I was away for all of July last summer so it was a pleasant surprise to return and find that Ste. Catherine in the Village had been closed to cars. It was a great atmosphere.
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Originally Posted by chris
I don't mind, just as long as they don't close the ENTIRE street.
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Nobody is suggesting that. I think everyone can agree that the best solution would be to pedestrianize the streets that would naturally attract a high volume of pedestrian traffic.
Ideally, this would mean widening sidewalks and reconfiguring the street to be more attractive to pedestrians year-round, and then closing the street to cars at certain times of the year.
An example of seasonal pedestrianization would be St. Paul in Old Montreal. Permanent changes made along its entire length would be to eliminate a row of parked cars and widen the sidewalks. Install benches and bicycle racks and allow restaurants to place a row of tables outside. Temporary changes: pedestrianize from the Bonsecours Market to St. Laurent between May and October. Allow restaurants and cafes to take over the sidewalks for terrasses. Open the street back up to cars during the winter.
Some other streets should be closed year-round to cars along the same model as Prince Arthur and La Gauchetière in Chinatown. The two best examples in my mind would be Mackay Street between Sherbrooke and Ste. Catherine and McTavish Street between Sherbrooke and Doctor Penfield. Both of these are surrounded by the Concordia and McGill campuses and they are really only used for parking and delivery. If they were pedestrianized they would make wonderful gathering spaces. The constant presence of students going to and from classes would ensure that they would be well-used.