Montreal City Weblog

Kate 08:42 on 2022-08-31 Permalink Reply  

• DeWolf 11:06 on 2022-08-31 Permalink

  Last week I was walking along Mont-Royal and it felt a giant public living room. There were many different places to sit and they were all full of people reading books, chatting with friends or just sitting idle, watching the scene. All ages and abilities. And in the meantime, the terrasses were full and there were plenty of people going in and out of the bookstores, clothing stores, etc.

  Next week will be a bit of a shock. All that human life will be replaced by machines belching out noise and pollution. People will once again be forced onto overly narrow sidewalks. I really hope the SDC comes around and realizes that the pedestrianization needs to last the entire warm season, because it is a really wonderful thing for the Plateau and the city as a whole.

  Eventually, I think the entire street needs to be rethought. There should be a few blocks that are permanently pedestrianized — from St-Hubert to Henri-Julien would make sense — and the rest of the street should have less parking and wider sidewalks. The SDC’s own studies have shown that only 10% of customers come to the street by car, and it’s too narrow to be a good thoroughfare. In terms of transit, the 97 and 11 are probably much more efficient on St-Joseph, where they can benefit from reserved lanes and aren’t constantly stuck in traffic.

• Robert H 14:57 on 2022-08-31 Permalink

  Je ne pense pas que les Montréalais réalisent la chance qu’ils ont d’avoir une culture de rue aussi dynamique. La plupart des autres villes nord-américaines consultent des urbanistes, créent des incitatifs gouvernementaux et dépensent des millions de dollars pour tenter de recréer dans leurs propres villes ce que Montréal possède en abondance. Wellington, Mont-Royal, Sainte-Catherine, Saint-Paul, Saint-Denis, Masson, Monkland, Sherbrooke… les choix sont si nombreux qu’on pourrait oublier que le boulevard Cure-Labelle et le boulevard Taschereau sont la norme dans la plupart des endroits.

  Merci, Dewolf. J’envie d’une balade.

• Blork 16:11 on 2022-08-31 Permalink

  I’ve been to the pedestrianized Boul. Mont-Royal a few times this summer and it is nice. The fact that it runs all summer and not just for a few weekends makes it even better, as it’s not just sidewalk sales and whatnot. When it’s like that every day (and much better, with the things DeWolf describes), then people get used to it and it becomes more of a quotidian destination (I mean that in a good way) and not just a “scene” for a weekend.

  It’s a popular idea that’s catching on I think. Even wee Rue St-Charles in Longueuil was pedestrianized this summer (and I think it will be until about October). Not quite the same as Mont-Royal, because it’s much smaller and doesn’t quite have the attractions nor the mentality among the neighbours, but it’s a nice try and I hope they do it again next year.

  They even put in a pétanque court on the street, which cracks me up because it’s on such a slope that I think of it as playing pétanque on a sinking ship.

• Blork 16:13 on 2022-08-31 Permalink

  Correction: it’s on such a SLANT. The street is flat, but it slants sharply towards the curb.)