Montreal’s Grand Prix is only a few days away but the sights and sounds of it have already started to materialize.
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Chez Alexandre owner and Peel Merchant Street Association director, Alain Creton, has been taking care of Grand Prix operations in the area since its inception.
“For the preparations of 2018, we are very pleased,” Creton said. “We started one day before. Usually, we are starting Wednesday, now we are starting Tuesday and I’m going to tell you people are very excited.”
The weekend-long festivities are expected to bring in an extra 100,000 visitors this year — but some people are worried the construction and detours on top of road closures could turn tourists off.
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A Montreal traffic consultant said motorists coming from off-island should reconsider driving directly into the city.
“Take your car close to downtown — park on the outskirts of downtown,” said Rick Leckner.
“It will be nice. Save yourself the frustration.”
Busy weekend for Montreal police
Montreal police told Global News in a statement that they expect the obvious problem areas to be busy.
They’ve said they will be present for road closures and that more officers will be assigned over the weekend to ensure a smooth flow of traffic.
They anticipate heavy congestion downtown and around Notre-Dame and Ste-Hélène Islands.
Road closures to be aware of around the downtown core include:
- Peel Street is already closed between René-Lévesque Boulevard and Sherbrooke Street.
- Crescent Street will close Wednesday as of 5 p.m. between Ste-Catherine Street and De Maisonneuve Boulevard.
- Boulevard De Maisonneuve will be closed between Bishop and De La Montagne streets.
- St-Laurent Boulevard will be closed between Sherbrooke Street to Mont-Royal Avenue from June 7-17. It will reopen June 18 at 5 a.m.