Montreal City Weblog

Kate 12:20 on 2022-10-15 Permalink Reply  

• dhomas 13:56 on 2022-10-15 Permalink

  I took the metro to a birthday party for my son today and saw someone come out with a dog at Angrignon metro. I also saw the sign mentioning that dogs are now allowed. The dog seemed young, playful and very cute, but also knocked a newspaper out of another passenger’s hands. The other passenger laughed it off, but I’m not sure how this will play out in the long run.

• Kate 19:47 on 2022-10-15 Permalink

  I tend to forget there are still printed newspapers.

  But it’s still a pilot project, so we’ll see. It might take a few dogfights on a platform or a moving train to make the STM decide against it.

• Marc 23:05 on 2022-10-15 Permalink

  Too bad for me, I have diagnosed allergic asthma so seems like I have no other choice but to drive where I’m going now! That said, I’m glad that dog owners who can’t afford private transportation can now bring their animals to and from the vet, which I understand to be the primary purpose of this change in policy.

• Uatu 09:35 on 2022-10-16 Permalink

  I’m allergic as well. I guess I’ll wear an n95 mask. At least the pandemic doesn’t make it seem weird.

• carswell 10:36 on 2022-10-16 Permalink

  Maybe people who can’t afford to take a large animal to the vet in a taxi shouldn’t acquire a large animal? And that’s setting aside the question of why anyone should be allowed to have a large animal in a city.

  But thanks to the STM for showing us that animals-are-human trumps actual humans.

  I know I’ll be taking the metro less often and am already fantasizing about buying a car, something I can’t really afford, don’t otherwise need or want and that would hugely expand my currently small carbon footprint..

• JP 11:21 on 2022-10-16 Permalink

  Yeah, ditto to all of the above. I have a car, but use it for about 50% of trips. When going downtown, I usually take the metro. I suspect that 50-50 ratio, will gradually go up in favour of using the car.

  I have a phobia of dogs (I can manage it somewhat but mostly I prefer distance). I’m planning to take the metro today and already feel the anxiety.

• MarcG 11:30 on 2022-10-16 Permalink

  I asked before but I’ll ask again: Why don’t they restrict them to the first or last car like bicycles?

• carswell 11:45 on 2022-10-16 Permalink

  They’re banned from the first car because that’s where bikes go and, unfortunately, where groups of kids on field trips go too.

  I suspect some of the thinking is that, having dogs spread through the train instead of concentrated in one or two cars will help avoid dog-to-dog encounters.

  I don’t understand why bikes aren’t allowed on the first and last cars of the train. More and more cyclists are bringing their rusty steeds on the metro and the front car can get crowded, especially when you throw a bunch of field-tripping schoolkids into the mix. I’ve come close to not being able to board the front car a couple of times this summer because of the number of bikes already in it. Also, taking the example of Lionel Groulx, if I’m heading downtown on the orange line and want to transfer to the green line, I have to push my bike across the platform and all the way down to the other end, instead of just crossing the platform as I could if bikes were allowed in the last car. Even outside of rush hour, the station can be full of people not paying attention to where they’re going making navigating the bike tricky and potentially dangerous.