Montreal finally reimagining its public spaces
Ambitious plan dedicates 327 kilometres of roadway to pedestrians and cyclists
Usually the first long weekend of the summer in Montreal means the proliferation of orange cones on highways, thoroughfares and side streets across the city.
This year it won’t just be the construction season that forces motorists on circuitous detours if they insist on driving around town. Late last week, Mayor Valérie Plante announced something altogether more pleasant, essential and dramatic than the annual deployment of backhoes and jackhammers: 327 kilometres of space on Montreal streets now dedicated to pedestrians, cyclists and terrasses.
The plan builds on the health corridors on commercial arteries already in place in many boroughs to ensure people keep a safe distance from each other while running errands during this pandemic. It comes on top of the family streets created in residential areas that restrict vehicle traffic to locals only so that urban kids without yards have room to play. It will include some dedicated pedestrian-only zones on Mount Royal Ave. in the Plateau-mont-royal, de la Commune St. in Old Montreal and Wellington St. in Verdun.
But the creation of a new bike-friendly circuit that will link up Montreal’s major parks, shopping districts and neighbourhoods from Gouin Blvd. in Rivières-des-prairies to St-joseph Blvd. in Lachine is a much-needed recreational corridor that completes the puzzle of Montreal’s reimagining of public space.
Yes, it means cars won’t rule all the roads. Yes, it means drivers will have to find new routes or cede the right of way to more vulnerable users like children and seniors. Yes, it’s the kind of scheme that before this pandemic would have polarized the public and generated a backlash. (Just think back to the whole debacle over the reduction of through traffic on Mount Royal two summers ago).
But COVID -19 mowed down those obstacles.
This plan, hailed as one of the most ambitious in the world, is a necessity for Montreal right now. It’s a breath of fresh air for urban-dwelling Montrealers after a long, claustrophobic spring. It makes sense in light of the drastic reduction in vehicle traffic on Montreal streets. It will give Montrealers, most of whom will be stay-cationing in the city all summer without sports, concerts and festivals, a welcome diversion. And it comes not a moment too soon, as citizens of this dense metropolis understandably seek to soak up the sunshine.
As we saw this past weekend, there is too little precious green space to accommodate everyone at a safe distance. Parks fill up fast with picnickers and families. Sidewalks brim with joggers and roadways with cyclists. While the vast majority of people try to maintain the required two-metre separation, it gets tricky at peak hours on weekends and holidays
in the most popular places.
This then produces public shaming on social media and results in admonishments from authorities that outdoor privileges will be revoked if people don’t behave. Some of it is indeed warranted: just because the sun is out and Quebec is gradually easing restrictions doesn’t mean the danger of coronavirus is over. The situation in Montreal is improving but fragile. If we blow our cherished freedoms by being careless, we could find ourselves locked down again at the worst possible moment. So please enjoy responsibly.
That said, as governments and public health officials increasingly recognize the importance of people getting outside and getting exercise, they have a duty to give citizens room to do so safely.
Some of the “hottest” COVID -19 contagion zones in Montreal, the epicentre of the pandemic in Canada, are the densest, most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the city with the least amount of green space. Coincidence? Whether it is or not, plans like the one Montreal just unveiled are not only about crisis management, but fairness, safety and social equity.
Of course, all of this is only temporary, an extraordinary response to an unprecedented emergency. But if this experiment in redistributing public space goes well, perhaps it will be one way COVID-19 reshaped our lives permanently.