If a new semi-detached home near Otterburn Park interests you, the first step takes a single outing: driving to BÉAcité's sales office at 435 Geoffrion Street in Sainte-Julie. How long does it take to get from Otterburn Park to Sainte-Julie, and which way should you go?

The open-source OSRM route planner measures 14.1 km from Otterburn Park town hall, at 601 Chemin Ozias-Leduc, to Geoffrion Street: about 19 minutes on the road. As the crow flies, the two points are 10 km apart. Every drive time in this article is calculated without traffic, so expect more at rush hour.

Here is the route, how it changes depending on your part of town, what the train and the bus can really do for you, and finally the visit itself.

From Otterburn Park to Sainte-Julie: what's the basic route?

Whichever way you pick, the start is the same. It runs through Mont-Saint-Hilaire, over the Richelieu River, then through Beloeil and Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, before entering Sainte-Julie for roughly the last kilometre:

Follow Chemin Ozias-Leduc for about 1.5 km, then Rue Fortier for about 1.2 km, in Mont-Saint-Hilaire.
Take Boulevard Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier (routes 116 and 229) and cross the Richelieu on the Jordi-Bonet Bridge.
In Beloeil, choose between Highway 20 and Route 229; both lead to Geoffrion Street.

After the bridge: Highway 20 or Route 229

Via Highway 20

In Beloeil, take Rue Laurier, Rue Brodeur and Rue Dupré, then Rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste for about 3.1 km. Montée Saint-Jean-Baptiste, in Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, brings you to Highway 20 West, which you follow for about 3.9 km to exit 105 ("229: McMasterville, Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Saint-Amable"). Montée des Quarante-Deux then takes you to Geoffrion Street. Total: 14.1 km, about 19 minutes.

No highway, via Rue Bernard-Pilon

Rue Bernard-Pilon, which is Route 229, runs for about 7.3 km through Beloeil, a short stretch of McMasterville and Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil. In Sainte-Julie, it becomes Montée des Quarante-Deux, which leads to Geoffrion Street. Total: 14.1 km, also about 19 minutes.

On paper, the two routes are a tie; traffic on the day of your visit will decide. Near exit 105, follow the signs for the Vallée-du-Richelieu golf club, then the BÉAcité project signs.

Depending on your part of town

Otterburn Park stretches from the Richelieu to the foot of Mont Saint-Hilaire. A few other starting points, still without traffic:

From the Marcel-Lacoste community centre (545 Chemin des Patriotes, in the north): 13.5 km, about 18 and a half minutes, heading up Chemin des Patriotes (Route 133) and Rue Messier to Boulevard Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier.
From the Pointe-Valaine, on Rue d'Oxford by the water: 14.7 km, about 20 minutes.
From the southern end of Chemin Ozias-Leduc: 16.8 km, about 23 minutes.

On the way back, Geoffrion Street is 14.0 km from town hall. The planner also suggests Highway 20 East to exit 113, then Chemin des Patriotes Nord: 17.1 km, about 20 minutes.

A town born of trips to and from Montreal

Commuting is part of Otterburn Park's story. According to a text by historian Alain Côté published by the town, back when Otterburn Park was created in 1885, a Grand Trunk train left Bonaventure station on weekends and dropped its passengers in Saint-Hilaire an hour later. In 1912, the lots laid out around the park were bought almost exclusively by Grand Trunk employees who worked in Pointe-Saint-Charles, which made Otterburn the first community of commuters from Montreal, in the historian's words. A ferry linked Otterburn to McMasterville until the bridge was built in the early 1940s.

More than a century later, the road is still central to daily life. In the 2021 Census, taken in May at the height of the pandemic, 57.4% of Otterburn Park workers with a usual place of work worked outside their regional county municipality, 94.9% of commuters drove and 18.7% took 45 minutes or more to get to work. To compare the two places beyond the drive, read our article on living in Sainte-Julie or Otterburn Park.

Montreal, seen from Geoffrion Street

From Otterburn Park, the planner reaches Montreal via Route 116 and the Jacques-Cartier Bridge; from Geoffrion Street, via Highway 20. Without traffic, the difference looks like this:

Central Station: about 44 minutes (38.7 km) from Otterburn Park town hall, about 32 minutes (31.5 km) from Geoffrion Street;
Longueuil terminus: about 34 minutes versus about 21 minutes;
Radisson terminus: about 37 minutes versus about 22 minutes.

Moving from Otterburn Park to Sainte-Julie takes you a little farther from the mountain, but 12 to 15 minutes closer to those three points, again without traffic.

Trains and buses: what actually exists

Neither Otterburn Park nor Sainte-Julie has a station on exo's train line 13. From Otterburn Park, the closest are Mont-Saint-Hilaire (6.5 km) and McMasterville (6.7 km), each about ten minutes away. McMasterville station also happens to be the closest one to Geoffrion Street, 9.2 km away: if you already catch the train there, you'd keep the same station.

By bus, exo's official schedules include no line from Otterburn Park to Sainte-Julie. Route 23 links Otterburn Park to McMasterville station on weekdays at rush hour, and ExpressO 201 heads for Longueuil in the morning. In Sainte-Julie, on the other hand, local buses are free, and every home in the Vilamo neighbourhood is less than 300 m from a stop. No source confirms a continuous bike route between the two towns: for your visit, driving remains the practical choice.

Visiting the model home

BÉAcité's sales office is located at 435 Geoffrion Street. The four turnkey homes (405, 408, 423 and 435 Geoffrion Street) can be toured by appointment with sales director Eddy Guessous. Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; evenings, Saturday and Sunday by appointment only. Book at 514-812-9633, by phone or text, or at ventes@beacite.com.

Torn between a home still to be built and one that's ready now? Our article on the off-plan or turnkey home near Otterburn Park helps you prepare your questions before the visit.

Conclusion

From Otterburn Park to Sainte-Julie, allow about 14 km and roughly twenty minutes without traffic, over the Jordi-Bonet Bridge and then Highway 20 or Route 229. The train lets you keep the same station if you board at McMasterville, but no bus connects the two towns directly. The simplest move is to make the drive once, all the way to 435 Geoffrion Street.

The drive from Otterburn Park to Sainte-Julie: the road, the bridge and the model home