Montreal’s Urbanist Transformation: 9 Steps Towards A Better City

[@knarf_on_a_bike]

This Torontonian (born and raised in Montreal) looks at Montreal and drools. I currently live on Bloor near Old Mill subway, and they're planning on extending the bike lanes past our apartment. The public backlash against the lanes is very disturbing. I only hope we follow Montreal's example and urbanize the street ASAP! Great and inspiring video! Thanks!

[@noseboop4354]

Sorry to say, but English Canada is a different breed, the bike lane extension on Bloor is doomed to failure.

[@knarf_on_a_bike]

@@noseboop4354 I hope you're wrong, but I fear you're right.🫤

[@yerbamate86]

I feel like Toronto has so much potential, but it’s being held hostage by its surrounding suburbs.

[@endeavourist5287]

Hopefully that will diminish. I'm in Victoria, which is often regarded as a bike friendly city, however there was still enormous public opposition to the initial round of protected bike lanes that were installed. Ridership has steadily increased over time, and opposition has decreased as residents adjust to the new layout and understand the bigger transportation picture of what is trying to be achieved with the installation of connected bike corridors.

[@Ben-jq5oo]

I’m guessing a lot of drivers feel they are being penalised despite the amount of tax they pay as part of their overall annual motoring expenses. They pay tax on fuel, car purchase, parts and servicing, insurance. Now a plan to raise a nominal parking charge based on vehicle weight (good idea). Do banded vehicle emissions form a component of road tax in Canada? They still don’t here in Australia, but have been in place for over a decade in the UK and across Europe. The higher the vehicle emissions the higher the annual road tax. I love what is happening in Montreal. Not only are emissions being reduced along with the likelihood of personal injury, but the environment is transformed and more people are getting more exercise because they are more likely to start cycling. Regarding the tragedy of a child killed on the street, a working fixed point camera on the corner might help. We use them in Australia and fines are heavy. Drivers here have twelve points to use up on their license, after which it is suspended for sometime (might be two years? Or more).

[@windsabeginning2219]

I love the before and after shots in all of these. It really stresses two points that I try to make to people here in Los Angeles: 1) car centered vs people centered infrastructure is an ongoing policy CHOICE, it’s not inevitable nor irreversible. 2) Small changes over time compound and build off of each other as pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure becomes connected into networks.

[@anne12876]

One important thing that contributed to urbanism changes in Montreal was its political landscape. Back in early 2000, Projet Montréal, a left leaning with a strong urbanism view municipal party, was elected to one of the center boroughs’ city council (In Montreal, each borough has its own city council, plus one over viewing the whole city). They decided to take a page from Scandinavian cities urbanism book and to give back the city to the citizens by adding bike paths, implementing street calming mesures, diverting thru traffic, pedestrianizing streets, etc. This didn’t happen without hurts. The party was ridiculed by the opposition, other boroughs and the rest of QC. Their measures were unpopular and there was a lot of contestation. But their citizen kept voting for them. Eventually, the party was elected to other borough’s city council. And in 2017, they were elected to the central city’s city hall. They re-elected in 2021 for another 4 years. The same party is also governing party of 6 or 7 of the boroughs, mostly the central ones. Also, the city of Montreal represents only part of the island. Many suburbs aren’t included in the borders of Montreal. Suburbs who would prefer a more car-centric point of view don’t vote for Montreal’s mayor or city councillors. So, what we see in this video is more than 20 years of work and pushing for a more people-centred city and all the backlash that came with it. And it all started by changing some street directions and adding painted bike lanes and bollards.

[@wodediannao4577]

Of all the places I've been, Los Angeles is the one place where the car infrastructure makes the least sense. You've got nearly 4 million people, as close to perfect weather as can be found on this planet, amazing natural beauty, and you decided to put highways there and have everyone drive. If LA embraced urbanism and biking, it'd be one of the best cities on the planet.

[@windsabeginning2219]

@@wodediannao4577 agreed! I bike to work most days and it’s something most people wouldn’t risk due to safety concerns with little to no protected infrastructure.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@anne12876 Namely the suburbs that voted for a demerger from Montreal.

[@Paspebiacify]

@@wodediannao4577 Furthermore, LA used to have one of the best transit system in USA in the 1930s!

[@wavearts3279]

La transformation du secteur de la place des Festivals durant les 15 dernières années est probablement l'un des meilleurs changements qu'on a eu dans la métropole.

[@losomaroavecunl6480]

Oui. Sauf l'axe cyclable qui est une vraie blague.

[@felixhurteau2630]

J'adore l'esplanade tranquille avec la patinoire en hiver et les activité et festivals en été.

[@angeurbain6129]

Oui et non. Les festival du jazz a eu la brillante idée d'utiliser les nombreux trous que contenait le centre-ville de Montréal pour en faire des lieux de rassemblements. Mais avec la construction de la place des festivals cela revient a en officialiser ce principe et à faire de Montréal ''une société du spectacle''' comme disait Bourdieu. Bref c'est ''joli'' mais sans âme.

