Artists chosen for five new blue line stations
The STM has chosen the artists to create works for each of the five new stations on the blue line.
I notice that of the five stations, three still share the same name as a green line station: Pie‑IX, Viau and Langelier. They’ll have to come up with some sort of variation: Pie‑IX Nord or Viau Bleu?
Just don’t name any of them after Bernard Landry.
Ephraim 19:32 on 2023-01-26 Permalink
How about naming one after John Ciaccia, Italian Canadian, member of the National Assembly, negotiator for the James Bay development
Of course, I’m still waiting for ANYTHING to be named after Ezekiel Hart… anything. He’s the origin of the emancipation of the Jews in 1832 in Quebec and for that matter, all non-Christians to enter politics in Quebec and Canada
Kate 21:30 on 2023-01-26 Permalink
I tend to want the metro stations to be named logically after the closest major street or urban feature, not after politicians, no matter how deserving.
There are no secondary major streets along the blue line that would make sense as alternate names (they already did this once, naming the station that should have been Papineau Nord “Fabre” which is not a major street, and I suspect they won’t do that again) so it’ll probably have to be Pie‑IX Nord and so on.
mare 00:52 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
Pie-IX Nord would be a terrible name (Pie-IX itself is already a terrible name, especially for tourists). It suggests it’s a short walk between the two stations.
A very Quebec thing would be to just rename the section of Pie-IX north of the 40 into Boulevard Bernard Landry. And then name the station after the boulevard.
I actually don’t like that metro stations are named after streets. Sherbrooke street is 30 km long, naming a station Sherbrooke doesn’t say much about its location. (Naming another station partly after a university named after another *city* called Sherbrooke doesn’t make sense at all, it just makes for a ridiculously long name that nobody ever uses.)
The moment you get bigger networks you run into trouble, especially with the length of some of the streets in Montreal. At some point in the future there could well be three metro lines crossing Pie-IX (in the unlikely case a new line is ever built after 20+ studies). Would you name the third station Pie-IX-Centre?
Naming stations after famous (dead) artists is my favourite, but a station with a Cree of Mohawk name is long overdue as well. Or just name them after plants, trees or animals. Station-Raton-Laveur does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
GC 09:17 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
I’ll bang my usual drum that we shouldn’t name things after people, at all.
I agree that giving Blue line stations the same names as Green line stations is a bad idea, though.
MarcG 09:46 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
The metro station closest to me is named Lasalle, presumably because it’s near Lasalle blvd – which is very long like Sherbrooke so pretty useless in that regard – but the number of poor lost souls I find wandering around nearby thinking they’re in the borough of Lasalle is amazing. Names are important, do a survey before you start printing the signs!
shawn 10:21 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
Yes these are always fun to argue about. FWIW, I still find myself calling Edouard Montpetit ‘Vincent d’Indy’, which was never even the official name? Or it was for 5 mins.?
As for these blue line stations, I wonder if there are some old neighbourhood names that could be used? I’d rather like that, naming it after these traditional quartiers or districts, where possible.
shawn 11:23 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
Looking at what’s in the french wiki article on the Blue line and I see that one station is in Saint-Léonard, which is in turn a shortening of the old parish Saint-Léonard-de-Port-Maurice… so I daresay Saint-Léonard will be the name?
Ephraim 11:52 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
Sherbrooke Station should actually be renamed Square St-Louis (the legal name of the park). It’s not even on Sherbrooke
The original Viau maybe should be renamed, it’s not really on Viau at all… it’s on Pierre-de-Coubertin. They could name it Musee, since it is near so many museums… the biodome, the botanical gardens, the planetarium and the memorial to Drapeau’s folly. Which of course suggests that Pie-IX could be renamed Stade Olympique?
shawn 12:12 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
Yes, Square St-Louis would have been a nice name too. I once told a clued out family member to meet me at the Sherbrooke metro and he went to métro Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke! Though that’s hardly the station’s fault. And it we’re renaming Viau then surely it should be Espace pour la vie, not ambiguous Musée.
I hope the STM reads Kate’s blog and governs itself accordingly.
carswell 14:13 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
@shawn Nothing to stop you or anyone else from submitting suggestions directly.
https://www.stm.info/fr/nous-joindre
There’s even a prefabbed “Suggestion” subject line option. Suggesters might also CC a few media outlets in the hope of sparking a public discussion.
FWIW I think the idea of naming most of the new blue line stations after places is the way to go, though Anjou and Lacordaire are fine as is. I don’t imagine the STM will be open to radically changing existing stations’ names; however, history shows they will consider amending existing names (so Pie IX-Stade olympique or Pix IX-Stade?).
Kate 14:51 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
Viau (green) could be renamed Espace pour la Vie, or make some reference to Copernicus or Galileo because of the planetarium.
MarcG: you are so right about Lasalle station being confusing.
Some great ideas here!
carswell 15:05 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
While not personally opposed to changing, say, green line Viau to Espace pour la Vie, can you imagine the confusion that would last for years if its old name were given to a new station? I’m sure the STM can. Yes, there is a history of at least one total name change (Île Ste-Hélène to Jean-Drapeau) but the old name wasn’t reused.
Kate 17:07 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
Here’s the thing: they might, might just get away with calling the Pie‑IX blue line station Provencher, a street that’s a couple of short blocks east, although less well known.
But Viau, up there, is not near any other street or feature of note, and the same problem affects Langelier. Viau, Langelier and Lacordaire are all in St‑Léonard, so that wouldn’t work as a station name.
Alternative names don’t leap off the map.