A day free of cars…

Published by Karim | Filed under Uncategorized

Today is car free day in downtown Montreal, this is an annual tradition that started seven years ago, and is sponsored by the AMT (Agence métropolitaine de transport) to promote the use of public transportation from the suburbs.

How can anyone be against such an initiative? I think it’s a great idea that is good for the environment and brings some animation to downtown as we ring in the fall season. However, it makes me wonder if we can’t be doing more…after all, this has been happening for 7 years.

Firstly, I don’t feel that 1 day per year is enough to change peoples’ habits; in fact, it seems like more of an annoyance to most people than anything else. I agree that we need to find ways to reduce traffic in the downtown core, but we need to do it the right way. And as you already know, I like to promote temporary street closures as a way to help merchants and to improve the quality of life in the area (not to mention adding to the feeling of safety and promoting a cleaner environment in the city core). However, coordinating all that is required to pull off a successful event of that nature takes lots of planning and preparation.

Secondly, I am not sure that there can be a real “car free” downtown; deliveries still need to be made, hotels need to receive guests and businesses need to attract clients, in short we need to consider many factors. In addition, we need real transportation alternatives; at this time we are not able to accommodate a true car free area because it would put an impossible strain on our public transportation system. Furthermore, we need parking alternatives; a place for people to drive to and leave their cars before they take the train, metro or bus into the city core. I would suggest parking towers (multi- level parking lots) located at strategic (convenient) locations around the City that would provide easy access to metro stations and bus terminals.

Finally, we need to think about our businesses. It’s nice to have a green and clean downtown, but not at the expense of our local merchants and businesses; the backbone of the downtown core. I would suggest a simple (free) shuttle, an electric (non-polluting) bus that would run between Guy and St-Hubert along Ste-Catherine, and would return along Sherbrooke, stopping every two blocks. This would reduce the congestion and traffic problems downtown, while increasing access to retail outlets and office towers.

Only after we put the various elements of the plan in place (i.e. measures that provide viable alternatives to our current car-dependent society) can we begin to consider a downtown core with fewer cars. Only then can we consider making certain areas of downtown (like Ste-Catherine for example), a car-free zone all year-round. And only when we take the public’s needs into consideration will peoples’ habits begin to change – not just 1 day per year, but every day!

Share on Facebook