[@Urbanhandyman]

By Canada standards: good improvements By European standards: basic By United States standards: revolutionary

[@novicatoncic6908]

Very true

[@nguyentuan5223]

@@novicatoncic6908 it's actually good improvement in the big cities in Canada only. The rest (small city under 1mil people ) are basically The US but colder and tons of pot holes:)))

[@electrosyzygy]

@@nguyentuan5223 so true...but some projects like the Quebec City tram might start changing these carbrained folks all over the country!

[@SirHeinzbond]

but it's a start in a good direction.... as said in video, even the Netherlands weren't born with gold standard....

[@nguyentuan5223]

@@electrosyzygy Quebec is an exception

[@bearcubdaycare]

Thanks for a fun walkthrough of a city's incremental improvements. It's always good to see some paths to betterment, in feasible increments.

[@YoungThos]

I moved to Montreal from a car-centric hellscape 15+ years ago, and even back then it was better here than most other places. I arrived just as the changes shown in this video were happening, so I witnessed most of them first-hand, but it hits different seeing it all brought together into a single video 😍 I can't wait try out winter Bixi this year! ☃️

[@safwanahmad1040]

Wait there’s gonna be winter bixis?

[@YoungThos]

@@safwanahmad1040 yes, it was announced a few weeks ago (it's also mentioned in the video 😉)

[@followufollowme]

We don't need bikes, we need affordable rent for workers instead of lazy welfare people. Montreal is dead without the foreign students. It was a lively and vibrant city in the 90s and 00s

[@MultigrainKevinOs]

I would love to see an exploration into the culture of French Canada's influence on its development. Visiting always felt different than here in the west. Values and expectations on life just seem different and more compatible with urbanist ideals. Anyway keep singing the praises of Montreal, it is doing so much good for current and future generations.

[@thetimelapseguy8]

That could be a factor. But also, before the era of cars, Montreal was Canadas biggest city. So it makes sense that it has many walkable neighbourhoods.

[@lateve6243]

Home owning is not as much seen as a financial investment, an asset to resell, but a lifelong place to live. There isn't a lot of cities around a French Canadian can expect to live in their own language. There is less mobility, people tend to stick to the province.

[@MultigrainKevinOs]

@@lateve6243 yes being favorable of rentals, the entire fairly unique practice of moving day, the more relaxed attitudes in general, it all adds up. It's a unique contrast to the rest of North America, and something I wish we all learned from. Thanks for your thoughts!

[@abcdeshole]

Honestly, it’s probable not much about culture, just geography. Montreal was founded in the pre-car 1600s, like the Eastern US cities that have walkable cores. It’s also on an island, like Manhattan but bigger, and with the downtown wedged between the mountain and the river. All these things favoured density which now serves as the foundation for today’s urbanism. Most Quebecers are caraholics indistinguishable in their attitude and lifestyle from people from the Houston suburbs.

[@MultigrainKevinOs]

@@abcdeshole ah good point on the geography of Montreal that did help shoehorn folks into a compact area. I suppose that could have just as much lead to the factors we see now. Good points and thoughts !!

[@da80]

Car owner here. The whole city deserves much more safe space for bikes. I hope one day Montreal becomes the Amsterdam of North America.

[@trendy4tmrw]

Genuinely blown away by these before and after shots. My imagination going wild for how some of these ideas could apply in my home city of Philadelphia.

[@BaiZhijie]

I always enjoy your videos. Optimistic, constructive, sincere!

[@Funanial]

man its crazy to see how much better all these places i walk by on a daily basis are compared to just a decade ago! his video really makes me grateful to live where i do.

[@djeez553]

Love what MTL is doing, most dynamic city on the continent... Parc Bonaventure is probably one of my favourite entrances to a major city, especially with the downtown area gaining 30K+ people in recent years.

[@ethandanielburg6356]

I feel like while the new boulevard and park are an improvement over the former highway, it’s still loud and polluted because of the 8+ lanes of traffic. I don’t find it to be a pleasant urban environment at all, to be honest.

[@tiagoverret9098]

@@ethandanielburg6356 - I agree, but then, every time I go there these days, I'm surprised by the amount of people actively enjoying themselves. It's not a spectacular park, but it's functional. I guess it's just not MY thing, but it's obviously enough people's idea of a fun place to consider it a sensible improvement. Also, I worked on Duke St. for 9 years (I think we were in phase IV of the multimedia city project) and the elevated highway was an urbanistic aberration that far into the city. It looked like they'd given up on ever developing the land back in the 60s.

[@m.e.3862]

The pine park interchange was a great improvement! I remember never using the pedestrian path because it was infamous for being an area for muggings and sexual assaults. I dodged cars instead of walking in that dark tunnel. Making it open and flat was so much better and even highlighted the awesome sunset at dusk. The Bonaventure expressway was a good change too. It was slowly falling apart and the park they made was even designed as a water management system where rain and excess runoff is absorbed by the gardens first and then drained into the sewers. The park is nice although the outdoor gym? I’m not crazy about working out in an island surrounded by a river of carbon monoxide. Maybe electric vehicles will make it better in the future…😊

[@alexjgray100]

I love how much Montréal has changed, it still really needs to spread out to the rest of the city. Even withing the VdM, there are laggards like NDG and Ahuntsic, as well as full on car-centric suburbs, like western Lachine. Outside the VdM in metro Montreal, it's even worse. Still most of the movement in the right direction.

