Boston Globe on Montreal in winter
The Boston Globe writes longingly about how Montreal embraces winter – and Metro covers the Globe article.
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shawn 17:30 on 2023-02-13 Permalink
Wow, it’s a great article. Makes me vicariously hearty and proud and francophone even though I have my own “nuit blanche” on a regular basis, just trying to sleep. Vive nordicité!
shawn 18:47 on 2023-02-13 Permalink
I know a lot of people won’t be able to access the Globe article but it also makes the point that the underlying philosophy of our “underground city” – which we just talked about – is now replaced by an urban design approach to get us outside, embracing winter (which are getting milder on average anyway).
shawn 20:54 on 2023-02-13 Permalink
BTW the most extreme example of ‘undergrounding’ as a negative force in urban design, for me, was a trip I took years ago to Winnipeg. I was excited to see the intersection of Portage and Main because I’d heard so much about it. Well, it doesn’t exist, for pedestrians. There are only these tunnels and it’s only from a vehicle that you can actually traverse the intersection. It took me a while to figure that out and I was pretty dumbfounded.
mare 22:25 on 2023-02-13 Permalink
@Shawn There *was* actually a small underground shopping mall there, accessible with stairs on all street corners because pedestrians weren’t allowed to cross the street.
Huge caveat: I was there more than ten years ago, so maybe it has been demolished now, because it wasn’t exactly a safe space for pedestrians after 18h00 when downtown Winnipeg is almost deserted, except for the many homeless. In my memory there were only office towers and large parking lots. Hardly anyone lived there, and hardly any restaurant was open for supper.
That may all have changed now, I actually hope it has, because it wasn’t a great experience.
I was actually staying very close to Portage, on Main, in the Fairmount hotel, because my ex was working for MTS for five months (before it was bought by Bell) and their head office was across the street. So they put her up in this fancy hotel and I visited Winnipeg a few times during her stays.
shawn 10:30 on 2023-02-14 Permalink
Yes! I remember that mall and how creepy it was. And I stayed at the same hotel as you.
According to Wikipedia, the intersection remains closed to pedestrians following a referendum:
“In 2016, with the deal to close the intersection set to expire, city officials were contemplating re-opening of the intersection to pedestrians.[11] However, in a plebiscite in 2018, 65% of voters voted in favour of keeping the intersection closed to pedestrians, with many concerned about traffic congestion. The mayor agreed to accept the results of that plebiscite and did not reopen the intersection.[12]
More recently, Portage and Main has served as an anchor point for occasional street festivals and the winter lighting of holiday street decorations.[citation needed]”
Winnipeg still very much stuck in the mindset where vehicular traffic is king.
Tee Owe 13:17 on 2023-02-14 Permalink
I know the intersection, and I’ve been there too, it’s legendary – but isn’t this a Montreal blog where even Laval and Longueuil get short shrift-?
shawn 13:36 on 2023-02-14 Permalink
Ok I will try to work in some Chomedey references for you.