Updates from October, 2024 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Kate 21:12 on 2024-10-03 Permalink | Reply  

    Three stations on the blue line – Fabre, d’Iberville and Saint‑Michel – have been closed because of structural concerns revealed by work being done at Saint‑Michel. A shuttle bus, bus 809, will run between Jean‑Talon and Saint‑Michel stations while repairs are made.

    Clarifications have been made Friday morning. The problem is at Saint‑Michel only, but they need to close the stations between Saint‑Michel and Jean‑Talon because Jean‑Talon is the only station before Saint‑Michel where trains can turn to go back towards Snowdon.

    Update: La Presse says the STM is blaming the infiltration of road salt brine for weakening the concrete.

     

    • carswell 09:59 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      An Agora Mtl poster took the shuttle from St-Michel to Jean-Talon and timed the legs of the trip and the waiting time to board. The later was good, under four minutes, but the trip itself took about 25 minutes vs. four minutes on the subway.

      This is also going to have an effect on local businesses with non-local customers. Case in point: friends and I are indefinitely postponing a planned outing to the St-Michel flea market, about a 10-minute walk from the namesake station.

    • Kate 10:36 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      Not great, but better than having part of Saint‑Michel station collapse.

    • carswell 10:46 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      Oh, def. But I pity those commuters.

      That the serious work on the blue line extension finally begins and immediately results in an extended blue line reduction is almost unbearably ironic.

    • Kate 12:11 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      I suppose it’s possible that maintenance work on Saint-Michel had been put on hold because of an assumption it would be done when the extension work began, but that could have been years ago, given the endless delays on this project.

    • carswell 12:43 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      Per Radio Noon, having finished a round of major maintenance work on the original 1960s stations, the STM is now focusing on the newer stations.

      According to the guest prof, first indications are that salt, mostly from slush clinging to passengers’ footwear, is a major suspect. The prof noted that to avoid falls and lawsuits, the STM salts very heavily around metro stations, which exacerbates the problem and is an argument in favour of heating the entrance areas and nearby sidewalks instead of salting.

    • Kate 13:05 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      I was just adding La Presse’s version of the salt story to the original post.

    • Ian 23:18 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      That really stinks, there are a lot of people that rely on those stops for theor mornings. For example, JFK at St Michel is three schools in one – adult ed, regular high school, and a Pathways school.

  • Kate 16:01 on 2024-10-03 Permalink | Reply  

    A study from Concordia suggests that a two‑bedroom apartment could go for $4,325 a month by 2032.

     

    • Joey 17:48 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

      This study doesn’t seem to have included any public policy or regulatory elements in its model; sure demand can continue to grow much faster than supply, but if the TAL sets annual rent hikes are a few percent, there would have to be lots and lots of rule-breaking to approach the figures discussed here, no? That may be plausible, but it needs to be called out. We may all bemoan the weakness of our rent control system, but it still exists.

    • DeWolf 20:46 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

      Any study that assumes “if policies and trends remain unchanged” isn’t worth much as a study. It’s like estimating population growth by extrapolating current growth rates, which is how we got estimates in the early 70s that Montreal would have 10 million people today.

      That said we’ve gone through an alarming period of rent hikes and the only way out is to build more housing of all types and to reinforce rent controls.

    • JaneyB 08:25 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      …and to punish Airbnb in as many ways as possible. That is a key problem.

    • Blork 13:46 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      It’s a bit of a misdirection to blame/punish Airbnb. They don’t own those apartments and they don’t make any decisions about them. All they do is facilitate booking and payment.

      That’s not to say they are utterly blameless, but the real problem are the people and real estate developers who choose to make their units short-term rentals instead of regular rentals. Let’s put the focus back on those people, the ones who make those choices.

    • MarcG 13:51 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      It’s a systemic problem and Airbnb is part of that system.

    • Blork 16:49 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      Yes, but blaming Airbnb without mentioning the individuals and corporations who CHOOSE to use their spaces for short-term rentals is a misdirection. Look at the fire in Old Montreal this morning; short-term rentals in a “hostel” run by the same guy who owned the building that burned two years ago and killed seven people. But Airbnb was not involved in the place that burned last night, although it seems to have had the same problems.

