There’s More to Quebec City Than You Think

[@TheT1million]

I grew up in Quebec City, went away for almost a decade and came back to a city being transformed into a nice urbanist playground. We bought a house in Limoilou, take the bikeshare to work and walk everywhere. Our current mayor is big on reducing car-dependancy and giving people choices and I couldn't be happier about the direction we're going.

[@alexseguin5245]

Yeah, maire Marchand is a cool bloke!

[@annr1403]

jay-walking is essential as a pedestrian in quebec city. some beg lights make you wait 3-5 minutes.

[@penelopeboivin3191]

living in quebec city makes your brain built on jaywalking, every time i go to montreal i have to remember that it's illegal over there 😭

[@GirtonOramsay]

I just jaywalk anytime I enter a dense portion of a city.

[@MyleneRichard]

I use the beg light at rush hour, but for any time else, I wait for a safe opening and jaywalk! Unless there're tourists waiting to cross too. I don't want them to follow my bad exemple. 😂

[@pscm9447]

As a Quebecer as well, I personnally would hate not being able to jay walk... I know my city too well, by foot, car, bike, etc. ; not gonna wait at a light as a pedestrian if I know there's no possible car / danger around. And I do look at traffic lights instead. I get that it can get dangerous in some cases and we must be reasonable, but even then, having seen Istanbul, Cairo, Rome, La Paz, etc. I would say that there's really nothing to worry about our jaywalking culture in Quebec City. I don't think it's populous enough yet to justify being stricter about it, it's just common sense.

[@macedaking]

@@GirtonOramsay I do this in Downtown Orlando, FL. Why am I waiting for a walk sign when it's a one lane road and no cars coming?

[@matelotpierrot8704]

I truly believe we have the best mayor in the province. Unfortunately, Quebec radio stations are doing everything they can to denigrate the mayor, and they are trying to block the tramway. They did the same thing in 2017 to block a new rapid bus service (SRB). I live in a city with a majority of carbrains and that is a shame.

[@mikekeenan8450]

I've heard it said that drive show hosts are among the worst agitators against better transit or cycling infrastructure, simply because they depend on motorists for their audience.

[@northerncatto]

@@mikekeenan8450it’s true. Populists and bigots on the air. One of them is now on politics too! A sad state of affairs.

[@absolutelypitiful3837]

You're kidding. Marchand is extremely reviled by the majority of the population, because he does whatever he wants and doesn't listen to anyone. He's on the verge of losing his elections next year, and that has not happened to any Quebec City mayor in more than a century. I live in Val-Bélair, far away in the suburbs, and he keeps shoving these unwanted bike lanes that nobody wants down our throats. My street has looked like a complete wasteland for almost two months now. Not only that, but my municipal taxes go to shoveling out the bike lanes throughout all winters, even though almost no one bikes on them in the winter. Marchand keeps irritating more and more people every day. Most people in town are AGAINST the tramway, and trying to force people to have a project that the majority of people clearly do not want is undemocratic. Fortunately we'll soon have a Poilievre government and he will sever all federal funding.

[@redcarlos]

@@mikekeenan8450that actually makes so much sense lmao

[@amadeosendiulo2137]

Blocking tramways should be considered a war crime.

[@Co1010z]

The fact that the future of transit is uncertain means that it's more important than ever to both vote and voice your support of transit if you live in Quebec City

[@redcarlos]

Exactly. We need to make sure we don’t lose our chance to have a better city

[@souslesbombes]

Born and raised Montréalais here, living in Québec since almost 10 years now. Quebec has been the butt of the joke in Montreal since I can remember, like living in this "village" was something ridiculous. Well, I can tell you this city is pretty sweet. Houses in the city are still affordable - compared to Mtl - and nature is a short drive away. It's really a perfect mid sized city to raise a family, go around on bike and get out of the city and be on your skis in 20 minutes of car. I feel it will change though, as demographic projections place the Capitale-Nationale as the fastest growing region in Quebec in the next 20 years.

[@alexseguin5245]

Rivalry between Montréal and Québec city really only goes one way. Québec city residents act like Montrealers are sneering at them, while Montrealers really don't care.

[@souslesbombes]

@@alexseguin5245 Pas vraiment. Il y a toujours eu à Montréal une vision réductrice de Québec, une ville plate, de fonctionnaires, blanche comme du pain Weston, petite, presque minable. Moi en tout cas j'ai été élevé dans ça, et je l'ai vécu comme ça quand j'ai annoncé à tous mes amis Montréalais que je partais vivre à Québec. J'aurais dit que j'ai la lèpre, je pense que ç'aurait pas été loin. Je pense que les Montréalais gagneraient à mieux connaître Québec hors des clichés et des caricatures. D'ailleurs si je peux me permettre, et en tout respect, votre commentaire fait partie de cette caricature selon moi.

[@monah5532]

J'adore la Ville du Québec autant que la nature magnifique tout près.

[@mikekeenan8450]

Those hills make my prairie legs hurt just looking at them.

[@noahpoobbailey]

It's even worse in the old parts, literally built on a big hill. Cannot imagine it would be fun to bike in some areas.

