Construction poses threat to Ste-Catherine St.’s future
Merchants impressed by city’s openness since construction began in January
Can we save Ste-Catherine St.?
That’s a question many are asking as the street turns into “Rue Barrée” — a vast construction pit from Bleury to Mansfield Sts. that looks like an archeological dig.
It’s a drag, but better than risking another sinkhole that could swallow the street — if we don’t fix her ancient water pipes.
Ste-Catherine is the queen of Montreal streets, one of the longest, liveliest downtown shopping boulevards on the continent. But everyone knows what happened to her sanctified cousins — St-Laurent and St-Denis — when a tsunami of orange cones brought them to their knees.
Fear rippled across Ste-Catherine St. Friday as I wandered it, talking to small merchants like Phil Lachino of Berti Shoes, whose business has plummeted since construction started.
He wonders if his store can survive after 25 years in the same spot. On nearby blocks, dozens of stores are already closed and “À Louer” signs are everywhere.
On the bright side, Ste-Catherine’s facelift promises a new pedestrian-friendly future — with free outdoor Wi-Fi, more terrasses and more sitting areas — as long as the patient survives surgery.
Last week, city hall floated a controversial new idea: widening Ste-Catherine’s sidewalks by three metres, while narrowing her traffic to one lane — and eliminating all street parking.
Yikes! Is this another ProjetMontréal anti-car project that will choke off motorist business? Or is it a modern, smart idea that will transform the street into a pedestrian mecca?
Talking to 10 store owners Friday, opinions were divided. Some say some customers have told them they won’t come downtown anymore. “If there’s no parking on the street, we’ll lose a lot of our business,” Lachino says.
But others told me they like the idea, since their busiest days of the year are during car-free holidays and sidewalk street sales.
Mathieu Lalouin owns both Bar Piranha and Frite Alors on Ste-Catherine — where business is recently down almost a third. Yet he loves the idea of no parking on the street to make it more inviting to pedestrians — “a unique place people can wander in peace … that’s the future.”
Like every merchant I spoke to, Lalouin said his support hinged on whether city hall could provide new alternative parking nearby.
“We want it to be a street for walkers, but we don’t want to lose customers who drive. We still have to compete with the big suburban malls.”
Eliminating street parking is a huge decision, so let’s hope Projet Montréal leaves time for public input when they announce their plans for Ste-Catherine St. this month.
Is there some middle ground for the street, like adjustable sidewalks that can widen during terrasse season, but narrow in winter — when outdoor sidewalk sales are rare, but snow-filled streets aren’t.
Can we open up indoor parking nearby, like many European cities do — or like nearby Burlington did, right beside its successful Main Street pedestrian mall?
Some cities are becoming extremely inventive, by arranging to share private office tower indoor parking lots, during weekends and nights, when they’re often empty — like many buildings are on René Lévesque Blvd.
For car-critical Projet Montréal, adding new parking spots probably sounds as appealing as adding an extra car lane on Camillien-Houde Way. But can the party put some water in its whine?
In fairness to “Projet,” every last Ste-Catherine St. merchant I met was impressed by the city’s openness since construction started in January.
City hall sends store owners regular emails updating them on the work. They even have a street communications director to help merchants solve any small problems ASAP.
While we talked, Mathieu got a text from the director (one of many on his phone), promising to cancel a parking ticket one of Mathieu’s delivery vans had received.
On Ste-Catherine St., Projet Montréal is consulting merchants impressively, as opposed to their “act first, ask later” methods on Mount Royal.
Yes, city hall has finally agreed to “consult” on the mountain, too. But their so-called “consultation” starts only a month before their mountain pilot project — way too late to make any real changes.
The consultation won’t report till early 2019, so what happens to the “pilot” project in between? Will city hall reopen the mountain road next winter, until the consultation report is tabled? If you think so, I’ve got some lovely granite tree stumps to sell you.
Here’s hoping Projet Montréal keeps listening on Ste-Catherine St. — and helps us hear from the city’s best minds, before making any drastic moves. If city hall is open to listening, so am I and many other Montrealers.
Meanwhile, readers, you have a big role to play in Ste-Catherine’s future, too, by visiting her regularly — like you would an ailing relative who needs your company.
So drop in after the St. Patrick’s Day parade Sunday (on de Maisonneuve St. this year) — and keep coming, even if the going gets tough.
Meanwhile, do what you’re supposed to do for saints.
Pray.