The flare of success the Canadiens experienced last spring cost $2.3 million in extra policing, according to documents obtained by La Presse, but the pandemic and the epidemic of gunfire around town are cited as even bigger reasons the SPVM overran its 2021 budget.
Updates from February, 2022 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
Kate
-
Kate
A woman was found dead by the CP tracks near Van Horne and St‑Laurent on Thursday. She may have been hit by a train, but the circumstances are under investigation.
GC
Oh, man. I went by there this evening. (Not crossing the tracks, but just walking along the fence on the south side.) I wondered why there was fresh police tape across the hole in the fence. I thought the police had kind of just given up because someone eventually cuts a new hole in the fences.
walkerp
Whoah!
That’s sad, though I have to wonder if she was intoxicated (still sad). People have been crossing there for years since CP Rail stopped their aggressive enforcement. Will this bring it back?
Ideally, the city and CP Rail build a proper overpass, but my understanding is that CP Rail has resisted this.SMD
Walkerp, CP has no problem with overpasses or underpasses (as long as they don’t have to pay for them and they can keep running trains while they are being built). But they will fight to the death against any new level crossings, which is what the City has been requesting for almost a decade now.
walkerp
Ah, thanks for that clarification, SMD. I can see their argument. They should then pony up for a good chunk of an overpass, then, since they are squatting on prime city real estate. At least let’s start some negotiations.
James
Just to add what SMD already said and who also reported the details back in December 2021:
Henri-Julien and Saint-Dominique crossings: crossings must be grade seperated and be fully paid by the city.
Ogilvy, Henri-Bourassa and de l’Épée crossings: at-grade crossings allowed but also to be fully paid by the city.
Details: https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/34-r-2019Kate
Thank you, James.
GC
I think they could put an elevated crossing there and someone would still cut a hole in the fence. It’s not that far to walk to St-Denis or St-Laurent and go over/under the tracks in a safe manner, but people go through the fence because they want the shortest route possible. I doubt a lot of them would want to bother climbing stairs, either.
walkerp
While you may be right about some holes still being cut, it is a huge pain in the ass to have to walk over to St-Laurent. You are forced to cut back to Bernard on the south side and then forced to go way past the running trail on the north side. It adds another 20 minutes at least for me to get to Home Hardware when I can get directly there by cutting across the tracks.
On a bike it is a different story and the proper bike path has made a huge difference. I almost always take that rather than cutting across the tracks.
Designing the routes for the way people want to use them does work.
GC
Yeah, I get that. Personally, I live closer to Saint-Denis so it’s not going out of my way to go under the tracks on St-Denis, even if I want to head to Home Depot or get on the Reseau-Vert or something. In the interests of full disclosure, however, I will admit I’ve scampered through that hole in the fence a few times, just for a change of scenery. I wouldn’t ever damage the fence myself, but when there’s already a hole… I also think the the Van Horne over pass is not very inviting as a pedestrian, so I don’t blame anyone for wanting to walk just about any other way than over that.
Kate
GC, the viaduct isn’t inviting at all. The only good thing about it is the view.
-
Kate
I haven’t followed the Chez Cora kidnapping trial, although some odd things came out of it, essentially the suspicion that the “victim” had engineered the incident himself. Now the jury is at an impasse and say they are unable to reach a verdict. What the jury doesn’t know, because they’ve been sequestered, is that the brother of the “victim” essentially agrees with the defense that the whole thing was a setup.
Friday, the news comes that the judge has declared a mistrial, the jury has been dismissed and a second trial will have to be held.
-
Kate
There’s not so much local news this week with Tory meltdown and the “Freedom Convoy” noise practically audible from Ottawa. Now another convoy is converging on Quebec City just as its carnival starts. In a weird footnote, the man who kept his gym open in Quebec against sanitary rules last year, turning it into a superspreading spot, has been found dead.
Janet
In a weird footnote to your weird footnote, check out the name of the coroner’s office spokesperson. I guess his folks were Raging Bull fans.
Kate
OMG, my eye skidded right over that.
Joey
Jake Lamotta investigating the death of Dan Marino? Is this some kind of weird Ace Ventura remake?
Meezly
The co-organizer of the QC convoy left La Meute a few years ago because he felt they weren’t serious enough. Enough said.
-
Kate
There have been reports of increased pet adoptions during the pandemic, but also fears of pet abandonment. Whatever the truth of these stories, veterinarians are overwhelmed and it can be hard to get an appointment. I’m sure that’s not easy for them, but it’s a good sign that not only are people getting pets, they’re also looking after them.
jeather
I will say that my vet is slightly expensive but has always been able to get me an appointment within 48 hours, and almost always 24 if I wanted it. (Also, it’s 2 blocks away.)
I’m vaguely looking for a young, bonded fluffy pair and it remains difficult to find, though this is not really the season for them.
Kate
jeather, the Animal Rescue Network has a pair of 8‑month‑old tabby littermates up for adoption. Not fluffy, but stripey!
jeather
I am absolutely fixed on fluffy. It will come eventually.
jeather
Or someone I know will find little ones that need socialization first, something.
-
Kate
The High Lights festival is to go on later in February, with the usual confusing mixture of food and musical events.
-
Kate
Three high school coaches in St‑Laurent have been arrested and accused of sexually assaulting minors. La Presse goes further, naming the suspects and specifying that they’re basketball coaches. The charges concern alleged incidents between 2008 and 2014.
Reply