      Are you also going to go after Booking(.)com? Expedia? Vrbo? Rentals(.)ca? Padmapper? CozyCozy? Zumper? The lists go on an on. Focusing on one of many companies who do this while skipping over the people who MAKE THE CHOICES and profit the most is misdirection.

    • Blork 16:55 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      It’s also somewhat hopeless, like blowing smoke into the wind. Airbnb is a large international company with millions of listings around the world and no actual footprint here. But the people and developers who own the short-term rentals? They’re right here. (And if they’re not right here, their properties are right here.)

    • MarcG 17:51 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

      I guess Airbnb has just become the generic term for short-term rental company (a la Kleenex). If you regulate the space the people will fall in line.

  • Kate 14:16 on 2024-10-03 Permalink | Reply  

    Food & Wine magazine has a piece on Montreal’s Jewish food culture.

     

    • Kate 09:46 on 2024-10-03 Permalink | Reply  

      A new sculpture, Orb, has been installed on the esplanade of Place des Arts and will be there for five years. As Olivier Du Ruisseau says in this piece, it has a sort of 1960s vibe that works with the era of the surrounding buildings. It’s almost an Expo 67 flair.

       

      • Blork 14:14 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        Cue the outrage from the idiot corner about spending tax money on artistic installations.

      • Kate 14:26 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        The item says it was the idea of the guy who runs the Mural festival, and “Mural a réuni environ un demi-million de dollars pour l’occasion, avec l’aide de Tourisme Montréal et du Fonds signature métropole du gouvernement du Québec.” Presumably at least some of that is tax money, but it would be funds set aside for spiffing things up to attract tourists, which would be frittered on folderol in any case.

      • Joey 15:25 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        We finally got our version of Chicago’s Bean! It looks like it’s been placed in a wading pool. I think it would be more of a hit if visitors could get up close… Anyway, I like it. Mural is great. Good use of taxpayer money IMO. Let’s hope the majority of the funds went to the artist.

      • Blork 17:09 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        Kate, it doesn’t matter to the idiots. Even if it were 100% privately funded and had large signs around it indicating so, the socials would still be full of idiots complaining about tax dollar funding. Look at the “Ring.” Hardly any public money done for that but you can’t see a picture of it on FB or Insta without every fourth comment being a screed about wasting tax dollars.

      • CE 17:17 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        Honestly, who cares about the idiots frittering away their time yelling at clouds on social media?

      • Blork 17:35 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        CE, I know! But I can’t help feeling a profound disappointment with humanity and the cultural loss of the potential of social media when I see that stuff. It would be one thing if it was rare but if social media has done anything it has exposed the extent to which so many of our fellow humans are dumb as fence posts. And I don’t mean naively and harmlessly dumb like your silly uncle, I mean actively and deliberately stupid.

        It’s one of the reason I’m barely on social media anymore.

      • Kevin 20:11 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        Honestly, we’re at the point where everyone should be aware that unmoderated social media is an absolute garbage fire because it’s overrun by paid bad faith actors.

        Block the blockheads and move on — they’re not real people!

      • Kate 20:48 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        Has anyone yet trained an AI to moderate?

      • CE 20:20 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        It’s not just paid trolls and bots, it’s an entire ecosystem that’s designed to elevate, promote, and encourage rage and anger because bad emotions increase engagement and keep people on the sites/apps longer. Social media may have started out with good intentions but it’s rotten from the inside out. A lot of damage has been done but the quicker we all as a society get away from it, the better we’ll be.

      • DeWolf 20:48 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        I was downtown this evening so I wandered by to see it. Not bad. It’s a bauble but a fun one to have around.

      • JaneyB 08:28 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

        Love it! It does have a 60s vibe! 🙂

      • Tee Owe 15:08 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

        With DeWolf on this one – looks like a fun addition to the city

    • Kate 08:30 on 2024-10-03 Permalink | Reply  

      The STM is preparing to build a new garage for metro trains repair vehicles under Decarie Boulevard. Official page for the project.

       

      • Nicholas 09:07 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        The official page said the buildings need to be demolished for safety reasons, due to their advanced deterioration. But all but one were in use as stores in November 2020, according to Google Streetview (though with liquidation signs). The article says the area is needed for an access point, but how big does a stairwell and service elevator and loading dock need to be? It’s fine if they just say they want an easy construction site, but why hide the ball like this?

