The mess around Ste-catherine St.

As a resident of Ville-marie — specifically the area bounded by René-lévesque Blvd. and St-marc, Ste-catherine and St-mathieu Sts. — I want to register my displeasure over the partial closure of Ste-catherine St.

This decision seems to have been taken without any thought given to the impact on the residents and merchants who actually live there.

The stated purpose of the closing of two lanes is to encourage social distancing, a laudable goal. Consider, though, that sidewalks are already 10-12 feet wide, and many businesses, including restaurants, are still closed or not fully operational.

In my experience, these walking/bicycle lanes are underused and, more important, dangerous. In the last few weeks, I have witnessed two accidents involving cars turning left and cyclists. Thankfully, it looked like no one was seriously injured.

Furthermore, I have seen city buses unable to make the turn onto Ste-catherine, forced either to jump the sidewalk or block all four directions in the intersection because of illegally parked cars.

As well, with only one lane for car traffic, Ste-catherine from Fort to Guy Sts. is a parking lot much of the time, despite the fact there is substantially less traffic than usual.

In order to park our cars, residents on St-mathieu (one way south), Tupper and Baile Sts. (one way east), and the north side of René-lévesque are forced onto Ste- Catherine. Circumnavigating the block can take up to 15 minutes now. I can’t even imagine what it will be like when normal restaurant and business activities resume. One possible solution to this would be to reverse the oneway on Tupper and/or Baile to allow locals to get home.

I, for one, won’t be holding my breath. It is obvious to me that the needs and concerns of the residents and businesses of Ville-marie are not considered in the decision-making, despite the exorbitant taxes and rents we pay. Martin R. Bruyere, Ville-marie