[@vanaox3690]

Yeah Laval is still a shithole 😂

[@Manu-et9rj]

poorer neighborhoods like saint-michel and montréal-nord are also left in the dust, with very little good projects happening. it's espacially sad because they are pretty densely populated and people who live there often don't have a very big budget for a car, so bicycle infrastructure would probably work great there.

[@Manu-et9rj]

the boroughs that are not well deserved by the metro are often an afterthought for infrastructure upgrade sadly

[@charles-edouardmorel3173]

There is strong political will in Longueuil and Laval to get better however, and Laval sure needs it. Car-centric hellscape if there ever was one.

[@Krommandant]

Ahuntsic is getting there with good structural transport on Prieur, Sauriol and the REV, sans compter le REV de Henri-Bourrassa qui s'en vient sous peu on va être gâtés!

[@lifestain]

As a Montrealer, it is so great to see so many people in the comments enjoying these improvements! Even though many around me enjoy them too, NIMBYs are still very vocal about their opposition.

[@user-mrfrog]

J'ai hâte à la transformation du reste de l'autoroute Bonaventure en boulevard urbain, entre le canal de Lachine et l'Ile-des-Sœurs! Supposément, un parc linéaire entres les ponts Victoria et Samuel-De Champlain est dans les plans! Merci pour la vidéo! 👍

[@terrygelinas4593]

These projects are great examples, showcasing what we can do in North America. And charging parking by vehicle weight, yes - kale/quelle bonne idée!

[@franticfurb2124]

I've lived in Montreal for a year and have been almost exclusively biking for errands and leisure, this includes commuting to work 12 months of the year. Hands down the best city I've lived in when it comes to urban design for pedestrians and cyclists, but I can only compare to other cities I've lived like Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. One thing I've noticed is that the sense community is strong. There are plenty of grassroots organizations doing incredible things (fundraising, demonstrating, etc.) and advocating for safer neighbourhoods - this is something I did not experience in any other city in Canada. It seems the culture here it to not take shit from the government - if you want something grab a sign, join your local organization, talk to your neighbours and fight.

[@patatebanine4278]

As you say, it's only a year youre in Montreal, Now try to live your life in Montreal, you will hate it. Its a pleasant city for tourist and student but not for living. There is a lot of corruption, lots of problem that they didnt fix since decades. Now the insecurity and crimes is raising with a rocket speed. I live in Montreal-East and douzens of gunshot event has been recorded the last summer only, 3 with semi-automatic weapon and war weapons. Recently, someone got stabbed with a machete in a swimming pool. Your mayor whom you appreciate so much, because of her attitude of communitarianism and degrowth, does not give the neccessary fund to the police . The city does not repair the roads, prevents promoters from building skyscraper and new house because of its ecological attitude when there is a big housing crisis, lets the homeless sleep in tents downtown on the effect of narcotics. The city recently canceled a 21st century transportation mega-project, the Light Train REM B, because the neighborhood of the project did not want bike paths to be used and trees to be destroyed. It's very stressful to live in that city, where there is no progress since decades like Toronto or Vancouver. The only good thing about montreal is everything is cheaper than other place(but there is alot of taxe)

[@gchoquette]

@@patatebanine4278 Can you source your claim of a machete attack? I can't find anything this happening in Montréal anywhere. You honestly seem miserable living in the city, perhaps a change would do you good. On my side, I like living here, and I wish even more was done like the examples given in the video

[@patatebanine4278]

@@gchoquette Ça cest passer a RDP le 19 mars 2023. Un jeune de 16 ans etait la victime. Un ami qui habitait sur la rue Rodolphe-Forget m'a tout raconter, ça serait un conflit Anjou-RDP. Ce sont deux ados qui ont attaque la victime avec une machette et puis ils ont couru, la victime sest refugier ds une piscine municipale. Il y avait meme un tiktok de larrestation des deux gars avec la machete à terre. Les jeune sont rendu fou. Il y a eu peu dinvestissement des centre loisir depuis Valerie Plante. Avec Coderre, il y en avait beaucoup

[@pierrezzz7]

@@patatebanine4278 A real comment finally

[@AlexandreCourtemanche]

Covering the Ville-Marie expressway is a really good improvement too

[@jaimerosado3896]

Yes, covering, not demolishing altogether was a good idea. Which is what many are hoping to with the Cross Bronx Expressway in NYC.

[@Brackcycle]

I was blown away by the Pins/Parc interchange years after I had ridden my bike through it at night. It was so scary. The changes on Pins are going to really make a difference and when the trees grow it will be a shining example of how to reclaim a once desolate street for car traffic into a pedestrian and biking thoroughfare!

[@ilikepingpong]

For real. It's not perfect, but it's really good. I'm just waiting to see all the vacant storefronts fill up with shops. I think it will really blow up, compared to what it was.

[@RushuFriends]

My favorite city in the world ❤

[@andrewfusco7824]

J'adore Montréal. C'est une ville qui respecte l'échelle humaine. On ne peut pas dire pareil vers autres endroits dans notre continent.

