A report from Quebec's environmental board that slams renovation plans for a busy Montreal highway interchange doesn't offer enough suggestions to better promote "mass transit," the city says.

The environmental board, known in Quebec as BAPE, issued its report on the $1.5-billion Turcot Interchange Project this week, calling on the province's transport ministry to revise construction blueprints, and promote better quality of life for local residents, instead of focusing exclusively on making life easier for drivers.

The BAPE could have been more forceful about demanding long-term mass transit measures, said Alan DeSouza, Montreal's executive member in charge of sustainable development.

"At the very least, the Turcot project should be done to deal with mass transit and to deal with the whole question of how we can get people to convert from their cars into other means of transportation," DeSouza told CBC News on Thursday.

The BAPE's report "addressed [mass transit] very timidly," he said.

Ideally, the Turcot plan would be part of an island-wide transit plan that would increase the number of reserved lanes on the interchange, DeSouza said.

BAPE also recommended the new Turcot design include more green space in the area.

DeSouza confirmed that Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay spoke to Transport Minister Julie Boulet on Wednesday about the Turcot plan, and will meet in coming days to brainstorm.

Community groups have applauded the BAPE for ordering Quebec to revise the $1.5-billion Turcot renovation plan.

The Transport Ministry has to address sustainable development issues and local residents' concerns about accessibility, noise and traffic, the board said in a 173-page report made public Tuesday.

The board criticized Quebec's original plans to tear down 166 homes near the Turcot Interchange and demanded the province do everything it can to minimize expropriation.

Nearly 300,000 vehicles travel the Turcot Interchange every day, making it one of the busiest highway structures on the island of Montreal, and in the province.

The towering spaghetti-like concrete structure that connects Montreal's Ville-Marie Expressway (720), the Decarie Autoroute (15) and Highway 20 is more than four decades old, and has reached the end of its life expectancy.

Demolishing and rebuilding the tangle of overpasses and ramps could take as long as a decade.

The Turcot Interchange was originally built high off the ground to provide clearance for boats passing underneath via the Lachine Canal.

But its multi-storey height has proven unnecessary.