[@raaaaaaaaaam496]

That’s where e bikes and scooters come in

[@mikekeenan8450]

@@raaaaaaaaaam496 Fair. They're really popular in Winnipeg actually (where no able-bodied person really needs them) but they'd make sense there.

[@baffinsansterre]

Girls in Qc city have the best looking calfs.

[@alexseguin5245]

@@noahpoobbailey Bike share service is all electric!

[@fernbedek6302]

Quebec City, Winnipeg, and Hamilton are all some of the best medium sized urbanism in North America, I think. Hamilton (and, to a lesser extent Winnipeg) suffered quite a lot downtown proper, but there's lots of good old working class neighbourhoods in all three.

[@rmdvto]

Let's hope Hamilton and Quebec City can get their LRTs built within the decade. Like you said both cities have incredible urban bones for their size but that potential goes untapped without proper rapid transit in my opinion

[@MrAlen6e]

Hamilton is really an underate city in my opinion, it has so much architecture, it's old neighborhoods are pretty lively and it's medium sizes just has so much potential .

[@rmdvto]

Also if you're a train nerd you should try the Train de Charlevoix which goes up the coast from near Montmorency Falls to the charming town of Baie-Saint-Paul, notable for being the first hydrogen powered train in the Americas! I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned in this video !

[@Koutousov]

It was a test by the manufacturer, probably for operating in this climate. The route is back to a diesel train.

[@jfmezei]

The Train the Charlevoix is not allowed to get to the Gare du Palais because it is a modern european train that does not meet the FRA's "must be heavy and built like in the 1950s" rules which Transport Canada copies. The tracks are there. It just isn't allowed to use them and was given an exception to run in Canada on condition it never gets anywhere near "real" trains.

[@Kaizerzydeco1]

Quebec City also has some great Art Deco buildings in its central business district up top, such as the Hotel Clarendon. They are not however in over-the-top American Art Deco but rather more restrained like the British version.

[@raaaaaaaaaam496]

Over the top American art deco is the best. It is THE American architectural style. It’s literally the style that Herbert Hoover sent architects to Paris Worlds fair to analyze and then make an American version of it. I mean look at the Chrysler building or the U drop inn or the Nebraska capital. Just absolutely breathtaking buildings. With shapes that can only work with the American art deco style.

[@Kaizerzydeco1]

@@raaaaaaaaaam496you should see Buffalo NY’s City Hall then.

[@pscm9447]

Wow, excellent video! I was literally thinking that all english videos about Quebec City on KZbin were always confined to the Old Quebec, even though there's so much more to see. Quebec City is a very vast urban area compared to its population, and when you're native from Quebec City, you probably grew up all around the city, from Boischâtels, near the Montmorency Falls, to Saint-Augustin, at the western-most point of the city, or from the Cliffs facing the Saint-Lawrence River to very deep in the mountains around Stoneham. All of this is still kinda considered parts of the city and periphery. Most Quebecers only visit the Old Quebec from time to time to go to a restaurant, take a walk on weekends, etc... like tourists in their own city! But they actually live and work most of the time in all the other quarters.

[@zycosi]

Fun fact: The pattern visible at 5:09 in green is very common in Quebec city and comes from what's left over when ice skate blades get stamped out a piece of sheet metal. You can find fences and railings in parts of the city that are decorated with those leftover pieces of metal.

[@Valektrum]

Really glad to see you guys cover my city. Vive le Québec et sa capitale nationale!

[@ZontarDow]

"Quebec has a lot of swimming pools for some reason" It's all the lakes and rivers, it created a culture of swimming as a passtime that never went away with modernity so as a result houses, apartments and condos have the highest rate of per capita access to swimming pools. It's like the prevalence of chalets

[@leopoldleoleo]

I think the fact that water is basically free here in Quebec has a lot to do with it :p

[@baddriversofcolga]

I went with my mom and sister to Quebec City in 2017, and it was pretty great. We did a lovely bike ride where we crossed over to Saint Romuald where we stopped at a wonderful cafe called O'Ravito Café Relais, and then we returned on the ferry.

[@grahamturner2640]

“It can create a culture of ignoring the lights and walking anyways” I can definitely understand that, considering that’s what it’s like at my university. Granted, it’s in Arizona, though students there often ignore or try to beat the end of walk signals. There are also times where people cross at the middle of a block, which can be annoying to deal with when I’m riding a bike. I personally hardly partake in it, since for a while, I usually had a bike with me, which is a hindrance when I’m not riding it.

[@cedricksusername]

François Legault: the boy who cried "Troisième Lien"

[@louiselloyd1523]

I'm glad I finally got to visit Quebec city in 2015. I was born in Montreal but had never been east of Montreal until 2015. I wish I could revisit Quebec and see more of that province. Unfortunately at 77 my travelling days are over (except for short local trips). But I am glad I at least saw a bit of Quebec. Merci Quebec.

[@markuserikssen]

Looks like a fascinating city. Would love to visit it one day. Great video!

[@JeffSchwenke]

I stayed in Sainte-Foy when I visited Quebec City around 2015, and had a car and also rented a bicycle for 2 of the days, so I got to see a lot of the entire metropolitan area besides the old city. I walked or biked through most of these neighborhoods you showed. I really enjoyed it and will definitely visit again.

