In December 2011, a former Grid blogger, Yosef Robinson, wrote a piece about the reconstruction of the Turcot Interchange, a major highway junction in Montreal, Canada. The original proposal came about as the aging infrastructure was beginning to crumble. The project faced fierce opposition, as it planned to widen the interchange (going against everything we [...]
Montreal is transformed by the seasons. During our hot summers, bars and terraces overflow with people, festivals bring crowds to the streets, and public spaces brim with locals and tourists. Winter is a different story. Large public spaces that are vibrant in the warmer months, like Place-des-Arts and Place Jacques-Cartier, are virtually abandoned when the [...]
I travel to the United States. Like most Canadian cities, Montreal sits just one hour from the American border, and just six hours (by car) from New York City. However, it is not all that easy a trek to make. One can, of course, drive. However, as I am not a car-owner, my remaining options [...]
As in many cities, Montreal has a need to create neighborhoods in which residents are able to age in place. Many of Montreal’s suburban areas are places where families settle in, children grow up, and parents continue to live their lives until they become elderly. Unfortunately, this environment may become difficult to those entering old [...]
A year ago, I lived in the Plateau-Mt. Royal neighbourhood of Montreal, Canada. One of the most densely populated parts of the city and a former working class neighbourhood, over the past few decades it has arguably become the hippest part of the city, with countless restaurants, bars and cafés and many beautiful parks. My [...]
As a part of its plans to invest in sustainable transportation, Montreal has built several bicycle lanes over the years. However, traffic signals for bicycles have yet to follow in many neighbourhoods. Although there are traffic lights directed towards drivers and pedestrians, traffic signals on many streets do not “speak” to cyclists. While traditionally cyclists [...]
Montreal is awash with bicycling advocacy groups. In recent months another group has formed: the Montreal Bike Coalition, an initiative of the Mile End neighbourhood community organization “Ruepublique” (literally, public street). The Bike Coalition aims to connect all the grassroots cycling organizations and citizen cyclists, with a focus on utilitarian cycling, while not replicating the [...]
A big Global Site Plans welcome to our newest blogger, Devon Willis from Montreal, Canada. Devon Paige Willis is a native Montrealer and recent graduate of McGill University where she did her B.A. in Environment and Political Science. She discovered a passion for urban and transportation planning in her final year, during which time she [...]
In low-density environments, carpooling has long been touted as a sustainable transportation alternative. However, in practice it is difficult to realize. Rarely do multiple people have the same origin and destination – and even when they do, this does not hold for every day of the week. This is attributable to our increasingly flexible work [...]
Montreal, Canada is a winter city. From November to March (and sometimes even April) the city grows cold, the days are short and it snows – sometimes a lot. Even so, in recent years cycling in winter months has increased dramatically, according to Vélo Quebec. As I write this post, it is a beautiful 6°C [...]