[@jeffreykaufmann2867]

I hate Montreal. Full of Potholes and Orange Cones.

[@cartermoberg3092]

Love seeing progress like this, gives me hope for my city

[@electrosyzygy]

love those before and after pics! All too often we tend to forget how much this city is improving, and that it is indeed heading in the right direction! I hope Projet Montreal manage to stay in power another 2 terms to really leave a mark on the city. This steady, iterative process is smart with recalcitrant car-addicted people and will yield great results.

[@FruitloopLeviathan]

Très fier de ma ville. Dites-vous que ma famille habite dans Villeray depuis les années 50-60. C'est magnifique de voir tout le travail qui a été fait. Ceci étant dit, il reste beaucoup travail à faire. Je pense notamment à l'autoroute Ville-Marie et l'autoroute Métropolitain qui sont les deux plus grandes cicatrices urbaines de Montréal à mon avis.

[@Abbubba_09]

L'autoroute décarie aussi, c'est un vrai cancer!!!

[@jeanbarrette4412]

Que dire de la rue Notre Dame est ! C est une horreur

[@yodorob]

Ainsi que l'Autoroute Décarie.

[@proposmontreal]

As a daily driver in downtown Montreal, I love what they did with the demolition of Bonaventure et seriously, driving there 3-4 times a weeks, traffic is not an issue. But then again, if it is, I know what I got myself into. Great video. Montreal is most definitely a step ahead in term of urbanism. Now if we can figure out how to have painted line that are actually visible for all, that would be great.

[@ilikepingpong]

Personally, if the street is more beautiful than before, driving a little slower does not even bother me. Like driving down St-Denis with the REV. Even if it might be a bit slower, it feels much more pleasant & calm to be there, not having to worry about changing lanes. Rue Sherbrooke needs this vibe.

[@tothelighthouse9843]

I live in Ottawa. I spent several months in Montreal a few years ago, & what I immediately noticed was how vibrant the streets were. Filled with people--walking, sitting on sidewalks & flower-filled planters, lounging in sidewalk cafes, sitting on front stoops, biking, leaning on bikes while carrying on hour-long conversations. When my contract was over, I returned to Ottawa. Where city planners are only truly content when the downtown car:pedestrian ratio is 25:1. And where city hall's mantra is 'add more concrete'.

[@karlahovde]

That modal filter at 3:54 is beautiful! We have some modal filters that seem to try to accomplish the same thing in my neighborhood, but they are made of curbs and bollards in such a way that you can't bike through them, only walk. They also don't add any space for greenery. These in the video are so much nicer. I wish I could copy and paste them here!

[@joeyprescod]

Thanks!

[@OhTheUrbanity]

Thank you!

[@rogersevigny4040]

In the late 1970's I was a student and I biked from where I was staying (Near Jewish General Hospital) to downtown Montreal over Cote-des-Neiges. The car drivers then thought that bikes should not be used for any reason and I lost count of how many motorists yelled at me because I was using THEIR lane. Glad to see that Montreal is making progress but reading some of the replies there still seems to be a fair amount of Bike haters around.

[@Xachremos]

6:15 As a motorcyclist, I fuckin love the curb extensions everywhere. Most people dont pull right up to it, so its essentially free reserved parking for me, with only one car to worry about.

[@GraemeMacDermid]

Well done. I’ve been asking for Bixi in the winter each year I’ve been here. I’m glad to see them trying this pilot. I live on Lajeunesse in Villeray and saw the transformation of that street with the installation of the REV, which you’ve covered elsewhere. I’m glad you mentioned the side walk extensions. They make for safer crossings, plus the city puts gardens in most of them. Carry on with the good work.

[@ericelfner]

Great vid, longtime supporter. I think showing old _before_ new would be even more dramatic! Keep up the fantastic work.

[@OhTheUrbanity]

Not a bad idea!

[@clomino3]

I live in a town about two hours from Montreal in the USA and I am on the advisory board for my town that makes recommendations on street redesigns to encourage multi modal uses. I was told that we cant do many of the things you show in this video because it would " get in the way of snow plowing" and that "good urbanism isnt possible in places with snow". I would love to see a video on how Montreal and other cold cities approach plowing with traffic calming devices and, if you would be willing and so kind, I would love to speak to you directly about some good traffic calming examples in Montreal that I can point to to convince my fellow board members that it IS possible here. Thanks!!

[@Xavier1...]

In pointe-aux-tremble a district of Montreal, we got a big linear parc where there was a railroad. Is a 50+ avenues parc with a bike lane and a waking path

[@ianism3]

I remember driving through that park-pine intersection occasionally as a kid. then I came back from my first year university in 2007-10 and it had completely changed into something absolutely gorgeous (and not terrifying). my friends who hadn't grown up here couldn't really imagine what it looked like before

[@TheRealChiults]

Thanks a lot and keep up the good work! Gonna share it right now. It's great that you guys are consistent in adressing limitations and challenges faced, and give value to incremental/experimental steps, which can open way to change in mentality and make things more reachable in contexts where there's not much hope Thanks a lot!

[@clearlynotwoke4929]

Really interesting video, do more like this please.