[@leopoldleoleo]

Highly reccomend going further up the coast! Le parc des hautes gorges is amazing, and the town of Tadoussac at the mouth of the Fjord is lovely

[@Caniewaak]

"Suburbs across Quebec also tend to have a lot of swimming pools for some reason" I feel called out

[@James-el6lj]

This is a great channel. Far better than City Nerd that I loathe.

[@JeffLaRochelle]

Why the hate for City Nerd?

[@James-el6lj]

@@JeffLaRochelle he is a fake.

[@JeffLaRochelle]

@@James-el6lj curious as to why you think so? (No strong opinion to the contrary)

[@James-el6lj]

@@JeffLaRochelle He is a total fake.

[@JeffLaRochelle]

@@James-el6lj eloquent

[@etiennegarant7545]

Great video! I began to follow your channel while I lived in Montréal, glad you see you covering my hometown, where I returned to live since then. I look forward to see your biking video, the experience here is vastly different from the one in Mtl. Some small reactions: - Waiting for the pedestrian lights can be very long especially during winter, when it gets extremely cold sometimes, especially in the upper city where its often windy. Up to 120 seconds staying put at -30c isn't great. - Notice the hand railing on the steeper streets of Saint-Jean-Baptiste. These streets become ice slides when frozen; sometimes you need something to hold on. - Its gotten better at least in the central districts within the last decade. You pointed out a lot of improvements especially at some intersections. - If you want to visit the region I recommend: Orléans Island (there's even a tradition of cycling all around it), Chutes-de-la-Chaudière (waterfalls, lower but wider than Montmorency, on the Lévis side right across the bridges), the overall charming neighboring regions of Portneuf (especially the village of Neuville) and Beaupré (there even was a round-trip boat shuttle to Saint-Anne this summer).

[@smallmj2886]

We had a nice visit in Quebec in the summer. We spent a few days in and around Quebec City, then went North and spent an afternoon tubing in Jacques Cartier National Park before going further north for a night in Chicoutimi. We then spent a day in the Saguenay Fjord National park and a final night in Saint Simeon before catching the morning ferry and returning home to the Maritimes. It was a great visit. It was especially nice to see some sights that we hadn't seen before. The national parks were beautiful, and the basilica in Saint-Anne-de--Beaupre was breathtaking.

[@etbadaboum]

I love these trip reports! Thank you.

[@amadeosendiulo2137]

13:50 In Esperanto we call the city Kebeko and the province Kebekio or Kebekujo.

[@m.e.3862]

Cool!

[@TheStraightGod]

we? What group of people exactly?

[@lost_porkchop]

​@@TheStraightGodnerds speaking a made up language that look down on people speaking Klingon 😂

[@amadeosendiulo2137]

@@lost_porkchop Using the term "made up" sounds like suggesting it's not real. Ambiguity.

[@amadeosendiulo2137]

@@TheStraightGod Esperanto speakers.

[@JaraDeHoog]

I spent a month in Quebec City this summer and I loved it so much!! I mostly used the bike-share to get around and it was extremely useful and cheap, plus the electric bikes made the hills way easier. Looking forward to your video on biking in the city :)

[@EB-yp1wu]

Yes! Quebec City for the win! So happy to see you guys covering our city!

[@juliebelanger8878]

Wow, this video is a great work! You've really walked and drive all of the city! I've lived in quebec for 10 years, just now going back to the countryside, and you have teached me new things about its urbanism.

[@UsernameIncoming]

From what I've heard, pedestrian signals that conflict with turning movements (the kind where vehicles need to yield) are completely prohibited in Quebec City. What they need to do IMO is to add new right turning lanes to intersections anywhere there is room so that right turning vehicles can get a red light while pedestrians and vehicles going straight can proceed at the same time.

[@UsernameIncoming]

The KZbin channel "Jackson Bourret Transportation Studios" has lots of videos of intersections with traffic lights in Quebec City, if you'd like to check it out.

[@grahamturner2640]

Though I wonder why lights where car movements conflict seem to be legal.

[@UsernameIncoming]

@@grahamturner2640 Here is what I think the most likely reasons are: - pedestrians are less visible to turning vehicles than cars and thus more vulnerable - it's easier to separate out the pedestrian phase when there aren't any turn lanes at an intersection - then, there's the difference between a car hitting another a car and a car hitting a pedestrian. I should note however, that right on red is still allowed when pedestrians are crossing, which may be problematic.

[@marco23p]

In the Netherlands, the far majority of signals have no conflicting movements. And indeed, almost all lights have at least 1 turning lane. Another fun example is Groningen, which use "scrambles" for cycling. To limit waiting times, they have a cycling phase twice per cycle. Yes, this increases waiting times for cars a bit, but this is deemed acceptable.

[@UsernameIncoming]

Besides that, the Dutch also have far more flexible and fluid traffic signal phasing than North America. I recommend the channel "Ontario Traffic Man" to break down a few of the things they do differently than us.

