Jean-Talon market: things are looking up
La Presse has good news about Jean-Talon market: a new management style seems to have settled some of the difficulties, even though it goes on being hard to find small local farmers willing to spend a lot of their time in town selling at a stall.
Jack 11:42 on 2021-04-05 Permalink
“la Ville a décidé de mettre de l’ordre dans la gouvernance en nommant une directrice à la main de fer, qui, selon plusieurs, n’a pas su tenir compte de la culture et de la tradition de l’institution.
À cela s’ajoutaient plusieurs décisions de l’administration Plante qui n’ont pas aidé : restrictions à la mobilité dans le secteur, diminution des places de stationnement, aménagement douteux en béton, près de la SAQ, signalisation déficiente et rues fermées à la circulation automobile. ”
The reporter listed the Birri talking points from the last decade. He has been opposed to any and all changes forever. Last year he told us he was done , it was over, he was going to Laval…how much you want a bet he will back.
Another thing to consider is that the previous administration faced threats and vandalism when they tried to clean up some very obvious corruption. So somebody who told the grossistes that they were tenants and not owners of the Market got cross, come on.
DeWolf 11:50 on 2021-04-05 Permalink
The “aménagement douteux en béton” was filled with (responsibly distanced) people watching a bluegrass band perform yesterday. When I look back at old images of the market when that area was still a parking lot, it’s pretty clear to me that turning the market into a more human, pleasant place is exactly the kind of change that is going to sustain it into the future. Anybody can drive to a Fruiterie 440 if they want fresh veg with lots of parking. A true market offers something more.
At least the article is correct in describing how the market has been reinvigorated over the past year. Not surprising that it took new management with a fresh vision of balancing different types of stalls rather than leaning too heavily to one side or the other. In these pandemic times, the market also has the advantage of being open air, which means people can get their food without having to spend too much time indoors.
YUL514 12:36 on 2021-04-05 Permalink
DeWolf, that part of the article caught my attention too (about it being reinvigorated) but I’m not sure I believe it. Maybe sales were up but all those empty spaces last summer were disappointing. They used to have a bunch of temporary stalls along the “Allée Vert” in previous summers but that last two years have been disappointing. In general I found last summer to be quieter than in previous years and I’ve been shopping there weekly for 20 years, that was my observation.