[@alexseguin5245]

I'm from the area and I wasn't even aware of some of those changes! One that I look forward to is the McGill College street being turned into a linear park. It's getting worked on right now, we should see it done in a year or two probably.

[@SwiftySanders]

I love this video. Thanks for this tour of what Montreal is doing to make streets better. Maybe do one on housing also.

[@blxvkpxndx]

I really enjoy your content, it means a lot.

[@sylvainb2366]

Vous êtes excellents, la meilleure chaîne en la matière, une référence !

[@steinarjonsson_]

6:30 It looks like the signs are blocking the sightline. They are a decent idea, but they should've probably placed the signs lower on the poles.

[@nosho409]

I was cycling year round in Montreal from 2008 to 2015. It was doable, but definitely "weird" and somewhat sketchy. Now I've moved away, but each time I'm back for a visit I'm amazed by the progress that the city has done since my last visit. We can't thank enough Luc Ferrandez for leading the charge back when he was mayor of Le Plateau. Cheers.

[@Gabriel-sn6yg]

Wellington street in Verdun is pedestrianized during the summer! There is a petition right now to pedestrianized it all year long

[@Beauxdimanches]

Oh the beauty of your videos! Of course being from Montréal makes me a tad biased but in the end, you see what is difficult to share to those who haven't really experienced urban life... without a car! Never drove a car in 45 years of life and it ain't gonna change anytime soon... as long as I can live in Montréal and do everything on foot, which our beautiful city allows with dense housing and giving second looks at the car prevalence, well mostly.. 🤪

[@MichaelSalo]

Very impressive progress. Enough to make me excited to visit and explore.

[@Dedian_]

Really nice to see the pictures and transformation. Kale bonne idée! Good vidéo thanks

[@mariusfacktor3597]

Montreal has got to be the most functional city in North America.

[@pierrezzz7]

you are so wrong

[@teddymacrae]

Great video! I love your guys’ optimism. Things can and are changing for the better! (sometimes)

[@StreetfilmsCommunity]

Me and my family loved this. I wanted to show them what the Bonaventure Expressway park looked like before and none of this disappointed. All the other great befores/afters too!

[@StLouis-yu9iz]

Great video, never thought about removing roads from parks but I have a now have a new idea how to make StL EVEN better! ❤

[@anne12876]

One of the main reasons the city of Montreal (it’s actually a decision each borough can make for itself without the approval of the city center) decided to pedestrianized the streets passing through parks was to reduce kid fatalities and accidents due to them crossing the roads without looking. Those streets are an hazard for kids. It’s way easier to make changes when the goal is to protect children.

[@MarioFanGamer659]

@@anne12876 The Netherlands wouldn't be the gold standard of urbanism if it weren't for Stop de Kindermoord, after all.

[@leopoldleoleo]

As somebody who moved here last year and visited for the first time 3 years ago some of these really caught me by surprise. Especially Parc/pins

[@AnotherDuck]

Old video, but I saw Stockholm, so I had to comment. Always nice to see cities get better, regardless of where they are in the process.

[@florisjansen5576]

For a ridicoulous example of a European riverbank used as a highway, you should check Lyon, France on a map. You'll enter a tunnel through a hill in the suburbs and once you're out... BAM you're going straight through the city center... It's an absolute embarrassment....

[@TheKnightXavier]

Great video as always! Thanks guys!

[@goldenstarmusic1689]

After seeing this, I really do think a trip and visit to the Twin Cities would be real interesting for y'all. Comparing and contrasting Montreal to Minneapolis-St Paul, I see a massive similarity in the level of upward momentum and rapid changes over the last 10-20 years. It was not that long ago the Twin Cities had zero rapid transit and downtowns that were parking craters, but now so much has been built. Bike infrastructure across the entire Twin Cities, connecting far out into the suburbs, has led us to be a national leader for the United States. Every year, there's improvements being built, streets being redesigned with protected bike infrastructure, bumped out crossings, the whole work! And that's nothing to say of the insane rapid transit expansion pace. There's a minimum of one BRT/LRT line or extension opening every single year for the foreseeable decades in the Twin Cities. Currently, 5 BRT lines and 2 LRT lines are in operation, and the land use around stations has been improving massively. More housing density, sometimes outright creating suburban "downtowns" from scratch built out of parking lots and old shopping malls. Montreal's own successes and wins bring me comfort that this kind of success model isn't unique, and should be the norm across North America. It's also funny that both Montreal and Minneapolis-St Paul are the coldest major cities in North America and still pulled this off!

[@solangecossette1374]

As someone who used to live in Montreal in the 90's - we were floored by the changes when we visited the city last year. - Cycling around montreal felt *so* much safer. Of course, back in the day I used to use a large handheld magnet to clamp onto city busses and school busses to pull me along on my bike, so I couldn't do that this time - but syill. Driving around the main city was a lot *less* stressful than I remembered it. Sure, Montreal still has its festival of road construction, but we were surprised how much easier it was to move around ghe city... The Metro had more cars; we used to have to wait up to 12 minutes sometimes at Vendome for a metro; for the times we were there, it felt no longer than 6 minutes. The Eatons store and Club Super sexe on St-Catharines are gone. Mixed emotions there. The Vietmam Veteran at Guy Concordia is gone. I hope he is doing well. Only one refinery remains in the east end, compared to two. While it certainly has improved the air quality, the "Blade runner" factor of Montreal has diminished. The vortex that swallows up people near Hochelaga park has been satiated. All in all, it was a very nice return visit. Still a lot of work to do for the east end, but it is getting there...