[@harmandon]

Thank you so much for making this video! I'm tired of people reducing the city to the old city

[@cedrikpelletier5735]

There’s indeed a loud minority that are car dependent and di everything to discourage public transport. Fun fact: Quebec city is 1st or 2nd city in north America with the most km of highway per resident. It shows how much the city went downhill just outside the old neighborhood for car dependency. Now some people are afraid of change but its necessary and the mayor Marchand is putting the city in the right direction for the future.

[@TheTrafficTech]

Yeah I always found the pedestrian phasing in Quebec City interesting! Some newer or more complex intersections will keep the walk sign on when there aren’t any conflicts like at the one way street you mentioned. More simple intersections tend to use one channel to do all pedestrian crossings so they aren’t as versatile. I’ve been rolling out protected pedestrian crossings in Nova Scotia but they’re a bit more adaptive since each crossing has its own channel! Great video as always!

[@nicthedoor]

I can only travel so much. Stop making me want to go to new places! Great video as always.

[@Andrew-jv7tc]

I visited Québec this past January. I noticed the long beg lights right away. I usually waited, especially since it was already often slippery due to the snow. They for sure need to do better on those. But I found it to be a beautiful city, and much of it quite walkable even outside of vieux-Québec. The bus to la chute Montmorency was efficient and gave a great tour of some of the suburban parts of the city. I do wish I had more time to spend in Limoilou, as I loved all the external staircases. Overall I loved it and can't wait to visit again. I see so much potential if they could just build that tramway! Especially to the airport.

[@leopoldleoleo]

As a Montréalais I always look at Québec city with a little bewilderment at their reticence against transit and density. It feels like theyre fighting against the vibrancy of their own city. I think that its status as the provincial capital has always made it a little more conservative (kind of like Ottawa) because a large fraction of the population are comfortable, middle-class public sector workers who live out in the suburbs and value lifestyle stability.

[@Urban_LP]

Yeah, and this is why I hate my own city. Quebec City is beautiful in its centre but terrible the more you go outside of it. Suburbs ruin the city and are super conservative (We see that also in the elections). While Montréal is fantastic, vibrant, a mobility and urbanism paradise. Planning to move there for my Uni studies in urban planning. Can't wait to leave this horrible city who want to be congested and ugly with cars everywhere and pollution.

[@coverversionoftheday9941]

I visited over the summer. I learned that their bus system uses the same OPUS card as used in Montreal. However they don't accept the Montreal load you have on your card. You have to put "Quebec" money on your card. At least you can still use the card you already have.

[@Larsoff]

I guess that kinda makes sense since zone A,B,C,D is only really for the area surrounding Montreal but that's cool to know!

[@penelopeboivin3191]

it used to actually work in both cities! but now the cards were made incompatible since the introduction of the new zoning system in montreal, which i don't really mind since it makes movement across the metropolitan area WAYYY easier.

[@onthewater4020]

You missed a rail connection in the city - the Train de Charlevoix. I will donate $300 to your channel the moment you do a video on Victoria. So many urbanists focus on Ontario and Quebec, with occasional mentions of Vancouver, and NO ONE touches Victoria with a ten-foot-pole. I'm not bluffing. $300 is on the table.

[@OhTheUrbanity]

We'd love to do a video on Victoria, but we'd actually have to go there and film. It's the same with Alberta: we didn't make videos about Calgary and Edmonton until we visited and got more experience with the cities (plus footage).

[@rmdvto]

Lol why do Vancouver Islanders act like there is some grand conspiracy against acknowledging them 😅 The reason many Canadian urbanists focus on Ontario and Quebec is because there is just a lot more urbanism in those areas, and they are adjacent and relatively easy to travel between and within. Victoria is the 16th largest metro area in Canada and 10 of the 15 metro areas larger than it are in Ontario and Quebec. Don't get me wrong Victoria certainly does punch above it's weight in terms of urbanism and it's a great small city but trying to bribe @OhTheUrbanity $300 to travel to a small city on the opposite corner of the country is laughable

[@MateusChristopher]

Is the reason europe and asia can keep cost down is that they have the labour specialization and corporations that build the trains... Compared to that no american firm can compete

[@Globalurb]

That's a factor but I've heard that labour costs are cheaper in Europe compared to North America.

[@juliansmith4295]

"American" firm?

[@elgreco75]

I went to Quebec back in 2011 and stayed in a Hotel in Saint Roch, walking up those hills to the old city was no joke. Quebec in the walls in a gem of a city, probably rhe most European like city North of Mexico. Like most tourists we spent little time outside the walls, but its great you highlighted it. I think Quebec could really use some kind of rail based public transit, hopefully the tramway gets built.

[@mindstalk]

I stayed a month in Old Quebec a few years ago. Getting _out_ of OQ was a bit of pain -- yeah those scrambles with long light times. But there aren't any supermarkets inside OQ, just come expensive small stores. I did go out otherwise, mostly on foot, walking through the southwest, I guess mostly as far as Av Cartier, or maybe further along the Plains of Abraham, though I took a bus once further out into real car country. I forget if I crossed the St. Charles River; if I did, probably didn't get far. Yeah, that hill up from the train station is brutal; I recall taking a bus home from some exploration in that direction.