        Also, Kate, it’s not for metro trains, it’s for the repair vehicles they send out at night that you sometimes see when coming home at 1 am. This will probably save close to an hour of travel time each night, so more time for work.

      • Kate 09:41 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        Thanks for the correction.

        I’ve seen those vehicles, having lucked into a late-night visit to the metro a few years ago: photos by Ben Soo.

      • Ephraim 12:37 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        I strongly object to the lack of transparency surrounding the new metro repair station’s design and its integration with the Decarie neighborhood. I support the purchase, demolition, and construction of the new station itself. However, I want information on how the new building’s design will complement Decarie’s existing aesthetic. I also urge consideration for incorporating affordable housing into the project. Finally, I require full disclosure of the plans for employee parking.

        My ideal outcome is a new building that maintains Decarie’s character while adding at least three stories of either residential or STM office space. I also believe employee parking should not be provided by the employer. If it is, it should be treated as the taxable benefit that it is.

      • Kate 14:17 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        Ephraim, I thought for a moment you were writing satire with phrases like “Decarie’s existing aesthetic” and “maintains Decarie’s character”. Rereading you, I’m still not sure.

      • Joey 15:28 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        Obviously they already ran public consultations on this, so you missed your chance to gripe about the tax treatment of parking spaces: https://www.stm.info/en/about/public-participation/lets-chat/northwest-attachment-centre

        +1 to Kate’s answer. I encourage you to look up those addresses on Street View.

      • Ephraim 18:16 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        Not what was there, but something that doesn’t look out of place. The blocks beyond QM on that side are awful. The blocks further up are residential. So a glass office building at ground level will just stick out.

        Yes, what was there was awful, but so is 900 place d’armes. We need streets to feel comfortable, somewhat homogeneous.

        And too often we build for the STM as single use. How much space around and above an édicule is just wasted because we aren’t maximizing it’s value. Isn’t this the lesson we should have learnt from the REM. Use that space properly.

      • Ephraim 06:06 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

        If you look at the primary site, the houses to both sides are 4 story tall residential apartment buildings. So is the block before them. The one exception is the building right next, which is mixed use and 3 stories. So the building, even if being used by the city for other purposes, should sort of “melt” into the neighbourhood and disappear, as if it wasn’t even really there. Imagine how weird a modern office building would look right in there.
        The secondary location nearer to Queen Mary. That shouldn’t break the streetscene. Not by what is currently there, but by what should have been there. Look at 4954 Decarie as an example of what should have NEVER been authorized. Heck, even the post office shouldn’t have been authorized to be built so differently than the rest of the street scene. But we made mistakes in the past. Let’s try to prevent them in the future.

      • Kate 09:57 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

        I see what you mean, Ephraim, but I think you’d have trouble convincing anyone that the buildings fringing Decarie are worthy of any architectural consideration.

      • Ephraim 10:39 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

        But neighbourhood continuity is. 900 Place d’Armes should be remembered for the mistake it is and never repeated.

      • James 13:54 on 2024-10-04 Permalink

        If built in this area, almost all of the building will not be visible. Only a building big enough for trucks to fully enter will be at ground level. Most of the building will be multiple basements and finally, at the lowest level, tracks for the maintenance vehicles.
        It will be a lot like the “Garage Cote-Vertu”: https://www.stm.info/en/about/major_projects/completed-major-projects/cote-vertu-garage

      • Orr 08:31 on 2024-10-07 Permalink

        900 Place d’Armes is a remarkable building and a jewel.
        If you want to identify an eyesore that should never been built, look no further than the giant ferris wheel just downhill at the federally-owned Old Port/Vieux Port. Now that’s an oversized eyesore that does not belong in this historic neighbourhood.

    • Kate 08:27 on 2024-10-03 Permalink | Reply  

      The entire metro system was down early Thursday but was back by 6:10 am.

       

    • Kate 08:25 on 2024-10-03 Permalink | Reply  

      The city plans to raise property tax by 1.8% in 2025.

       

      • Ephraim 12:47 on 2024-10-03 Permalink

        Yes, but it already raised evaluations between 2022 and 2024 by about 33% when inflation was under 13.5%

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