If the mayor of Quebec deplores that the leader of the opposition “scares the world” by affirming that the Saint-Roch district is “burning”, Bruno Marchand is aware that commercial vitality is not at the top of its form on the commercial arteries in the city center and promises an action plan to improve the situation.
“To say that Saint-Roch is burning harms Saint-Roch, it harms Saint-Roch. Because that’s not true.” The mayor of Quebec reacted strongly to the criticism launched last week by the leader of the opposition, Claude Villeneuve, following the announcement of the closure of another business in lower town, La Cordée. Mr. Villeneuve said: “Bruno Marchand watches Saint-Roch burn while playing the harp.”
The mayor denies this. He says he frequents the neighborhood and sees a vitality there. “There is a limit to exaggerating and scaring the world and making people stop going there, precisely because we scared them. That doesn’t help.”
Vacancy rate of more than 20%
To prove that everything is not so bad in the neighborhood, the mayor released the latest statistics on vacancy rates for premises on commercial streets. In Saint-Roch, there are 13.7% vacant premises, sixth out of the nine commercial development companies in the area.
Some arteries do better, like Maguire (1.7%), 3e Avenue (3.4%), Grande Allée (3.8%) and Vieux-Port (6.1%). Others have more empty premises, mainly in the city center: Faubourg Saint-Jean (10.7%), Montcalm (14.9%), Saint-Sauveur and Vieux-Québec (21.9%).
According to him, several factors come into play, and this is not limited to the question of homelessness or property taxes. He cites in particular the giants of e-commerce and the global economic context.
Aware of the challenges to be met, he promises an action plan on which the City has been working for several months and which aims to improve the experience on the arteries, following the example of what was achieved on Racine Street, in Loretteville .
Things are bad downtown, says Villeneuve
The leader of the opposition, Claude Villeneuve, far from mending his ways, persists and signs. The figures given by the mayor confirm, according to him, that the entire commercial sector of the city center is in bad shape.
“What I fear is that while people are suffering, traders are worried about their investment […]the mayor is sparing announcements for the electoral campaign. We need to act quickly, and that’s what’s currently lacking.”
He recalls that he proposed concrete actions to improve the situation, such as an immediate beautification and cleanliness plan, a strong visual signature for the commercial sectors, an event offer and a compensation program for traders who are victims of vandalism.
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