[@ysengrimus]

Great topic. However, presentation of some winter scenery would be a plus... specially when discussing the issues of urban transportation as explicitely as you do. It snows a lot in that town... and that changes everything.

[@OhTheUrbanity]

We were there in October, so there wasn't a lot of snow to film.

[@ysengrimus]

@@OhTheUrbanity Go back in february and sample the public transit. A world of difference. Quebec City is easily 10 degrees colder than Montreal in winter. Somewhat winnipegesque.

[@noseboop4354]

@@ysengrimus Donate a few thousand dollars to their channel and they'll be more inclinded to do it.

[@Coccinelf]

Now I know why we have so few tourists in old Lévis! Hehe.

[@jean-francoisbouchard3382]

Always interesting to read the comments. All positive. The only Quebec City haters live in Quebec City. Strange. Very good video!

[@peabody1976]

6:35 The "pedestrian scramble" (also called a "Barnes dance" in my area) is really done badly in Quebec City by prohibiting crossing unless you get to a third cycle. I live in the DC area and we have a few of these and all are set like this: 1) car/ped traffic on the X axis, 2) car/ped traffic on the y axis, 3) no car traffic and a ped scramble. By limiting the number of cross cycles is just a bit of a waste unless they really want to allow for free right turns.

[@physh2596]

I live in Quebec City, you did a good job showing it ! I think you should have put more focus on Limoilou: This place is an urbanist's paradise and our local counselor, Jackie Smith is pushing for even more changes. I think that if more québécois saw how it is to live in Limoilou/Maizerets/Lairet than the suburbs, they would ask for it. There is good examples of densification for the whole province in these 3 areas.

[@fredjutras5510]

I love living in limoilou! Apart from all the thefts it's a very cool part of québec. You have some of the best restaurants all on the same street

[@JeffLaRochelle]

I was just "à Québec" and thought the city would be hard to use for cycling, given the lack of infrastructure and steep hills. Interested to see your video on it. It's a beautiful city with super nice people. It was also easier to speak French there than in Montréal (we're at ~low B1 level) without them switching to English reflexively.

[@MaverickMeercat]

I know you need to wait a bit longer for a “pedestrian scramble” light cycle. But one thing Europe (particularly UK) does well is ensuring when pedestrians are moving, the cars are stationary.

[@silasbishop3055]

What makes the cost of building transit in QC more expensive than France and Sweden? What are the tradeoffs?

[@rmdvto]

If you're genuinely interested in the answer to this question I highly recommend watching nandert's video called "The Explosion of Transit Costs and Timelines in America"

[@penelopeboivin3191]

one of the reasons is we spend 10 years arguing about whether or not we build it, and by then inflation and soft costs ballon so we end up... not building it... even tho it's gonna get even more expensive as time goes on

[@charlolel]

Labour and other factors. In North America we do not have the same expertise and industries so we need to get people from outside the province often fly people from Europe and import almost everything.

[@sylvainb2366]

42% of the people can speak English in Québec city, not bad compared to the percentage of people who can speak French in Toronto or even Ottawa.

[@mariusvanc]

Key word: "can".

[@kjh23gk]

@@mariusvanc Do people in Toronto expect people to speak English?

[@lost_porkchop]

There's like two people in Toronto that speak French. There's fifty other more useful languages here.

[@charlolel]

@@lost_porkchop Idk only French allows you to get access to good-paying federal and corporate jobs.

[@Jean-PierreGrenier-yl3wp]

@@lost_porkchop It is because Ontario does not make it mandatory to complete a French course to get your high school diploma. In Quebec, you must complete English as Second Language to get your high school diploma. ROC never really cared for French language and actually did everything to suppress it (check the history of Regulation 17 in Ontario)… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_17

[@J-Bahn]

If you ever visit Philadelphia you should also try to visit Lancaster Pennsylvania. Old small city with planned streets. No stroads or highways in the core. Electrified frequent fast train service to Philly and NYC. Very underrated city

[@123benny4]

In English if the name of the country, state, or province is the same as the city then we say 'city' to distinguish it from the country, state, or province: Mexico City in Mexico, New York City in New York, Quebec City in Quebec.

[@briancollier5145]

I cycled from Montreal to Quebec City a number of years ago. We stayed in the old part of Quebec City, and did all the touristy things. Good to see there is more to Quebec City that is worth a look. Would love to see the tramway actually come to fruition - as you point out France, Spain and a few others are successfully building tramways without bankrupting themselves. And if you want the tramway to succeed you need transit oriented housing to go with it. fingers crossed. I look forward to your video on cycling in Quebec City!

[@jenbanim]

"They're the type of beg button you have to actually press". This is so frustrating! I'm used to getting walk signals without pressing the beg button, so when I wind up somewhere where it's required I'll often just stand at an intersection for a couple minutes before realizing I actually need to press the button 😑

[@aurionson]

Un jour, aller à Québec sans voiture sera agréable, lâchez pas.

[@simplygregsterev]

Quebec City is lovely and for the most part they kept highways away from the core area.

