What’s in store for Ste-Catherine?
Merchants have reservations about plan proposed by Ferrandez in 2015
When Denis Coderre unveiled his administration’s plans for a new and improved Ste-Catherine St. in the spring of 2015, the former mayor touted it as a “brightened” version of the city’s beloved main drag.
There would be heated sidewalks. A short section of them near The Bay would be widened. Lanes reserved for parking would be elevated almost to the height of the sidewalks, giving more room for pedestrians, terrasses and kiosks during special events or street festivals. There would be more trees and places to sit.
The changes, modest but esthetically pleasing, would bring a renewed dynamism to a proud but time-worn central boulevard, without impeding traffic or access to shopping, Coderre said. The business community and merchants’ associations, worried about the years of disruptive construction work to come, gave the plan their cautious approval.
Opposition leader Luc Ferrandez did not approve at all.
He called the new vision uninspired, too timid, a missed opportunity. If the city was forced to tear up the sidewalks and asphalt of its main commercial artery from Atwater Ave. to Place des Arts to fix the water and road infrastructure rotting below, then it was the perfect time to think big and bring new life to the thoroughfare.
“We want a street that will slowly, progressively develop another spirit,” Ferrandez said at the time. “And the spirit will come with the terrasses. And if you want the terrasses, you need space.”
In 2015, then-opposition party Projet Montréal suggested significantly widening the sidewalks to allow for restaurant terrasses on both sides of the street and ample space for pedestrians to walk. Kiosks and pop-up stores could sell their wares on the sidewalks, and the city could plant mature trees that would bestow shade and oxygen.
Wider sidewalks would mean having to remove all parking spots on Ste-Catherine St., shunting drivers to side streets and underground lots. Driving lanes would be reduced to two thin corridors, a total of six metres wide, with one lane for traffic going straight and the other for cars making turns. Another lane would be given over to a two-way bike path.
Large side streets like McGill College Ave. or those beside Phillips Square in front of the Bay could be transformed into large pedestrian malls à la Times Square in New York, with a fountain and a beer garden, Ferrandez said. In a campaign promise released last September, Projet was pledging to remove all vehicle traffic from McGill College Ave.
Montreal’s Board of Trade was dismissive, saying drastically restricting traffic and parking risks creating the type of “dead zone” that occurred on Prince Arthur St. in Montreal or Sparks St. in Ottawa, because streets need a minimum amount of traffic to ensure vitality.
The Coderre administration ignored Projet’s vision.
Now that Mayor Valérie Plante and Projet Montréal are in power, it remains to be seen if they will follow through with the sweeping redesign Ferrandez presented three years ago.
The party has made some changes already, cancelling the heated sidewalks and inflatable street covering promised by Coderre because they were deemed too costly and problematic. Those decisions were supported by merchants who feared time delays and breakdowns.
Projet Montréal, known for introducing pedestrian-friendly, traffic-inhibiting and sometimes controversial urban redesigns in the boroughs, has promised — without giving specifications — it will announce some innovative changes in March for the Ste- Catherine St. makeover. Projet Montréal did not reply to a request for an interview.
Merchants have serious reservations about Ferrandez’s vision.
“It’s certain we’re not on board with all that was presented, particularly with respect to traffic circulation and parking,” said André Poulin, executive director of merchants association Destination Centre-Ville. “We have already lost many parking spaces and parking lots over the last years, and they have yet to replaced.
“We understand that Projet Montréal does not seem to like cars, but you have to recognize that citizens still use them, and if we don’t allow them to access downtown they will go elsewhere. … It’s a very serious problem.”
The party seems to take its inspiration from Europe, where pedestrian streets and open squares predominate, Poulin said. But those areas typically have plentiful parking available, often underground, while Montreal does not, he said.
Allowing beer tents or pop-up stores to proliferate could also give their owners an unfair advantage over brick-and-mortar establishments who pay high taxes and rents and have small profit margins, Poulin said.
“We have to be careful not to cannibalize those who are already there, and for whom life is already difficult,” he said. “We prefer that they come to the aid of merchants who are in difficulty as opposed to giving privileges to new ones who want to establish themselves.”
Local businesses also want the city to rebuild its infrastructure so that it can be easily accessible from underground, minimizing construction detours that bite into revenues.
Poulin said Projet Montréal has been in contact with local business development organizations to gather their opinions and insight. The meetings give some reassurance, he said, “but we don’t know yet what it will give at the end of the line. It’s certain we’re hopeful, because the situation is difficult right now, and the decisions they take will have serious consequences.”