[URBAN NOTE] "The remaking of Montreal’s famous Ste-Catherine Street"

[rfmcdonald]

In the Toronto Star, Allan Woods reports on the controversy surrounding plans to make Montréal's famous Sainte-Catherine street into a more pedestrian-friendly corridor.

It was once Canada’s Fifth Avenue, the frontline of the retail sector in what was known a century ago as the country’s commercial metropolis.

Standing sentry were department store giants like Ogilvy, Birks and Scroggie, which turned Montreal’s then-residential Ste-Catherine Street into the country’s pre-eminent shopping district. Nearly 100 years later, with the retail shopping sector in turmoil, downtown stores losing business to suburban supermalls, and aging infrastructure that is starting to fail, Montreal is getting a rare chance in the life of a metropolis as it prepares to remake a major artery almost from scratch.

As this city braces for the official plan to be unveiled later this week by Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, there is excitement about the possibilities but also trepidation for those who make their livelihoods running Ste-Catherine Street bars, boutiques and restaurants.

[. . .]

Before Montreal's Ste-Catherine Street was the city's major retail artery, it was primarily a residential area. In the remake of the street, seen here at Metcalfe Street in 1898, city officials say they want to bring back some of the greenery that has been lost to urbanization.

[. . .]

The plan to be announced this week could revolutionize what is an already iconic — through fairly traditional — downtown strip. The city has collected nearly three dozen submissions from individuals and associations with options such as doing away with street parking, installing heated sidewalks to melt winter snow, making extra space for patios and commercial kiosks, and even designating car-free zones to turn a shopping district into a pedestrian paradise.

Comments

[dsgood]

I think the title is a bit inaccurate.

[rfmcdonald]

Fixed! Thanks.