[@lost_porkchop]

Looks like a nice place

[@francoistrepanier-huot7076]

I live in Quebec city, and you don't speak about àVélo, the new bike-share program of the city, who is a colossal sucess (After Bixi it's the second most use bike-share program per rata in North America)! Québec is my city and I love it, and it has a lot of potentiel for transit-oriented et active mobility!

[@OhTheUrbanity]

Remember: we mentioned in the video that we're saving cycling for its own video!

[@definitelynotacrab7651]

Here hoping they can get the tram built

[@etiennelevesque6015]

Regarding pedestrian crossings, the City just upgraded the Marie de l'incarnation-Charest intersection to use smarter pedestrian signals like in Montreal. This was done as part of the construction of Marie de l'Incarnation's Corridor VivaCité (CVC, our equivalent of Montreal's REVs) and there's plans to do more as the CVCs develop.

[@grahamturner2640]

How do smart signals work? Is it something near a traffic light pole that detects when someone walks close to it?

[@etiennelevesque6015]

@@grahamturner2640 Oh no nothing like that. By "smarter" I simply meant signals that let pedestrians cross along with car traffic instead of waiting for a third "scramble" phase. Sorry for the confusion, "smart" can mean many things.

[@-_____-]

12:25 Old Lévis is a nice spot to check out, plus there's a bike path that runs along it. Definitely recommend checking it out next time!

[@WhereWeRoll]

6:33 couldn’t you just walk when the car light is green? It’s my understanding that it isn’t illegal to jaywalk in Canada. Obviously it’s not ideal for everyone but I like the idea of going well it’s safe to do so but having the option to wait and stop all cars if I’m uncomfortable. I almost always walk in the hand anyway because half the time the bet buttons don’t work or they’re setup to only give the walk signal if you press them super early in the light cycle.

[@noseboop4354]

Crossing the street as a pedestrian when the light is green for cars is the pragmatic thing that the vast majority of people do, but it's technically illegal to ignore the pedestrian 'hand/stop' signal and if police is in a strict mood they can give you a $135 ticket for it (they rarely do, but it does happen).

[@Mercure250]

TECHNICALLY... The way you distinguish the province from the city is with the article rather than the preposition. It's "le Québec" (literally "the Quebec") for the province, and just "Québec" for the city. "Quebec City speaks French." -> Québec parle français. "Quebec (the province) speaks French." -> Le Québec parle français. "au" is just a fusion of the preposition "à" with the article "le", a bit like how in Spanish, you have "al", from "a" and "el". It's just that in French, we had a sound change where L's became U's in certain places (this is the same reason why the plural of "cheval" is "chevaux"). Same thing with "de" and "le" becoming "du" together. If you want to say "I come from Quebec City", it would be "Je viens de Québec", but if you want to say "I come from Quebec (the province)", you say "Je viens du Québec". Note for French learners: Don't confuse the article "le", meaning "the", that I just talked about, and the pronoun "le", meaning "him" or "it". The prepositions "à" and "de" do fuse with the article "le" (and it's mandatory) to become "au" and "du" respectively, but they do not fuse with the pronoun "le". If you say something like "I just did it", it would be "Je viens de le faire", not "Je viens du faire", because it's the pronoun, here.

[@OhTheUrbanity]

For brevity I picked the simplest and most common situation. This means that I could avoid explaining that countries take definite articles in French and that some article+preposition combinations merge, both of which can be confusing if you're not familiar with the language.

[@Mercure250]

@@OhTheUrbanity Don't worry, my comment was meant more as a "Here's this for people who want to learn more" than an actual criticism. Your video is very good.

[@mdhazeldine]

What is the best time of year to visit Quebec City? I really need to go sometime.

[@fredjutras5510]

Some will say in the winter. Because old québec sure is beautiful in the winter. But summertime is very nice also. I would say anytime between december and march for wintertime and maybe May till september

[@mariannerichard1321]

About trafic lights, there are things you can do in Montreal, where cars can't turn right on a red light, versus what you can do in Quebec City, where cars are allowed to. About the tramway, it cost that much because there needs to be a tunnel to move from St-Roch to Montcalm. Flatter cities could have comparable price to what you see Korea and Europe, but Quebec City is not the place for that. The CDPQinfra took out the second tunnel in Ste-Foy, that's part of why it's less expensive. The 1st phase of the project is now planned to be running by 2029, it reminds to be seen whether phase 2 and 3 will ever get the green light. About the 3rd link, with the actual side by side bridges and the ferry linking both dowtown... let's say the current system is far, far from optimal. Most people I have known who got a job on the other shore, moved on the other shore within 3 years or quit their job. If it was my decision to make, I would do a 3rd link on the Eastern side of the city, then turn the Quebec Bridge into a full transit and active transportation link (plus, police, ambulance and firetrucks as needed). There's 3 lanes on that bridge, I'd use 2 for the buses in each direction and turn the third one into a bike lane. Adding the tramway tunnel of phase 3, downtown to downtown, would make the entire system efficient enough to add another millions people around in the next 100 years.

