‘ It’s about time’ Richler is honoured: mayor
Family to be on hand as Montreal writer recognized 14 years after death
The city of Montreal will commemorate author Mordecai Richler at a ceremony to be held on Thursday, Mayor Denis Coderre announced Wednesday.
“Tomorrow, we will be proud to honour Mordecai Richler, who has done so much for Montreal,” Coderre said at the city ’s weekly executive committee meeting.
The Montreal Gazette reported last week that the Mile- End Library on Parc Ave. will be renamed for Richler. With his family and friends in attendance, Richler, who passed away nearly 14 years ago, also will be named a “Montreal citizen of honour” by Coderre.
“It’s about time,” Coderre said last week. “Something had to be done to honour this great Montreal writer. His family and the city have waited long enough.”
City officials promised in 2011, on the 10th anniversary of Richler’s death, to refurbish a decrepit gazebo on Mount Royal at a cost of $ 250,000 and name it in his memory, but nothing has been done and the gazebo’s degeneration continued unabated, leaving a rotting, graffiti- strewn eyesore as tribute. Coderre has also promised to tackle that issue.
Montreal’s worst bridge getting fixed:
The Rockland Ave. overpass, rated in the worst state of disrepair among 588 structures owned or coowned by the city of Montreal, is finally getting repaired. The city executive committee approved a contract of $ 873,401 to engineering consulting firm Consultants S. M. to oversee the repairs. Later this month, city council is expected to approve a $ 16.8- million contract to Roxboro Excavations for repairs that will begin in the winter of 2015 and run until the end of 2016, prolonging the life of the four- lane overpass that connects Rockland Ave. between Town of Mount Royal and Outremont for 15 years.
The last annual update on the status of the city’s bridges, tunnels, pedestrian overpasses and supporting walls found 21 structures were in critical condition, meaning several sections are only partially functional and may be in need of quick repair. A structure receiving a score of 80 or higher is in “critical” condition. The 49- year- old Rockland overpass received a score of 276. The next worst structure, the Angrignon overpass spanning Highway 20, received a score of 152.
$ 3.25 million to monitor air quality during Turcot rebuild:
Quebec’s Ministry of Transport will pay $ 3.25 million to cover the costs of building, maintaining and running four air- quality testing stations situated around the Turcot Interchange rebuild for a period of at least seven years, the city’s executive committee noted Wednesday. The stations will monitor for numerous pollutants, focusing largely on fine particles, one of the major causes of respiratory problems.
Several groups expressed concerns during public consultations about the effects the demolition and rebuilding of the Turcot Interchange will have on air quality in the sector.
Projet Montréal councillors sleep outside:
Four members of Montreal’s municipal opposition party were sleeping outside in the cold Wednesday night at Concordia University, in conjunction with Stop Homelessness Action Week. The chilly four were Sterling Downey, Marc- André Gadoury, Richard Ryan and Sophie Thiébaut. The forecast called for a low of - 6 C.