Place des Montréalaises proves hazardous
The Place des Montréalaises is proving hazardous, its rain troughs being difficult to distinguish from the rest of the concrete and thus easily tripping people.
Now the site is festooned with warning cones.
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Kate
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Taylor C. Noakes 19:36 on 2025-06-03 Permalink
Montrealers SHOCKED to learn they need to watch where they’re walking!
bob 20:41 on 2025-06-03 Permalink
The important thing is that cones have been deployed. Not enough, obviously, but it’s a start.
Kate 21:29 on 2025-06-03 Permalink
Montreal City Weblog, June 2125: “It’s a little-known fact that the orange striped poles on the Place des Montréalaises were added shortly after its opening to keep visitors from tripping and falling. They have remained a feature of the site ever since.”
Kevin 21:41 on 2025-06-03 Permalink
Given the hassle borough permit offices put homeowners through regarding courtyards and fences, I wonder how anyone allowed those teeny plants in the multiple pits.
MarcG 07:48 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
It doesn’t get much more Perfectly Montreal than this. They should just incorporate cones into the design phase and save some time.
Uatu 08:21 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
You’d think that we’re used to walking amongst potholes that this wouldn’t be a problem.
Credulous-Flaneur 08:43 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
The orange cones add a nice punch of color, giving the flowers time to grow.
I suspect the complaints are a sign of environmental misogyny.
DeWolf 10:50 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
I don’t think the circular planters are the problem – they’re pretty hard to miss. It’s the shallow gutter or rain trough on the side of the plaza that is tripping people. I tripped on it the first time I visited the square. It’s very hard to see.
Kevin 12:06 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
The more I look at this site the angrier I get. It’s like the designers took everything that a society uses in other locations to warn people and then deliberately tweaked them to make them less noticeable.
Big yellow circles near the edge of a dropoff? Make them grey on grey. Ramp beside a walkway? Remove the railing.
It’s the No Osha Compliance trope in real life.
Joey 14:02 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
Also, obviously they’ve planted vegetation, but from the photo this looks like a mega heat island, the removal of which is like Projet’s #2 priority after bike lanes. I’d be curious to know if it’s at all enjoyable to visit on a day like today.
Ian 07:40 on 2025-06-05 Permalink
You could have had a grassy park with gardens, trees, historical plaques and a few statues for 100 million.
This is what this “park” looks liek now. imagine it in the 6 months of winter, lol.
dwgs 09:54 on 2025-06-05 Permalink
I’ve got one word for you – architects.
Orr 11:58 on 2025-06-06 Permalink
I also tripped on the very invisible shallow gutters.
And the identification of the 7 montrealers the park is celebrating is very “artistically displayed” and I couldn’t make heads or tales on what or who it was about. That problem is less “architects” and more “designers.” Functionality is never a high priority for the designer-class.