[@robstamnol]

Saint-Dominique transformation is also a great example of park extension (between St-Joseph and Laurier circa 2009

[@Coccinelf]

I live in Québec, in one of the worst city for public transit. I have no idea about cycling infrastructures but I'm pretty sure it's the same. I'm very jealous of Montréal! But still, it was great to actually see it after only hearing about it.

[@genevievebeauchamp9018]

Soutien votre nouveau maire, il a de bonnes idées mais il doit se battre contre des mononc' avec des idées venant des années 60. Il a besoin de plus de visibilité positive.

[@Coccinelf]

@@genevievebeauchamp9018 Je vis pas à Québec mais bien au Québec. Notre maire est carrément un vieux mononc' qui compte se présenter encore en 2025 :(

[@GFmanaic]

5:40 the signs were sold at the dep around the corner of Centre. That's why you see them all along the way.

[@alexl3754]

Falaise st jacques was redone last year with a bike path, hopefully we get the “Dale park” connecting NDG to the canal there too

[@shirleymccarthy4436]

I'd like to be able to bike from my place on Upper Lachine via St-Jacques safely without being obliged to go down the hill under the MUHC. If I wasn't scared of being flattened, I'd be able to ride to where the bike path goes over the 20 to join up with the Lachine Canal.

[@lateve6243]

Nah, we've been conned. We'll never see that Dalle-Parc.

[@suzanneschreiner5145]

Wonderful video. Would love to see a follow-up along the same lines. If you discover things that are beautiful, innovative, or just fun, this fan is interested!

[@Pelsjager]

Great video! Big showcase projects get the most attention, but all these small changes really add up. Making them policy and implementing it consistently is what really changes a city in the long-term

[@solarpunkpresents]

The before and after pics are so inspiring. Especially given that the time difference isn't actually that long! Wish more cities in Canada would take a page from Montreal's urban planning book. I imagine there was a lot of pushback against pedestrianizing streets / adding bike lanes, though!

[@canadakonfuzion]

I literally walked by the Bonaventure Expressway from Griffintown to Old Montreal yesterday. It was an easy 20 min walk. The noise wasnt even that bad

[@UzumakiNaruto_]

Seems like this will be a forever underutilized park because of the traffic on either side. Think it would've been pretty cool if they elevated that entire park away from the traffic and also giving people a nice view of the city while they walk through the park or when they're sitting down.

[@davidgill2520]

Hello from ndg, great video. Maybe you should give some recommendations for the west side of Montreal where I live. Schools, grocery stores should all be accessible by bicycle and probably the first place to start. The west side of the island is more suburban and I know there’s less acceptance to bike paths vs street parking. There are practically no protected bike paths over here. Anyways thanks for your hard work promoting alternative to cars.

[@lyssasletters3232]

Thank you so much for making this awesome video! More please!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😊

[@weatheranddarkness]

The Gilford one at 3:53 has been removed it seems as access to the construction site just east of it, it and its partner, both scoured off the road. Unfortunately that doesn't make as much difference as you would think at first, because people have been driving right over it anyway.

[@adamolesiak6528]

my city, Warsaw in Poland has done something interesting this year with rental bike parking. In the past the parkings looked like the ones in the video, heavy docking stations with magnetic locks that would sometimes malfunction when you were trying to take the bike out and were generally big, chunky and I guess expensive to build. Now Warsaw got rid of them and instead installed locks into the bikes themselves. Parking spaces were replaces with standard metal U-shaped tubes, much smaller, cheaper and can house more bikes(each metal tube can have a bike on left and on right). This allowed the city to build much more places to leave or take bikes from, really nice improvement I'd say. Also the city allows you to leave the bike anywhere like you would a e-scooter, but then you have to pay a higher fee as someone needs to later pick up the bikes left that way - useful if you're in a big rush.

[@29markeys]

Great video guys! And damn it makes me miss Montreal.

[@yerbamate86]

Wow I moved to Montreal is 2011 and had no idea some of these were only implemented a few years earlier!

[@tomrogue13]

I love these kind of positive urban planning success videos. Theres so much to criticize that it can feel saddening.

[@questioner1596]

6:39 The Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Rav4 both have trims that are heavier than the maximum for the categories they are listed under. That's curb weight; GVW includes potential cargo and is definitely over the limit. Whoever made the sign didn't research the cars they included.

[@anasfrh]

Fantastic video!! Learned a lot!! Would definitely love to see and learn more :)

[@nettoyageadriance]

In Montréal and on our 7th year of converting our service business to bike only. We save $10,000-$15,000 per year PER VEHICLE. It's been such a win win win.

