Some say that conditions in the Village are improving, but it’s phrased tentatively in the CTV piece.
Updates from April, 2024 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
The cityGreater Montreal is pondering a sharp hike in vehicle licensing fees to support public transit.Ian
The city really needs to focus on the fact that this is a tactic in the ongoing struggle with the Ministry of Transportation, and make this about the city VS CAQ.
As it is, it’s just going to be perceived as “the war on cars” and making citizens pay for political decisions they only have any ability to affect at municipal election time.
Whether you think there should be a “war” on vehicles or not, one thing that the “war on cars” people tend to forget is that all goods brought into Montreal are then distributed by trucks. In that sense this will easily be spun into a war on business, Also, any company with a Montreal-based fleet of commercial vehicles is going to very quickly move the fleet address off-island, actually decreasing city revenues – and those numbers are an order of magnitude higher than private ownership.
DeWolf
But this isn’t a city initiative, Ian, it would apply to all the municipalities in Greater Montreal. So a business wanting to avoid the hike in registration fees would have to move their operations outside the metropolitan area entirely.
Also, the quotes in the article suggest that the various mayors are taking exactly the approach you recommend:
// « L’augmentation de la taxe sur l’immatriculation des véhicules n’est pas une option souhaitée par la Ville de Montréal ni une baisse de service de transport collectif », a indiqué l’attachée de presse Catherine Cadotte.
« Tout dépend de la proposition de financement du ministère des Transports de la Mobilité durable attendue impatiemment par les villes, les sociétés de transport et la population », a-t-elle continué. //
The mayor of Laval is opposed to the hike but his line is that Quebec needs to step up:
// Dans une déclaration écrite transmise par son cabinet, le maire de Laval a repoussé la solution fiscale. « Deux choses sont importantes pour moi. D’abord, rencontrer la ministre. Le temps presse », a-t-il dit. « Ensuite, il faut trouver une solution pérenne et conjointe. Si on n’y arrive pas, on va rentrer dans le cercle vicieux de la diminution de l’offre de service. Pour moi, l’augmentation des taxes c’est vraiment la dernière des options. » //
Ian
Nothing stopping anyone from moving their registration to anywhere outside greater Montreal, it’s a matter of licensing, not physical location of the fleet. There are lots of commercial vehicles in Montreal that are registered elsewhere, it’s not like they need to build a ring of parking lots north of Mirabel or whatever.
I said “the city” in response to Kate, I did read the article, thank you.
Kate
My apologies for misstating the situation originally.
Ephraim
The city needs to think long and hard about this because there will be unintended consequences.
Then again, in many places in Europe, only low emission vehicles are allowed and residential areas are sometimes limited to just residents, buses, taxis, ubers and delivery vehicles with 0 emissions.
Chris
“zero emissions” is a greenwashing phrase. The particulates from tires and brake pads is substantial, even from EVs.
Ephraim
I assume that means that you only buy local. No phone ,no lights, no motor car, not a single luxury like Robinson Crusoe, as primitive as can be.
Ian
and not even any coconuts to build everything out of.
Chris
A non sequitur if I ever saw one.
Ian
Only to people unfamiliar with Gilligan’s Island.
Chris
Ian, I was responding to Ephraim, should have specified that. I generally ignore your trolls.
Ian
Considering that you think Ephraim’s on-point remark was a non sequitur, I’m not surprised that you think I’m trolling you. Generally, your strong point appears to be false equivalencies, not cultural literacy, so please forgive my unfair assumption.
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Kate
CBC has some photos and video of the restoration of Eaton’s 9th floor, set to reopen next month. La Presse also has some nice photos.
Poutine Pundit
Wait, what?
The dining room will be open only for rentals and dining will take place in some previously unused hallway with low ceilings and a nice wooden floor? Isn’t 95% of the point of going there to dine in the magnificent art deco dining room rather than in a hallway? The dining room is “too large to operate as a modern restaurant”? What does that mean?
steph
@poutine.
it means you can’t have dinner in the dining hall. The restoration has the space repurposed. I’m also disappointed (not that I’d pay to dine there either).Ian
So then… what is even the point?
Uatu
Might as well just eat at the time out market or le Cathcart. It’s a lot better ambiance than a hallway outside of a room you’re not allowed in lol
Robert H
Wow, it looks just splendid. My boomer nostalgia nerve is triggered. It’s disappointing that the great hall won’t reopen as a restaurant available to all. Though the article notes that by the 1980s (when I first came to Montreal), the glory from its heyday had pretty much faded, I distinctly recall being very impressed by its then pastel coloured elegance; it looked like a great set for an Astaire-Rogers extravaganza. I also remember my delicious salmon with hollandaise sauce. That dining hall and the huge Eaton’s department store that housed it, were the type of place that was already disappearing from cities during my childhood. Used to be that you could find its equivalent in the great commercial palaces of most self-respecting major metropolises. Now they’re all gone, except for this glittering revived remnant. I look forward to seeing it again, and I hope it’s such a success that management reconsiders its decision to restrict la grande salle special events or rentals only.
Robert H
One day, Uatu, do you suppose young people might reminisce fondly about shopping mall food halls?
Ian
You joke but I ran into some old high school friends and we started waxing nostalgic about the places at the food court in the mall we hung out at in downtown Hamilton circa 1985
Uatu
Last Christmas season there were parties held at Le Cathcart with trendy young people dressed up waiting outside in line. I guess they might have good memories about eating with good looking people under the glass roof at night.
Ephraim 21:24 on 2024-04-20 Permalink
One of the banks told me that they have 24 hour security for their ATM in the village. That’s a heck of an expense.
Kate 08:07 on 2024-04-21 Permalink
They want to keep people from sleeping inside the ATM space.
P 08:26 on 2024-04-21 Permalink
24h ATMs like this kind of boggle my mind in 2024. For how much rely on credit/debit cards to make purchases… Combined with the fact that all of banks are slimming down their in-person services (switching to online only)… I feel there’s so little financial incentive to provide 24h access, let alone pay for security. Heck, the bank has incentive to keep your money, not disperse it.
Ephraim 08:58 on 2024-04-21 Permalink
The thing is, when these areas are abused, banks tend to move the ATMs outside. Which is horrible in the winter and of course less secure if you need to make a deposit.
Joey 20:40 on 2024-04-21 Permalink
But the marginal cost of operating ATMs 24/7 must be very small, no? The infrastructure is there, the cash deliveries are already being made, and in most cases security isn’t required. Anecdotally I’ve noticed most (almost all) indoor ATMs “feature” aggressive sound environments (eg a beeping alarm panel) after business hours to prevent littering and many are now locked on weekends.
Ephraim 22:12 on 2024-04-21 Permalink
Joey – They are used by businesses to deposit cash/cheques. So security it a concern for some
P 01:56 on 2024-04-23 Permalink
@Joey- I was talking about the ones where the machine is indoors (and are subject to vandalism or people sleeping) or in this case, where the bank had to go as far as hiring security.
If banks are as money-conscious (or money-greedy) as I imagine them to be, I figured they’d just shut down access after business hours or past 10pm or something.