Montreal’s Popular Pedestrian Open Streets

Pedestrianized streets in Montreal are very popular!
I have been visiting Montreal peroidically over the last 25 years but not often of late and to see the progression of safe, comfortable walking areas has been nice. But particularly now: since Covid the city started amping up the numbers and distance of either mostly pedestrianized or open streets throughout all seven boroughs of the city.
I got to visit three of the coolest ones plus ample places all over Montreal that are great places for people. In Montreal they boast one amazing business street (Mont Royal) that runs for over 1 1/2 miles and even a good portion of the cross streets are closed to cars. The space is filled morning, day and evening, is closed 24 hours a day for the entire Summer and is filled with every kind of imaginable user. The city even has a pedicab/cargo bike service that is free for anyone that needs it.

[@paolagrando5079]

Brilliant idea the cargo bikes for the elderly.

[@MarijnvdSterre]

Good! Keep it up and expand it. And why not make it permanent? Such a place in the winter with all kinds of light would be a wonderful place to go as well.

[@paxundpeace9970]

Temporary is the first step.

[@JoshYxVdM]

Winter is brutal here, it might not be worth it to the city to create extra traffic to block off an area if people don't come out of their houses

[@northamericanvanlines]

@@JoshYxVdM the majority do not own or have access to a car in these neighbourhoods. this country predates the car and people have lived on this land for over ten thousand years. growing up here, we would all suit up twice a day at school to play in the snow all winter. children seem to handle it well. on the street, sidewalks become narrow from the snow, trapped with toxic pollutants from traffic. crosswalks are concealed under snow. the wide roads accommodating traffic lack features like trees that would cut down on chilling wind. icy conditions further worsen dangers for everyone. climate controlled pods for the few are not a solution, it's chaos that we normalize like in any other city. montreal needs extensive car free zones, year round.

[@alexseguin5245]

I've been to Saint-Denis street a couple days ago. Seems like the pedestrianization has become permanent there, as well as on some nearby streets. Tarmac has been replaced with pavement bricks, looks really nice.

[@paxundpeace9970]

Great Mayor

[@truthseeker6804]

im not canadian or in canada but i agree with this. im really tired of cars, everywhere cars, too much cars, everyone in cars. we need more open streets with just people walking freely. good initiative.

[@JimTeller]

Love this. Montreal is moving up my bucket list 🚴‍♂️

[@timshort9692]

You got that right!!

[@TheTroyc1982]

it should have already been at the top. Montreal has been an amazing city for a very long time

[@JimTeller]

@@TheTroyc1982 you are right. Ignorance is my only defense 😄

[@thesorus]

Montréal need to keep them open all year long. Now, they are closed for only the summer (june to early september) Or at least find a way to have an hybrid solution for the other 9 months. Montréal, t'es capable de mieux.

[@DiscoverMontréal]

There's a reason why some people visit Montreal and never end up leaving :)

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

looks so beautiful. thanks for shining for light on what Montreal is doing

[@christill]

Fantastic stuff. So much to like. The cargo bike taxis and the swinging benches are my highlights for sure though.

[@smarkasmc]

Fantastic! I love it. Thanks for sharing 👍 😊

[@rickb3078]

Loving the footage. Is it possible to weave in more of the local business owners and how they experienced the transformation? Did they see big differences between this year and last year? Not only financially and if it was more busy or not, but also if they saw different types customers, did they change opening hours, and if they are looking forward to next year. And also if they have plans to get even more creative with their setup. The moving benches are awesome. And anything that comes to mind for them now that this has been done two years in a row. If they are convinced, that would arguably be the biggest step forward. Then this drive to change cities is moving from a push market to to a pull market.

[@StreetfilmsCommunity]

Film is done. I don't live in Montreal. But I did have an interview lined up with the head of the business district on Mont Royal who sounds like he was heavily in support. Sadly he had to cancel last minute.

[@rickb3078]

@@StreetfilmsCommunity ohh that’s a shame that he cancelled. I hope business get on board too. They are a big key to reaching critical mass

[@KubicaMr]

I can tell what will happen - normal shops wiill transfer to restaurants, bars etc, then there will be night noise. Normal residents will move over to quiet disctrics and whole place will became amusment park for tourists and ppl who going to party. I know what i`m telling the same thing happend to old town i Cracow Poland

[@rickb3078]

@@KubicaMr my town center is undergoing a similar process. I guess making areas accessible means that some of these areas will indeed become very popular. But the idea is to create safe enjoyable walkable outdoor spaces all over the city, so each small area will have its own local meeting place. The vast majority of these will not become touristic and mostly serve the immediate vicinity. In order to get there, people and businesses need to be warmed up to the idea. So you start with baby steps. At the same time the idea is to work on reducing car dependence through public transportation improvements, bike lanes, traffic calming, and breaking open the residential zoning code to allow some form of retail and dining options.

