Living · Without a car · Sainte-Dorothée, Laval-Ouest and Laval-sur-le-Lac · October 13, 2026
Metro, train, bus, bike, on foot: what the guide says about Sainte-Dorothée, Laval-Ouest and Laval-sur-le-Lac, and a clear verdict: with a single car.
Living in Sainte-Dorothée, Laval-Ouest and Laval-sur-le-Lac without a car. Verdict: With a single car. The exo Saint-Jérôme line stops at Sainte-Dorothée and Île-Bigras stations, with downtown Montreal without a transfer; STL buses reach the Montmorency terminus and the Carrefour Laval. The banks of the Rivière des Prairies, Parc des Cageux and the river accesses, the Bois de l'Équerre at the Sainte-Rose limit and the Laval-sur-le-Lac golf course (private) make up the sector's nature. Pro: Large lots, the river, waterfront properties, Laval-sur-le-Lac and the Deux-Montagnes train. Con: The Laval of wide-open spaces, not of services: everything is by car, and shops are far from residential streets. For families who want a large lot, a river and the commuter train, and accept the car for everything else; for those looking for a waterfront property or the prestige of Laval-sur-le-Lac.
Living in Sainte-Dorothée, Laval-Ouest and Laval-sur-le-Lac without a car: what our neighbourhood guide says about the metro, the train, the bus, the bike lanes and what is done on foot, then a clear verdict, deduced from a rule we write out in full. No commute time is invented: the sentences are the guide's, and the figures are those published by the APCIQ.
The guide names the bus, or a train that neighbourhood life is not enough to replace: a household lives here with a single car, not without one.
"Without a car, yes" when the guide names a metro, a REM or a train serving the neighbourhood, without the guide saying it is lived by car. "With a single car" when the guide names only the bus, or a train that neighbourhood life is not enough to replace. "A car is a must" when no metro, REM or train serves the neighbourhood on foot and the guide says it is lived by car. The rule is the same for all 53 neighbourhoods; it does not replace your real commute on a Tuesday morning.
For families who want a large lot, a river and the commuter train, and accept the car for everything else; for those looking for a waterfront property or the prestige of Laval-sur-le-Lac. Less so for those who want the metro, a condo or a walkable neighbourhood life: Sainte-Dorothée is the Laval of open spaces, not of services.
With a single car. The guide names the bus, or a train that neighbourhood life is not enough to replace: a household lives here with a single car, not without one.
The exo Saint-Jérôme line stops at Sainte-Dorothée and Île-Bigras stations, with downtown Montreal without a transfer; STL buses reach the Montmorency terminus and the Carrefour Laval. Highway 13 crosses the sector toward the airport and the Louis-Bisson Bridge, Highway 440 leads to eastern Laval. The car is the norm; the train mostly serves downtown workers.
The real commute to work on a Tuesday morning, at rush hour, and the walking distance to the grocery store, the school and the daycare from the shortlisted street: two streets in the same neighbourhood are not equal. The Laval of wide-open spaces, not of services: everything is by car, and shops are far from residential streets.
Written by the Loaa & Manseur team from our Living in Sainte-Dorothée, Laval-Ouest and Laval-sur-le-Lac guide; the full pros and cons are in Living in Sainte-Dorothée, Laval-Ouest and Laval-sur-le-Lac: the pros and cons, and the version with children in Living in Sainte-Dorothée, Laval-Ouest and Laval-sur-le-Lac with a family. All 53 neighbourhoods are ranked in living without a car in Greater Montreal.
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Also available in French: version française de ce guide.
Published September 7, 2026 by the Loaa & Manseur team, the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 according to the official RE/MAX ranking. Tell us about your project.
Équipe no 1 de RE/MAX Platine en 2024 et en 2025, 6e au Québec, 15e au Canada et dans le top 50 mondial au classement officiel RE/MAX. Réponse en moins de 24 heures, sept jours sur sept.