Parking plan has familiar ring to it
‘I fear this could be another Mount Royal situation,’ Concordia professor says
Look on the bright side: The Valérie Plante administration has pledged to hold a feasibility study and even do some public consultation before going ahead, after 2022, with a second phase of revamping a chunk of Ste-Catherine St., between Atwater Ave. and Bleury St. This plan would reduce that part of the thoroughfare to one lane of traffic and would eliminate nearly 500 parking spots. That beats all to heck the Plante approach to the pilot project on Mount Royal, wherein the Camillien-Houde Way/Remembrance Rd. thoroughfare was partially closed for five months and where consultation has been held only after the fact. And it sure beats the Projet approach to the closure of the Jeanne-Mance Park softball field where there was no public consultation before or after. In the latter two instances, there were petitions and protests from citizens decrying those decisions. To little avail. All of which makes one wonder how a party that was elected on solid social democratic values could take these autocratic turns. Despite claiming otherwise, the Plante team is in denial about cars. In its perfect world, there would be very few. Preferably, most Montrealers would get around on bikes or use public transit. Swell, except that perfect world doesn’t include a large percentage of the population, like seniors or the disabled who have enough difficulty just getting around in summer, let alone the six months of winter. And what about the impact on commerce in a car-less city? Latest statistics indicate there are nearly one million vehicles registered on the island of Montreal. By restricting traffic and parking, it will indeed be the Projet way or the highway. That is, the highway out of town. Opposition city councillors, business associations and shop owners are a tad alarmed with this proposed second phase of revamping Ste-Catherine, convinced it will drive consumers away from the downtown core to the South Shore, West Island and Laval. Many are also skeptical, in spite of the feasibility-study pledge, that the Plante administration won’t go ahead with the project. Much as many doubt that consultation on the mountain road will deter the team from closing the roadway on a permanent basis. What appears to be lost among some members of the Projet team is that business taxes help fuel the city’s economic engine. How can they forget damage done to businesses on St-Laurent Blvd., St-Denis St. and Park Ave., and the subsequent loss of sales taxes during interminable construction periods there? Yes, most are aware that our infrastructure is crumbling and that work must be done before the city falls into the river. But all the more reason why planning and practical feasibility studies must be undertaken before bankruptcy sets in. Concordia University marketing professor Harold Simpkins points out that one aspect of city life here makes Montreal stand out among other major North American metropolises. “Unlike most other cities, Montreal has one street, one thoroughfare, that is our downtown, and that is Ste-Catherine St.,” Simpkins says. “Few other cities have such a concentrated downtown core like that on Ste-Catherine St. It is really like the main commercial boulevard of the city.” If the second phase of revamping the street goes through with its reduction of street parking, Simpkins foresees big problems. Rates at private parking lots will skyrocket and, consequently, fewer people will head downtown to shop or go to restaurants. “Shopping has always been a form of recreation for Montrealers, especially in winter, but that shopping may well take place away from Ste-Catherine St.,” Simpkins says. “Sometimes there is a disconnect among city officials who don’t seem to get that business taxes help to pay for so many projects, like road repairs. I fear this could be another Mount Royal situation.” Simpkins’s heart particularly goes out to the business owners in the Ste-Catherine/Bishop St. corridor who are already being hammered as a result of the ongoing 42-month construction project on a métro ventilation system — that could take longer to build than the entire métro system. The Plante administration now plans to provide a little compensation for some of those businesses affected, but that won’t nearly cover the losses incurred over the last two years and that won’t help businesses like Craft Grilled Cheese, Le Gourmet Burger and Mesa 14 that have since closed up. Elio Schiavi, the beleaguered owner of Restaurant Ferrari on the corner of Bishop and Ste-Catherine, doesn’t expect any real cash help from the city, certainly not to cover the $80,000 he lost in the first year alone during the métro ventilation construction. The possible plan to reduce parking would be a double whammy for Schiavi. “That would just be a disaster, not only for me but for all of downtown,” says Schiavi, 75, who has been operating his resto for 37 years. “I served five customers the other night. Where am I going to get the money to pay my taxes? The moon? “As if my business hasn’t been bad enough lately, this parking plan would certainly kill it.”