Jean-Talon Market merchants decry loss of parking
Petition fighting planned removal of 10 spots has 12,000 signatures
A longtime merchant at the Jean-Talon Market said he will have to close up shop if the city goes ahead with a plan to remove parking spots to build a public square.
The city announced a plan last month to permanently close Shamrock Ave. to cars and make it a place for people to walk and sit, with several seating areas, a picnic area and newly planted trees and plants.
Construction on the project began last month and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
However, merchants are miffed that the pedestrianization of Shamrock will result in a new public sitting area near the market’s Casgrain Ave. entrance.
Lino Birri, whose stall is right near the planned square, said its construction will necessitate removing about 10 parking spots, some of which he uses regularly for deliveries, and others that are used by his customers.
Birri, who employs 50 people at the market and another 100 in his fields around Montreal, said the city should be adding, not removing parking spaces to an area that’s already difficult to access by car.
“The issue here is that we need access to the market,” Birri told the Montreal Gazette this week. “I have two trucks that do deliveries to restaurants several times per day. Without that, it’s over. We have to close the business. I have no choice.”
Birri, whose stand has been at the market for the last 40 years, is leading the fight against the removal of the parking spots and has launched a petition that garnered more than 12,000 signatures.
Throughout the market, several stalls are displaying the petition, along with signs and T-shirts urging customers to “save the market” and oppose the city’s plans. Birri is also vowing to go to court and file an injunction against the city ’s plan.
Charles Gingras, the manager of Chez Louis, another longtime shop on the market’s southern end, said the city has known for years that parking is a problem in the area but has not put in place any meaningful solutions.
“For people who want to come and buy a lot of stuff, it’s too complicated,” Gingras said.
Although the city recently built a 50-space indoor lot under the SAQ shop on the western side of the market, it doesn’t help those with mobility issues because a promised elevator still has not been built — three years after the parking lot opened.
“I have customers who have been coming to me for decades, and they leave with a crate of tomatoes. Are they going to go up and down stairs to get them to their cars? I don’t think so,” Birri said.
He added that merchants are also upset that Les Marchés Publics de Montréal, the non-profit corporation that manages Mon- treal’s public markets, ceded the land in the parking lot to the city without consulting them. Birri said if part of the parking lot has been ceded, it’s only a matter of time before the rest is also turned over to the city or even to a developer to build condos.
Nicolas Villeneuve, the newly elected president of the corporation’s board, admitted the land was ceded without members being consulted, but said that was done by the outgoing board. While he said there is nothing he can do now to correct the situation, the board will consult merchants in the coming days and weeks to get their input on the project.
“We know the project is already well advanced, but we want to hear from our members about it,” Villeneuve said.
“We will see what comes out of the consultation and see if there are any changes they want us to make.”
He said the corporation is already working well with the city to add parking spaces in the area.
Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie borough Mayor François Croteau said the project will actually result in more parking spots around the market, not fewer.
He said the city will be adding four spots next to the square, as well as two loading and unloading zones where people can park for 15 minutes. He said the city continues to work to improve the parking situation in the area.
Cristina D’Arienzo, the president of the local merchants association that includes both the market and Little Italy, said she’s optimistic the pedestrianization of Shamrock Ave. will be a boon for the area, and give people the impression that there is a natural link between the market and Little Italy.
I have two trucks that do deliveries to restaurants several times per day. Without that, it’s over. We have to close the business.