[@Biscuitsdefortune]

Ce n'est pas un endroit qui a connu une transformation, mais un endroit qui en nécessiterait absolument une, le chemin pour aller de la station de métro Côte-des-Neiges à l'Université de Montréal n'a jamais eu assez de place pour les piétons (encore moins d'aménagement pour les cyclistes) alors qu'il y a rarement des voitures qui y circulent. Une grande partie de la rue pourrait être transformer en rue piétonne avec un ou deux lignes à sens unique pour les voitures (incluant une ligne de stationnement pour les résident·es). Une autre suggestion serait d'élargir la partie piétonne de la rue Sainte-Catherine à l'année, elle est déjà piétonne une partie de l'année, mais le reste du temps, surtout l'hiver, on doit souvent marcher dans la rue tellement il y a de personne qui y circule. Mais je suis d'accord, Montréal s'améliore vraiment beaucoup depuis quelques années (j'imagine que Projet Montréal est, au moins, en partie responsable de ces améliorations), mais il reste tellement de travail encore... Je pense que dans quelques années, je pourrais enfin me remettre au vélo quand toutes les rues que j'utiliserais seront sécurisées pour aller au travail ou à d'autres endroits, mais pour l'instant, je trouve ça encore un peu trop dangereux.

[@ballofsnow]

great video!

[@Michael-tn9wp]

Lived in Montreal 20 yrs ago, I'm so excited for all its growth. However, the winters are harsh - how does biking yr-round work? Does it? Lived in T.O. a few yrs ago, loved biking the Beaches, but Bloor was challenging/too busy - one of my fav streets for books, comics and eats. Living in Van now, seems like to the most patient city when it comes to bike traffic (and runners) and the winter weather isn't brutal. All that to say our environments are unique and must be adapted to meet the needs of dwellers. Here's to more bike/people fun spaces!

[@abcdeshole]

It doesn’t. Almost no one bikes year-round. You see the very occasional bike in winter but for the most part it’s very much a seasonal thing.

[@gchoquette]

I started winter cycling about 3 years ago. I put studded tires usually end of November until end of March normally. I found it surprisingly easy for short-ish distance (less than 2-3 km). Most days the bike lanes and street are clear and it's not an issue at all. There are some day when I go "No, not today" and walk or use transit instead. But other than that it's mostly dressing up like you're going to play outside, and pedalling a little slower than usual. I like that places that seemed to get further every time winter arrived now still feel accessible, even in the February

[@vichyssoise80]

Can't wait to come back to Montreal to visit. It felt like it was easy to get around because of things like this.

[@juancampbell269]

Having been living in Denver for a few months and biking to work on a daily basis, a North American city that's really trying to become more bike friendly is a good thing to see. My wife and I have been talking about relocating to he Montreal area specifically for the steps it's been taking in recent years. Gotta brush up on my French first tho.

[@alexandred8513]

Come on down! You’d love it here!

[@abcdeshole]

Stay for a few months in winter before committing to it. Remember that the salaries are very low, the taxes high and the healthcare in severe crisis. The urbanism is definitely great though.

[@zometthecomet]

Come during the winter to see how you live before you commit! The 5-6 months of cold is not for everyone!

[@louismartineau1596]

If you speak English in Montréal you won't have a problem, but learning French is always a good initiative :)

[@obansrinathan]

I lived in the McGill residences just next to the Parc pine interchange this pay year and the way it used to be looks insane! I walked through there several times a week carrying groceries and most other students did as well and even as is it’s a bit troublesome.

[@han984]

I lived in McGill residences in 2003-2004 before the interchange Redo, and I don't know how we put up with it. It was literally a highway with no real sidewalk, and absolutely no one took that creepy underground passage, ever. We squeezed between the highway divider and the traffic. I can't believe anyone ever approved that original design. Also there was no official pedestrian crossing on Parc between Mont Royal Ave and Pins, you just had to run through a gap in the traffic.

[@Jay.zone2]

awesome video! made me realise that we've came a long way.

[@mdhazeldine]

Fantastic stuff! Toronto needs to take a leaf out of Montreal's book.

[@TheTroyc1982]

we are, the planned redesign to yonge street is basically a carbon copy of the redesign done to st catherines street.

[@curtismah1261]

Closed roads in the summer is my fav Montreal improvement. I also love the Metro improvements and REM should be sweet!

[@cellavb447]

I lived in Pointe Saint Charles for a bit right after they converted Rue Island is it was the biggest non issue that I've ever seen. People kept signs up about "NON À LA VÉLO RUE" but rue Island was never a major artery. It's literally one cross street among a dozen in the area, and is only unique in that it connects to the canal bike lanes... A car free zone anyway. This brand of NIMBYism is difficult to criticize though because it's a historically lower income area that's been and being heavily gentrified. So are these signs from blue collar folks who are part of the historical Irish community that can no longer park their commuter vehicles? Is it a Top 5% earning tech couple that moved there in 2018 and are mad they can't street park their Escalade for free? Can't say for certain. But the vélo rue looks lovely.

[@jasonriddell]

and is it people wanting the status que that "works" VS one that MIGHT not work for them

[@Sectumseempraa]

On the minute 8:47 there is a totem? What is that??

[@zen1647]

There's hope for us all!

[@hugoboyce9648]

Great video!

