For the first time this summer, Plaza St-Hubert will be a pedestrian-only street between Bellechasse and Jean-Talon streets.
Nearly a dozen of Montreal’s commercial arteries go car-free every summer and the Plaza will be the newest addition to the project. The strip is home to some 400 businesses.
This year, city officials say over nine kilometers of Montreal streets will be pedestrianized across the city and 2,100 businesses will be accessible by foot.
“Pedestrian streets bring goodness, but it brings also a lot of people to enjoy the street and enjoy the city differently during summer,” said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.
Access to parking is a factor when determining a pedestrian zone. According to Plante, there are 500 parking spaces in the area around St-Hubert Plaza, as well as three Metro stations nearby.
Paola Pabol, owner of Sabor Latino on St-Hubert, is in favour of the pedestrian street.
“I think it will be good for us as owners because we will see more clients,” said Pabol. “The fact that there won’t be any cars, I think we have more freedom to walk.”
Kimberly Aimé does her shopping and gets her hair and nails done on the Plaza every month. She also supports the strip going car-free for the summer.
“You can do everything here,” she said.
The city will invest $12 million in the pedestrian zone initiative over the next three years, with financial help from the Quebec government.
Opposition leader Aref Salem of Ensemble Montréal questioned how the newest pedestrian zone will be implemented.
“The funding envelope dedicated to pedestrianization projects has not increased, yet the Plante administration announces the addition of a pedestrian street,” Salem said in a statement.
He also criticized that the Plaza pedestrian zone is different from the one that was initially promised. “Mayor Plante exclaimed in the last months that there would indeed be a pedestrian kingdom in the summer of 2024 in Old Montreal, but still radio silence,” Salem said.
Montreal’s pedestrianized streets for 2024 include:
- Bernard Avenue between Wiseman and Bloomfield avenues
May 20 to Sept. 30 - Duluth Avenue East
Between St-Laurent Boulevard and St-Hubert Street
May 14 to Oct. 15 - Mont-Royal Avenue
Between St-Laurent Boulevard and St-Denis Street: June 5 to Oct. 14
Between St-Denis Street and De Lorimier Street: June 5 to Aug. 26 - Place du Marché-du-Nord (Jean-Talon Market) between Casgrain and Henri-Julien avenues
June 6 to Oct. 13 - St-Hubert Plaza between Bellechasse and Jean-Talon streets
July 4 to Aug. 25 - De Castelnau Street East between St-Denis Street and De Gaspé Avenue
May 15 to Oct. 15 - Ontario Street East between Pie-IX Boulevard and Darling Street
June 17 to Sept. 7 - Saint-Denis street (and Émery) between Sherbrooke Street East and De Maisonneuve Boulevard East
June 18 juin to Sept. 17 - Ste-Catherine Street East between St-Hubert Street and Papineau Avenue
May 17 to Oct. 17 - Ste-Catherine Street West (and part of Balmoral and Clark streets) between De Bleury Street and St-Laurent Boulevard
May 1 to Oct. 31 - Wellington Street between 6th Avenue and Régina Street
June 3 to Sept. 15