these lines were extended, including the 53 route, which went as far as 4ᵉ Avenue in LaSalle. The importance of this means of transportation kept increasing until the mid-forties, but declined in the following years, when bus service was set up.