The metro’s green line was down between Angrignon and Berri-UQAM for a medical intervention at evening rush hour Thursday, long enough for emergency buses to be running.
Updates from October, 2019 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
The Tampa Bay Rays are trying to get permission from their mayor to play part of their season in Montreal. The city has also just asked the REM to put two stations in the Peel Basin area.
ant6n
Well, the REM had considered two stations between Gare Centrale and Nun’s Island: Peel Bassin and du Havre, kind of in the middle of nowhere. A station around Ottawa and Bridge/Wellington would make much more sense even if you just look at the population density and areal coverage the two stations would get (incidentally I had such a comparison map proposing exactly that change in my BAPE memoir). A station closer to Gare Centrale would take pressure off that station, and also provide good connections to the ‘multimedia’ city in the old port.
Faiz Imam
Yup, as I said about à month ago, the two stations have been an open secret for a couple of years now.
Cdpq was supposed to announce Peel station a year ago, but they keep delaying. Probably waiting for the Peel basin project to get nailed down (baseball stadium or not)
But the Ottawa station should open in a couple of years with the first phase. Should get a lot of use.
Speaking from a south shore perspective I’m surprised how many people hate the rem because they are used to their bus dropping them off at Nazereth to their jobs in towards old Montreal. This station should be very useful, especially for a lot of people that currently use square Victoria.
david100
A station at Ottawa street will be fantastic, and will also serve the faubourg des récollets. Just really hope that the integration with the metro is seamless – it would make Griffintown a one transfer ride from anywhere in the city (that’s connected to the metro). Pretty sweet.
ant6n
Well, the REM people did not care very much about short transfers – there’s a societal benefit for short transfers, which a private pension fund is not incentivized to capture. The Gare Centrale transfer will be pretty long, the McGill transfer will be fairly long. But it will be inside, so I people will put up with it, and certainly it’s less than walking from the Old port/Griffintown to the metro.
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Kate
Some notes on weekend road closures, also from TVA.
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Kate
Christopher Curtis visits the north-end spots where bullets have been flying (although with no fatalities) as police promise to make themselves more apparent on the streets.
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Kate
It’s all over regular and social media so I suppose I should briefly note that the Washington Nationals won the World Series, and they are the team that used to be, long ago, the Montreal Expos, so there’s some local feeling about it.
Herve
The Onion has this to day about it: https://local.theonion.com/woman-passing-out-candy-unsure-whether-to-give-some-to-1839501180
I have to admit I don’t get who it’s poking fun at. Do many people in DC actually know where the Nationals used to play?
Herve
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Kate
Le Devoir, saying the city’s own maps are not reliable, has produced a map showing the areas of town it
claims areshows most likely to have lead water pipes.Tim
Kate, I find your description that Le Devoir is making a “claim” to be highly misleading. The map is not making claims at all. Did you try it out?
The map shows the results of multiple water tests that were conducted by the city. The map is commendable for putting this hard data in front of people in an easy to understand way so that people can make their own judgments.
Kate
Granted.
Alex L
I live in the dark red sector. The city has given a contract to change the pipes in front of our houses and they’ve been excavating for a few days. The company doing the repairs says it won’t do repairs on the private section of the pipes, and won’t let anyone else enter the construction site until they’re finished, so I can’t contract anyone else for the time being. And they’ve told me they still have weeks to go, it could start freezing and I could have to wait until next year.
So I wonder, once they’ve changed the public part of the pipes, are we supposed to buy bottled water until we can re-excavate everything and change our section? We will soon have a newborn little being and that is the given recommendation by the DSP in Montreal…
Michael Black
When they redid our street two years ago, the first thing they did was dig up lawns to access that length of pioe. And even before any digging, they pointed out that this was the time to change that length of pipe, if it needed it.
It all took so long, but some of that was because they planned and allowed for things like that bit of pipe. They also didn’t want a situation where the new street had to be dug up because someone (like Hydro) forgot they needed to do something. And some of the extra time was to mimimize the impact, digging up places in the street, then temporarily covering the holes. So it took four months, but the street was fully closed for about 2 or 3 days.
Michael
Meezly
@Alex L – Instead of buying bottled water (which in most cases is treated tap water), I think it would be more practical to invest in a water filter that is certified NSF/ANSI Standard 42 and 53.
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Kate
The Macdonald statue was vandalized once again overnight by people claiming to be anti‑colonial zombies rising from the old cemetery in the area.
Michael Black
There’s lots of ways to be for things, but they choose to anonymously be against something they decide is bad. They really are going against a symbol rather than something concrete.
Why do we have to make do wifh a $60 commemorative coin with Louis Riel on it rather than ageneral.circulation quarter. Even now that Louis has been “rehabilitated” popular history still gives an uncomplete version of the ” Rebellion”.
Just before the election, the CBC had an opinion piece from a native where she said that the leaders barely brought up native issues. Then she pointed out that while those few issues weren’t unimportant, most native people would likely say other issues were more important.
People say lots of things, but the Gazette for example has no local native columnist to provide commentary and opinion. That leaves it to others, who only comment on the biggest news stories that trickle out.