[@awesomeman116a]

This is amazing! I'm just hoping that public transit is also improving, since getting rid of roads but not adding ways for people to travel further distances would be horrible

[@alexseguin5245]

Many projects going on right now, the next few years should see some massive improvements to transit!

[@ducktopia301]

And that's exactly what they're not doing lol they closed down many streets, made them one ways and reduced lanes on many main streets while at the same time reducing bus and metro service/quality by a lot. They're pushing people to bike instead because it's far cheaper than putting money into the public transportation. After growing up and living in the Plateau Mont-Royal for 28 years, I'm finally leaving the city for the south shore for some peace of mind and tranquility👌

[@Zhanhuar]

planning to go to montreal for my phds, since living in car center cities are just challenging my sanity daily, and i really urge to move to more walking and biking friendly neighborhoods. Montreal is definitely a place I will be happy to raise a family in.

[@frenchyroastify]

I visit Montreal every year. The electric BIXI is king there for me. Driving there is just a pain in the whatever as road construction is non stop and so many one way streets. Great work Montreal!

[@felixhurteau2630]

You should talk about Esplanade Tranquille, I think it is one of the coolest project Montreal did in the last 10 years.

[@PeymanSayyadi]

One of the things cities can do to make roads safer and less noisy, is introducing lower speed limits. Barcelona has a lot of 10 km/h speed limits, but in Montreal the minimum is 30 km/h.

[@zachpalmatier2445]

Great vid!

[@louisd.8928]

It's unfortunate that these improvements seem to only go to well off neighbourhoods, or at least up-and-coming. I'm in Parc Ex, which is part of the Villeray-St-Michel-Parc-Extension borough, and all of the urban improvements like wider sidewalks that integrate trees and flowers seem to be allocated to Villeray (the richest part of the borough) while none goes to Parc-Ex (the poorest part with the highest populateion density).

[@ERWERREAW]

I don't know how it works in Montreal, but here in Toronto, the local councilors are the ones who usually prevent stuff like this happening in their wards.

[@shirleymccarthy4436]

If Mary Deros is your councilor, she's Ensemble Montréal (Denis Coderre), a party famously opposed to all progressive actions. Maybe the place to start is by asking her directly to explain why Parc-Ex seems to be the poor cousin in your borough.

[@lateve6243]

Politics. Your councilors were opposed to all this, time to vote them out. Most of these changes, unlike the REV, are not made by the central cities but by local boroughs and projects get approved on a district basis.

[@ScienAnimation]

I think it’s important to mention that the city borders of Montreal probably made a lot of these changes more feasible, since they don’t include the suburbs. For a lot of other cities with massive, sprawling borders I feel like changes like these are so out of reach due to the suburb vote.

[@Globalurb]

It has also a lot to do with boroughs autonomy. It creates super-local governments who are able to implement quickly those changes on local streets. People from suburban boroughs can't block those policies.

[@thomaslaferriere7251]

You would be surprised by how much Montreal suburbs (like Laval and Longueuil) are progressive on urbanism, and really almost all of the CMM (communauté métropolitaine de Montréal) except for very places further out. We are lucky enough to have the majority of Francophone media coverage be in favour of smart urban planning, which also is very aware of the phenomenon of American culture wars and manages to mostly steer clear of that by being very critical of the outlets that play into it. The suburbs still have a long way to go, but the intention is clear, as it is being painted all over the streets. I can’t wait until they actually get to resurface the roads so that we get the proper infrastructure we deserve.

[@ScienAnimation]

@@thomaslaferriere7251 I've been to Longueuil before, it is actually very nice in Old Longueili and the biking infrastructure is pretty good too. Also a lot of good development around the metro station. Laval has that BRT running through it and a few metro stations but besides that it still seems extremely sprawly to me, there's no "downtown" to speak of. The public transit there is still much better than American suburbia though, I agree with you there. I also think you're onto something with Francophone media having a huge role on Quebec's urban development. I like to use google streetview a lot and I've noticed that biking infrastructure in Quebec compared to English Canada is very good, especially in smaller cities. I mean, there is still a lot of sprawl in certain areas, but at least it's being acknowledged as a problem by the provincial government.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@Globalurb Because the suburbs adamantly fought for their independence from the central city. Namely the Anglo-majority on-island suburbs and satellite locales like Westmount and Montreal-Ouest.

[@charles-edouardmorel3173]

@@ScienAnimation Laval right now is an urbanist's nightmare, but the new mayor is hoping to somewhat reverse that.

[@arianedesjardins8775]

For a video subject idea, I would love one on urbanism regulations and their importance: form-based codes like in Laval, PPU, plan directeur de mobilité active, etc.

[@APJTA]

Modal intersections are a huge improvement. There had been a couple in the Plateau for a few years but they were always something that I associated more with Vancouver than with Montreal. I bike occasionally but I tend to use transit instead of my bike. I'm in a building that isn't super convenient by bike. Still, having more bike lanes everywhere makes it easier to be a pedestrian. I noticed the improvements on St Denis and Bellechasse. Much more pleasant now.

[@CoutureCW]

Impressive considering how long and harsh winters are in Montreal. People are warriors and are still willing to walk during the -20c or less days. Thankfully, underground city helps a lot for downtown area.