[@Urban_LP]

The third link isn't necessary, adding more lanes doesn't solve trafic duh CDPQ Infra studied every studies made on third link and concluded that it would do nothing and even accentuate even more the congestion on the north shore

[@mariannerichard1321]

​ @Urban_LP So you haven't read my post at all. My plan doesn't add lines. I move the 2 from Quebec Bridge further East and replace them with buses and bike lanes. CDPQinfra study is flawed, I know first hand, as I was surveyed for it. It only records the current movement of people, not the ones that do not happen, because the current system is not adequate. Like I said in my last post, which you haven't read, living in one downtown and working in the other is not manageable to the majority of people. The sad, bitter joke of a ferry every 30 minutes on rush hour only seems a good idea on paper. The only viable option is to drive half an hour West to the current bridge, then half an hour East back to the other downtown. It goes without saying, but people for Boischatel don't even bother looking up the jobs in Beaumont and vice versa. If the position of the Quebec Bridge was inevitable in the early 1900s, to put the Laporte Bridge so close to the first was a mistake. A mistake that costed both downtown their vitality as Ste-Foy and St-Nicolas drained the live force out of them. A 3rd link East would balance the regional development, instead of turning St-Apollinaire into a new Levis.

[@Urban_LP]

@@mariannerichard1321 and this is why we need a Transit only third link by tram under the Saint Lawrence river, not a new highway at the east end

[@bjdon99]

When it comes to how they live, Quebecois are North Americans, not Europeans. Sure their culture is a bit different from the anglosphere, but the way they live their daily lives really isn’t too different from the people in the provinces and states that border them.

[@dontgetlost4078]

One thing that was not mentionned about CDPQ's tram project was the BRT line on the Guillaume-Couture boulevard (QC-132) in Lévis that would cross the Québec Bridge. That line was immediately axed the next day because "there's no difference between BRT and a normal dedicated lane" according to education minister Bernard Drainville, responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches region, where Lévis is. This government runs on ignorance that rivals the american chauvinism.

[@steemlenn8797]

So if the second level of those exterior stairs houses are reached by the exterior stairs, how do you get to the third level?

[@dontgetlost4078]

There are rooms on the first floor that's dedicated to stairs that lead to the third floor, only accessible from the doors outside.

[@briangunn21]

There's rail in Hamilton. It doesn't go through the whole city but that will change soon

[@robthetraveler1099]

9:11 I guess the obvious question is how have Spain, France, Sweden, and South Korea kept their transit construction costs low?

[@dontgetlost4078]

Most obvious factor is: build all the time vs don't build for decades. We're in the second clan, so we have to import expertise from abroad to lower our chances of fucking up, which increases costs. Geography doesn't help with the hills that told us we should tunnel under the central neighborhoods. That also increases costs. Because of this, 8B$ is the most optimist we have, and that we should accept and build. If we don't, then it's just going to be even more expensive. We don't want another 36B$ fully underground tram projects thought out seriously by clowns in Montréal who care way too much about social acceptability.

[@MaverickMeercat]

5:00 “Curb extensions narrow the road and increase visibility at intersection” … car proceeds to not stop at stop sign 🤦‍♂️

[@MrAlen6e]

I always found a contradiction that Quebec always has tried to detached itself in policy to English canada yet in many ways a lot of the province just continues to copy the north American suburbia model.

[@OdinWannaBe]

We do not copy, the influence is just stronger and more of a fatality. The effort to ''copy'' has to be made about the EU influence.

[@9grand]

La plus belle ville du Canada

[@esgee3829]

lady voice is back

[@roselynew4364]

Walled city north of Mexico

[@SomeDudeQC]

La CAQ une belle gang de cabochons

[@MyleneRichard]

I agree that their lack of vision for Québec City is appaling. First, they canceled the third bridge, and then stop the tramway but they offered nothing else to solve the city growing congestion problems. Until they lost the partial election in Jean-Talon and then it's like it dawned on them that people expect them to actually govern and plan ahead. So they just mandate CDPQ to give them a vision.

[@Urban_LP]

Quebec City is my hometown, centre town is walkable and beautiful. Love Old Quebec, its narrow streets and lovely plazas&shops. Sadly, this city falls appart quickly. The 60s&70s destroyed it. Car centric design is everywhere outside of central neighborhoods. We still rely only on buses (Overcrowded) even if the metro population is almost 1 million. We have carbrained and conservative radios so called "trash/garbage radios" or "radios poubelles" in french who shit on everything that isn't a car or an infrastructure made for cars. Nimbyism is high in this city and lot of suburbanites are super carbrain. We lack good urbanism popularizer/influencer like you that can explain to people why car dependency is bad for our economy and urban sphere as a city. We have the chance to have one of the greatest mayor in the province and maybe in Canada who want to add bike/pedestrian infrastructures and also boost our transit system, but he can't do a lot without the Provincial government approval and funding and sadly our provincial gov is totally carbrain and elected by suburbanites who only care about cars. We need rail transit in this city, it's pathetic that a city of its size still doesn't have more than buses. People here don't understand urban planning or how transportation works. I'm tired of this city and I plan to move to Montreal to study Urban planning. Hoping Quebec City gets better over time but also hate how the suburbs ruin this city. We lost so many opportunities over time, lot of project being canceled due to the constant uncertainty there is in this city around transportation projects. People here think adding more lanes solve trafic. Yep...