The vandals are like that, reacting to some very loud item that trickles out, but leaving endless more imoortant issues out.
Third parties often have a skewed version of what others want, and often have a very different viewpoint. I am reminded of that demonstratiin against racism in the taxi industry about 1983. Organized by black.people, it waw different from if it had beeen organized by whites. And the loudest guy there was white chanting with his fist in the air. Such actions don’t help, they take away the voice of those directly affected. I know Chief Phillips in BC up there with Greta Thunberg laat week can speak for me.
Michael
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Kate
Canada’s Supreme Court has turned down the appeal against his sentence by Richard Henry Bain, who in September 2012 killed one stagehand and seriously injured another at the Parti québécois victory party at the Metropolis. Bain claims the judge made an error during his trial but the Supremes don’t care. Now aged 69, Bain is very likely to die behind bars.
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Kate
Car-sharing users will get a break on parking costs as of next year.
I hadn’t noted another parking story earlier, because it wasn’t specific to Montreal, but it affects people here: Quebec plans to make the first two hours of hospital parking free, but we don’t know exactly when.
Chris
The result will be predictable: it will be harder to park at hospitals. Supply is fixed. Demand is large. Reducing price is just going to make it worse. It’s also a subsidy to the rich, as the poor don’t even own cars to park at hospital.
Spi
Offering the first 2 hours for free is fine, short and longer-term parking is generally clearly separated and the turnover is high enough that it won’t fill up. Capping the whole-day rate at $10 a day will inevitably cause problems. Hospital employees and commuters will start using it as parking.
Chris
Spi, even the first 2 hours being free will result in stays that would have been 1 hour becoming 2 hours, thus reducing available parking for others.
jeather
There are ways to ensure that the whole-day rate is used by patients, but that would cost money. I don’t think people are going to hang out at the hospital for an extra hour just because the parking is free, though.
Uatu
A lot of the patients are elderly and because of the high price of parking have turned to volunteer driver car services. Jeather is right nobody wants to stay unless absolutely necessary. I see lots of patents wishing they could leave but have to wait for the car service to show up
Uatu
Also appointments sometimes are delayed. So a 10:00 turns into a 11:30 or worse and people are already steamed without having to pay extra for parking…
jeather
Exactly, Uatu. My father has biweekly appointments at the hospital and he gets there at 8 (I think) and is sometimes out by 9:30 and sometimes waiting around until noon, depending on the doctor.
Spi
Parking at Sainte-Justine is currently $18 for more than 4 hours, l’UdeM charges $20 for all-day parking. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that $10 parking will draw in drivers from the surrounding area.
Chris
jeather, patients may not want to hang around longer than necessary, but visitors sure will. Are they also planning to start getting proof for reason of visit? No. Thus, as I said, this price reduction will lead to the limited parking being used *more*, thus leaving less for everyone. It happens every time everywhere parking prices are reduced. There is mountains of empirical evidence for this.
Does parking have value? Yes. What happens when a valuable thing is free? It’s used. It’s that simple.
jeather
Again, they can easily block free/cheap parking by non-patients, if they want to. Will they? I don’t know. But it’s not a particularly hard problem if you want to fix it. (They might not, as a way to argue against the policy.)
One article describes how they do it in Ontario (you can buy one parking discount pass per patient and use it however you want, I haven’t looked into the details).
Making hospital parking cheaper for everyone so they become cheap public lots is a bad idea. Making hospital parking cheaper for patients is not.
dwgs
So Chris what are you recommending? If reducing the price is bad then what is a better idea?
Michael Black
I had an appointment yesterday at tye General, getting there just befor 1pm, and not seeing the doctor till 3pm, finally leaving at 5:20. I don’t drive, but that variable could be a bother to those who do.
When I was in the Royal Vic and my sister was in town, she could park for 30 minutes fre, which wasn’t much time for a visit after she got upstairs.
No, it’s not good if people used the parking to go somewhere else (or when coos drive over the terrace) but this is not an “ordinary” situation. Blanket response doesn’t apply.
In other news, Wegener’s disease has been renamed since I first heard of it in April. The doctor yesterday called it something else, and a search now shows the new name, I’m sure it wasn’t as prominent when I looked in April. Wegener was probably a nazi, so I’m glad his name has been erased. It’s not nice having a disease named after a likely nazi, not that having the disease is nice.
Michael
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Kate
Jean Drapeau was by no means a nice guy – racist, anti-immigration, and in favour of a heavy-handed Catholic paternalism in government. Le Devoir is digging into the recently opened archive, and pulls no punches in this tart analysis.
Here’s our Jean describing the Main: immigrants “ont transformé la grande artère commerciale de notre ville […] en une dégoûtante foire où quelque viande puante voisine de sales croûtons et où les trottoirs servent trop souvent de poubelles aux fruits et légumes en état de décomposition.”
Anything that wasn’t Catholic and French was dubious in Drapeau’s eyes. You might almost call him a natural CAQ candidate.
Brett
We get it, Kate. CAQ man bad, Liberal Party good, Communists are Cool. Its so predictable.