[@paxundpeace9970]

During corona and the pandemic it is hard to compare because many people shop online. Nevertheless previous projects like this showed an increased revenue for shops comapared to those with out intervention

[@CharlesDenison]

I was in Montreal earlier this month and the pedestrian streets were incredible!

[@in551125do]

Isn't this much better, you guys....?...good luck and greetings from Amsterdam.....!!

[@melissa-annefrigon7973]

There’s still a lot of work to do (in my neighborhood, we’ve had « bike lanes » for the past 3 years but car drivers still can’t understand that they aren’t parking spots) but we’re getting there and the city is way prettier than it was before!

[@davethibault6734]

Living in Montreal for nearly 9 years now. This opening of public spaces was the best thing the city has ever done. My only complaint is that I wish they would stay around longer around the year. Right now they're only from June till September. I feel they should be around from April till mid-November.

[@nachbarslumpi7093]

Lovely

[@shaneshawaii]

Looks amazing!

[@abbaby555]

So good to see more cities doing this

[@LordAlmightyIAm]

Beautiful

[@MichaelSalo]

Civilization. American cities should try this sometime.

[@GeoPerspectiveCanada-fr4tj]

thanks for making this creative commons

[@StreetfilmsCommunity]

Actually still need permission to reuse in another film. See the end screen. But free distribution, sharing, screening and posting and allowed as long as it is unedited.

[@GeoPerspectiveCanada-fr4tj]

thanks for response @@StreetfilmsCommunity

[@milly-sy4bc]

I like that its atleast for the entire summer, some cities just do it for 1 day in a year which is just laughable

[@jonpetter8921]

Is Montréal the most European city in Canada ?

[@StreetfilmsCommunity]

Likely a toss up between Montreal and Vancouver.

[@jonathansandberg5983]

Are there residents on any of these streets? Do they complain about not being able to drive their groceries or get heavy deliveries to their door? If so, how are they accommodated?

[@northamericanvanlines]

deliveries are done before noon. grocery stores are in close proximity. it's no harder getting groceries to your front door than it is getting them to your car in a massive costco parking lot.

[@davethibault6734]

There's one of these streets near my place and honestly it's one of the best decisions ever made. Drive to get groceries? LOL. With the way Montreal is constructed, we can walk to get groceries.

[@carfreeneoliberalgeorgisty5102]

I love the city of Montréal. My mum is from the city of Westmount on the Montréal island and it's always a treat to go to Montréal to see the city. Unfortunately Québec's francophone supremacy and xenophobia towards anyone who is not a white french Canadian makes it impossible to move there.

[@zaired]

absolutely not true... people in montreal are very nice and welcoming! the more you put effort in learning french the more they will welcome you

[@northamericanvanlines]

sorry but your mom is wrong. also, westmount's main export enraged audi drivers.

[@spiderjerusalem6887]

Yes it's all true. Please stay away.

[@melissa-annefrigon7973]

99% of Québécois aren’t racists, and there’s no such thing as « Francophone supremacy ». If you go live in Mexico, you have to learn Spanish... is it Spanish supremacy? Absolutely not, it’s just the normal thing to do. You go live in another country where the national language isn’t English so YOU have to learn the language of the local population.

[@shauncameron8390]

Westmount = the city of Anglo supremacy.

[@Coolesttech]

This woman has single handily killed so many business in the downtown core and surrounding areas with her nonsense.

[@Coolesttech]

@Noah Thomas nobody is buying. Talk to the business owners, as nobody can realistically drive anywhere downtown and park, people who don't live nearby avoid it completely and instead drive out to the suburbs to shop or worse shop online. You want parks and forests go to the parks and forests, the downtown core is for business, not swings and playgrounds.

[@Coolesttech]

@Noah Thomas sadly it's this attitude and way of thinking that's ruined our city

[@northamericanvanlines]

@@Coolesttech *ruined the city for car hobbyists, improved living conditions for the vast majority

[@Coolesttech]

@@northamericanvanlines same delusional ideas as the mayor, good for you.

[@spiderjerusalem6887]

@@northamericanvanlines living conditions haven't improved. Housing has become impossibly unaffordable here because of some of her moronic decisions.

[@darrenharney2]

Absolutely terrible. How do the homes and business get service. The main streets closed, and the side streets for residents only. Good luck getting your toilet fixed, when it won't flush.

[@vincentbouchard4411]

Not an issue for the side streets... and for the main street... well there's the back alleys already used for that purpose. Absolutely terrible argument.