Montreal becoming more pedestrian friendly one car-free zone at a time

The city now has some 50 streets free of vehicular traffic where people can stroll past gardens, outdoor urban furniture and splashes of colour.

Fifteen so-called "pedestrian zones" have been recently added, in 10 different boroughs, and four more are on the way by 2020.

Among them isJean-BrillantStreet in Cte-des-NeigesNotre-Dame-de-Grce, where a pilot project is slated to get underway this fall.

Some 15,000people walk the street's narrow sidewalks daily, asit connects the Cte-des-Neiges Metro station to the Universit de Montralcampus ina busyarea packed with medical offices, commercial buildings and cultural destinations.

Those narrow sidewalks mean pedestrians are often forced off the curb and onto the roadwayor the grass.

Unlike the design of most other pedestrian zones, there is no plan to banvehicular traffic on Jean-Brillant.

Instead, the park between Gatineau and Decelles avenues will be extended byfour metres, creating a wider walking area and reducing the roadway to a single, one-way lane for cars. The vehicular speed limit will be set at 20 km/h.

"There's just so much foot traffic in that area that it was a no-brainer to make it safer and more pleasant to walk," said boroughMayor Sue Montgomery.

Some street parking will be eliminated, and plants and urban furniture will be added to make the space more inviting.

U de M seeks safer streets

With climate change in mind, it is time to rethink the cityscape, said Montgomery. She said the borough now widens sidewalks every time a street is refurbished.

"When these public spaces are created, it brings people together, especially when you add the urban furniture," she said."It's important to bring people out of isolation, to meet their neighbours."

Montgomery said the university has been pressing the borough to act to make streets surrounding the campus safer,so the borough applied to the city, through a program aimed at creating pedestrian-friendly shared spaces.

A pilot project is to get underway soon, and if it goes well, the pedestrian zone will become a permanent fixture.

3 more projects on the way

Other projects to be completed by 2020 include turning the old village of Sault-au-Rcolletinto a pedestrian-friendly heritage destination.A 425-metre stretch of Gouin Boulevard East in Ahuntsic-Cartierville will be renovated to promote healthy lifestyles, encourage cultural activities and increase residents' sense of security.

A stretch of Bellerive Street, which runs along the St. Lawrence River in the city's east end,will soon havekiosks,benches and picnic tables installed.

Island Street in Pointe-Saint-Charles is also on Montreal's to-do list, in response to residents' request to reconfigure the space so it's better shared by all users. The Sud-Ouest borough is now in the consultation phase.

Streets, parks and paths

There are eight kilometres of pedestrian zones in all in Montreal, with many incorporating public pianos,gardens, places to sit and family-friendly installations,such as sandboxes and play modules.

For the four projects slated for 2020, the city of Montreal's central budget is paying for 50 per cent of the project, up to $600,000 over four years.