Kate
I did not say those things, Brett. Get a grip.
qatzelok
Did Jean Drapeau wear religious icons while mayoring?
If so, he was no CAQist.
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Kate
According to Montréal international, we’ve been among the top North American cities in terms of job growth in recent years, but as you read you realize they’re really only interested in high-tech positions.
jeather 21:51 on 2019-10-31 Permalink
I was in the metro car that hit the person. It was in the westbound green line at Lionel-Groulx, happened at about 4. They turned off the electricity, the front car was about halfway through the station. None of the people waiting looked disturbed, so I don’t think they knew what happened, but it was obvious from inside the train. First they cleared out the platform, then someone in the car had a panic attack and they then let us out, maybe ten minutes in. I don’t know what happened with the people still in the tunnel, but they were clearing everyone out and when I got outside the first ambulance was just arriving. They also used coffee 904, which I googled. There were people in bloody costumes milling about, it was surreal.
Kate 21:58 on 2019-10-31 Permalink
jeather, I’m assuming you mean Code 904, “Tentative de mort violente (suicide)”?
Were the bloody costumes rescuers, or Halloween folks?
jeather 22:04 on 2019-10-31 Permalink
Yes, code, not coffee! Weird autocorrect there.
Costumes. Lots and lots of costumes.
I didn’t see anything at all, just felt the thud. And I don’t think there was much to see, I was at the door so I was looking at the platform the entire time and everyone just looked annoyed that the metro was seeping and not upset about anything serious. I did look back at the tracks when I was going to the escalator but didn’t see anything, thankfully, because I know I would have regretted it.
Johnny 23:44 on 2019-10-31 Permalink
I was one of the witnesses waiting for the metro. At the end of the day it just built in a trauma in me, I legit get scared of the metro and i want to avoid the metro now becuase of what i witnessed, a girl basically jumped in front of the train and suicided. Everyone waiting for the angrignon train were all in shock sobbing and crying, same goes for me, i have never actually seen such thing before and i tell you this is so fcking sad it got my day upside down and i don’t know how to feel anymore the metro now feels eerie, especially Lionel Groulx.
I saw people in the train looking so confused like what’s happening and everything, the train operator ended up having a nervous shock and got sent to the hospital. It’s wrong to say thing but the suicidal victim is really selfish to have done it in public. It gave us witnesses and train operator trauma and pain. Seeing someone going in for a jump as i’m meters away wanting to just rush and prevent it to happen is really really hurtful.
I really wanted to take the nightbus and not the metro but I had to go home to finish all my homeworks and projects for tomorrow so i forced myself. Trully traumatizing. Legit my heart feels really eerie and tight whenever i hear the metro coming, the sound of the impact of the body hitting the front train is registered 100% clearly in my mind and i seriously can’t.
Kate 07:54 on 2019-11-01 Permalink
Johnny, I’m sorry you had to be there for that, and please don’t feel that anything you’ve said is wrong. You’re in emotional shock from this experience and I think you should talk to someone about it right away. Please google for crisis lines in Montreal and call in, or at the very least, call 811 and explain what happened and that you need to talk. Even try the suicide lines – I know you’re not suicidal, but they are trained to help with the aftereffects of suicide as well.
https://suicideactionmontreal.org
The West Island crisis line is most likely to have anglophone support if you want to be certain of that, or at least to be able to direct you to a source of support:
http://www.centredecriseoi.com
walkerp 10:05 on 2019-11-01 Permalink
Johnny, that’s brutal. Take some time and take care of yourself as Kate suggests.
CE 11:01 on 2019-11-01 Permalink
The orange line was also slowed down yesterday which the announcements said was due to the emergency break being pulled. The train would stop at a station for about 10 minutes, then do it again at the next. After a while it got going buy my girlfriend said it was still slow an hour later when she was coming home from work. I figured something bad had happened on the green line as the announcements were saying it wouldn’t be running again for another hour.
Kate 11:40 on 2019-11-01 Permalink
CE, they were not allowing orange line trains to stop at L-G for awhile, which bogged Berri‑UQÀM down with people transferring, and this also had a domino effect of delaying the rest of the system.
Johanne 17:50 on 2019-11-03 Permalink
I hear you Johnny, it’s been 3 days and I still hear the impact of the body. Not looking forward of the taking the metro this week.
Alex 21:22 on 2019-12-30 Permalink
That was my friend
Kate 22:57 on 2019-12-30 Permalink
Alex, I am sorry.
Paws 18:48 on 2021-12-03 Permalink
I was also there that day. I hadn’t seen it, but I heard it. I thought a bomb went off at first until I looked up and saw everyone’s faces and knew. t’s 2021 and I still can’t get on the metro without thinking about it. I come back to this thread sometimes to reread what other people who were there say because it helps when I’m on the metro I often wonder if anyone else on the same train as me was there and is also struggling to be alright while remembering it. I hope if anyone still comes to this thread like I do that they’re okay.
EmilyG 22:47 on 2021-12-03 Permalink
I wasn’t there, but I think about this thread sometimes.
Thank you for sharing, Paws.