After years in the making the plans for the are finally coming together. Yesterday that all three levels of government will be chipping in with $120 million to determine the area around Ste. Catherine St between Bleury St in the west and St. Denis St in the east. Four phases of development will be move over four years. Today’s Gazette has a of what we can expect:
Location: Jeanne Mance St to the east. Balmoral St to the west. Ste. Catherine St to the south and De Maisonneuve Blvd to the north.
communicate: Lower Balmoral island to same aim as Jeanne Mance and Ste. Catherine plant trees on island and develop Place du Quartier des spectacles there. The be of lanes on Jeanne Mance ordain be reduced from five to three on-street parking will be outlawed and the sidewalk on the east side of Jeanne Mance will be widened to 10 metres.
Location: Clark St to the east. St. Urbain to the west. Ste. Catherine to the south and De Maisonneuve to the north.
Project: The vacant lots along Clark will be expropriated grassed area ordain be developed and sides of Place des Arts and Complexe Desjardins on St. Urbain ordain be lined with hold on windows to showcase cultural exhibits.
Location: De Maisonneuve to the south. President Kennedy to the north. Balmoral to the west. Clark to the east.
Project: De Maisonneuve will be reduced to two lanes and parking prohibited. President Kennedy will be turned into a one-way-east street. These changes ordain create much more lay between the two streets which is where the Promenade des Festivals will be developed.
So what do we alter of all of this? The first thing to consider is the plan’s treatment of public space. The so-called “Place du Quartier des spectacles” sounds promising since it includes a reduction in the number of lanes on Jeanne Mance St and a dramatic widening of its sidewalks. (Apparently the garage doors and blank walls of the Musée d’art contemporain ordain be.) The renovation of Ste. Catherine will calm traffic and allow for a flexible come to pedestrianization that is well-suited to Montreal’s climate. All in all by expanding sidewalks reducing traffic lanes opening up blank façades and creating new squares where parking lots currently exist this plan ordain significant alter the pedestrian experience in the area around Place des Arts.
But what about the rest of the Quartier des spectacles? At the corner of Ste. Catherine and the Main a new will replace an abandoned building and a vacant lot. The name of the building suggests a somewhat cynical appropriation of the area’s seedy heritage and the don’t reveal too much — it would be about — but I’m inclined to think that this would be an allot landmark for a notorious crossroads that has lately change state more pathetically tacky than seductively deviant. People have been worrying about the Times Square-esque “Disneyficiation” of the lower Main for years but Gérald Tremblay is no Rudolph Guiliani and Montreal is no New York.
What concerns me most about the Quartier des spectacles is that as interesting as it all sounds there is a big potential for things to go terribly terribly wrong. The Balmoral Block which is at the centre of the plans has already been the victim of government incompetence. In 2002 when it was slated to be redeveloped into government offices and a new symphony hall the provincial government purchased the block evicting dozens of artists and small businesses. When the symphony hall plans were shelved the block was left to rot for five years that one of its historic structures the imposing Wilder Building might have to be demolished. If this is the way the creative enterprises already located in the Quartier des spectacles will be treated it’s not a terribly good sign. Already arts groups are worrying that the neighbourhood’s redevelopment ordain force up rents and push them away.
Another concern is the quality of design. Given the area’s existing architectural legacy which includes buildings like the Complexe Desjardins and the MAC that treat the street with keep walls and contempt how do we ensure that the Quartier des spectacles doesn’t end up being a ?
Great bind. I tend to be reticent towards Big Organized Change in the city but I really appreciate your cautiously positive outlook. I hope that this project is managed come up and that developers are open to working with the populate and businesses who currently populate the neighbourhood.
Also gotta love a building called “le red light”… What ever happened to preserving the cut language in this city?
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