After considering an earlier idea to reduce parking on Montreal's showcase street, Mayor Valerie Plante is thinking bigger.
Her administration is considering a plan to extend the redesign of Ste-Catherine as far west as Atwater.
In the spring, the city announced the street will become a pedestrian friendly commercial zone, with just one lane of vehicle traffic and no street parking between de Bleury and Mansfield.
LaPresse is reporting that if the project is simply extended, it would mean the loss of an additional 484 street parking spaces on top of the 144 already scheduled to close down during Phase I.
A city spokesperson responding to the report claimed the design could change in Phase II of the project, as the character of the western portion of Ste-Catherine is much different than that of the downtown core.
But, he said the city wants to maintain its vision for the length of the street.
Opposition leader Lionel Perez isn’t buying the city’s claim that it will consider the needs of merchants in the planning process.
“We all know about Projet Montreal’s anti-car position,” he said in a statement to CJAD 800. “As far as Ste-Catherine is concerned, the Mayor promised to consult merchants before going ahead with Phase II. Now we see that she will not and will go ahead with her dogmatic plan.”
The statement goes on to say public transit objectives must be balanced with the needs of merchants and their customers.
The city has awarded a contract to undertake a Phase II feasibility study.
On the street, there is mixed reaction to the news of the plan.
“It would be not ok for us,” said Hector, who works for a delivery company that services many of the merchants along Ste-Catherine. “I don’t know for ordinary people, but for workers it’s not the best idea.”
Others were able to see some upside to the plan.
“It would be great for pedestrians,” said one nearby resident who was jumping into a pickup truck he had left parked on Ste-Catherine overnight. “But, obviously for parking it would be a big issue.”
He admitted the downtown design might not work in the neighbourhood near Atwater, but thinks something like it could help drum up foot traffic for local businesses.
“It is different, but it’s changing too,” he said. “They want to get more people into that part of Ste-Catherine.”