[@Ali-eq4uo]

Grew up in Toronto / 905; moved to Québec 3 years go. Excellent job!!

[@pavelow235]

Haven't been there since a kid about 30 years ago I've always wanted to see how the French province is doing

[@vincentmeylan3859]

if so many people need to cross the street, make it a pederstrian zone and take the space away from cars

[@Paul-m5o]

All the pools are because of sweaty, high humidity summer days. You didn't talk at all about the Plaines of Abraham Park which is highly appreciated for the city as well as the St Charles River and the extensive bike path network. Also, you didn't mention that the city is one, of only two, walked (edit: walled) cities in North America (the other being in Mexico). Really enjoyed the video however. 👏

[@crowmob-yo6ry]

Mackinac Island is another one. Now that's 3 "walked" cities.

[@xouxoful]

C’est quoi une « walked city »…😮?

[@Jean-PierreGrenier-yl3wp]

@@xouxoful It was obviously a typo created by automatic correction… It must have been “walled city”. Quebec City is the only walled city North of Mexico.

[@crowmob-yo6ry]

@@Jean-PierreGrenier-yl3wp walled cities seem rare outside of Russia and China. Do private gated communities count?

[@Jean-PierreGrenier-yl3wp]

@@crowmob-yo6ry 😆 Walled cities existed where societies were at war. The fact that gated communities exist in the US is a sign that their society is not at peace with itself…

[@thesilverblack708]

Been a while since we heard both narrators in the one video. A lot of your recent videos just had the guy. I was starting to get concerned something happened between you two.

[@silasbishop3055]

Also, not sure if you would be interested, but there is a small city in South Carolina called Greenville. I lived there for a few years. It isn't as well developed as a city like QC or Montreal. However it has impressive urban planning for a city its size. I was impressed (American Standards).

[@crowmob-yo6ry]

Get out of here, NJB fanboy.

[@nose10620]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@Alex-od7nl]

These kinds of urban conversions are very expensive, and most North American cities are not exactly rolling in cash. It is a big bet, and a lot of public debt is being racked up to implement it. What remains to see is whether the next generation of families (ie 30- and 20-year olds) will elect to move out to the suburbs---which is what the last two generations did---or instead will they sacrifice the large backyard and relative privacy of suburban living in favor of urban convenience and community.

[@souslesbombes]

Well the best way to keep families out of downtown is to keep the old designs that have made it basically into a highway for suburbanites going to work. Families living in cities deserve safety too.

[@penelopeboivin3191]

so far it just made people shop local a lot more and there's tons of people moving back in the city. local buisnesses on the pedestrianized streets (3e avenue, Cartier, St-Jean, St-Roch, etc,) are doing really well and there's even new ones popping up.

[@Alex-od7nl]

@@souslesbombes converting office buildings into apartments and condos is a an expensive process, and it is difficult to entice people to live downtown when there are no practical conveniences like grocery stores, restaurants, parks, etc. The transition will be very slow---and in the meantime, cities will be dependent on what few office-workers still remain to pull them through.

[@MsMarmima]

For the views for the views for the views

[@robertrawley1115]

🌴🌞🌴🌞🎃🎃🎃🌞🌴🌞🌴

[@LoneHowler]

If Quebec city is the highest level of uncertainty for it's train, Calgary is hot on its heels with the Greenline and the UCP constant demands for studies, realignments, funding getting yanked, and general meddling by the provincial government

[@smallstudiodesign]

Interesting how you pronounce French place names. 😮

[@lunarmodule6419]

Ya we know! Lol

[@mariusvanc]

4:00 LOL, implying NIMBYism is the result of some kind of generational trauma, really?

[@OhTheUrbanity]

There was very clearly a cultural and political shift against development in the 1970s. Cities like San Francisco and Vancouver downzoned and cracked down on apartments.

[@NoNotThatPaul]

For the views! Get it?

[@iamzuckerburger]

VUEZZZZZ

[@julianallen515]

Another great video. Could only be bettered by ditching the irritating AI voices.

[@benqurayza7872]

Speakers should also improve their French pronunciation.

[@Xerxes2005]

@@benqurayza7872 I believe it was actually well above average for a typical Anglo. He pronounced "St-Roch" correctly, for one.

[@jonathanstensberg]

Ah Canadians, waiting for the government to give you permission to cross the street…so quaint…

[@souslesbombes]

yeah, as opposed to India, that great model society!

[@penelopeboivin3191]

to be honest we don't wait anyway

[@nickgooderham2389]

I was in Quebec city this summer, the only people waiting for the light to change were American tourists.

[@crowmob-yo6ry]

Crow caw island

[@Makedonac007]

] [ Les l'histoire Du Bloc de pomme de terre 🎃l'autumn aujourhui ci vous plateau argent' Amen From 1979' Canada showed machine, and technology with family .. Proud always all Province, Territory .. for My classrooms are evidence .. You can not allow few to be overworked .. WHEN THE MOST ARE TATToO'D .. SEE YOUR HEALTH BILL, ALCOHOL BILL AS IN GDP SINCE THEN ... Upper Canada KJV* Amen

[@emiriebois2428]

La plus belle ville du Canada