Author of the article: Marian Scott • Montreal Gazette Moire Stevenson and her daughter, Elodie, stroll the newly created pedestrian mall on Wellington Street in Verdun on June 15, 2020. Photo by Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette
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Montreal will spend $ 12 million over the next three years to turn 10 roads into pedestrian highways over the summer, Mayor Valérie Plante announced on Monday.
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“Summer in Montreal means walking,” he told a news conference at a clothing boutique on Wellington Street in Verdun. Montreal’s sidewalks have become popular with both locals and tourists since the city launched several of them during the pandemic to support traders and provide safe, outdoor gathering places, Plante said. “We have seen how popular they are, how much people love and enjoy them and how much they contribute to the economic dynamism of the street,” he said. The fact that traders, through local business development associations known as the Sociétés de développement trade (SDC), want to restore sidewalks shows that they need to be good for business, Plante said.
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However, three roads that were partially pedestrianized last summer are not on the list this year: Masson St., St-Laurent Blvd. and Crescent St. By committing to the three-year plan, the city will make it easier for business owners to plan ahead, Plante said. “We need work, you know, for the municipalities but also for the SDCs. “And for traders, it takes time and energy to adapt to the sidewalks.” Funding covers 66 percent of the cost of the project, such as street furniture. Participating roads are eligible for grants of up to $ 575,000 in the first year, $ 425,000 in the second year and $ 375,000 in the third year. The Wellington St. last summer increased the number of visitors and buyers by 17 percent, said Luc Rabouin, mayor of Plateau-Mont-Royal and a member of the executive committee responsible for economic and commercial development.
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Marilyne Baril, owner of the Marigold boutique and studio in Wellington, said the closed street attracted families to hang out and browse. Dads and kids often enjoyed an ice cream outdoors, while mothers came in to shop, he said. Wellington will be closed to traffic between Regina St. and 6th Ave. from 1 June to 31 August. Dates will vary for different routes. The other locations are:
Mont-Royal Ave. from St-Laurent Blvd. to Fullum St. St. Catherine St. E. from St-Hubert St. to Papineau Ave. Ontario St. E. from Pie-IX Blvd. at Darling St. Duluth Ave. E. from St-Laurent Blvd. at St-Hubert St. St-Denis St. by Sherbrooke St. E. to de Maisonneuve Blvd. MI. St. Catherine St. W. from St-Laurent Blvd. to Bleury St. Jean-Talon Market (Place du Marché-du-Nord) from Casgrain Avenue. to Henri-Julien Ave. Bernard Ave. by Wiseman Ave. to Bloomfield Ave. From Castelnau St. E. from St-Denis St. on the Avenue Gaspé.
