City of Montreal extends free street parking in downtown core to end of January

The City of Montreal announced Wednesday that it will be extending free street parking on Friday evenings between 6 and 9 p.m. and weekends.

The extension applies to paid street parking in the borough of Ville-Marie.

The measure was first announced in October as the impact of the health crisis continued to take its toll on the city’s economy.

It was part of a wider strategy to promote local businesses hard hit by the novel coronavirus pandemic during the peak holiday shopping period.

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The idea was to make commercial arteries in the city more accessible and make shopping easier and more enjoyable.

News of the extension comes as Quebec gets set to enter a two-week shutdown of non-essential business on Dec. 25.

1:53 Quebecers pack stores for holiday shopping before lockdown

Free parking was scheduled to end Dec. 31 but in a news release, the city cited the ongoing pandemic and subsequent strain on the economy for pushing back the deadline until at least Jan. 31, 2021.

“In this difficult social and economic context, the extension of free access meets the demand of merchants and supports them in their efforts to attract consumers to their businesses,” the statement reads.

Free parking measures in place in other parts of the city have not been extended.