City plans to turn McGill College into public plaza

McGill College Avenue in downtown Montreal will be redevelopedinto a public square, but not without the input of citizens, Mayor Valrie Plante announced Thursday.

"Our vision, of course, is to work with citizens and the different users of McGill College and that area," Plante said, promising a "signature" project for the city that will gain international recognition.

"We want to make sure this place will be in all the tourist books," she said. It will be the "place to be."

Unlike most of downtown, the fourblocks that make up McGillCollegehave extrawide sidewalks and a tree-lined median running down the middle.

"We know this place deserves so much love and attention because we have such a great view of the mountain," Plante said.

Pedestrian only? TBD

Whether or not the new square will be pedestrian-only is still up in the air, Plante said, as access to shops and businesses on the street will need to be considered moving forward.

That will all be part of the public consultation process, she said.

"Of course, when you talk about a plaza, usually it's mostly pedestrians, but we also need to work with the buildings around."

Plante stressed that her administration is willing to entertain a wide variety of ideas for the redevelopment, but added that she believes Montrealers want more pedestrian-only areas.

A final decisionon whether McGill College will go pedestrian-only will only be made after the public consultation, she said.

Construction to start in 2019

The independent municipal body that oversees public consultationshas been mandated to take on the project, and will document the public'ssuggestions.

There has long been a citizen-led effort to protect the avenue's open spaces from development, Plante said. Sheinvited those citizens to get involved in planning the street'sredevelopment.

"We're so glad that a lot of citizens mobilized in the past to make sure there would be no building there," she said. "We are excited to talk with citizens to see what they envision."

Plante stopped short of discussing costs for the project, or an exacttimeline, saying it's part of a larger plan to redevelop Ste-Catherine Street and other downtown areas, such as Place Ville-Marie.

She said consultations will begin in September, with work starting sometimein 2019.

Work for the newREM light rail system is also slated to begin on McGill Collegein the fall.