The City of Montreal will add a new refrigerated ice rink to its arsenal this winter, this time in the Village. An initiative which aims in particular to revitalize the neighborhood, hit hard by the homelessness crisis since the start of the pandemic.
Published at 1:00 a.m.
The installation will open in mid-January at Place du Village, located in the Ville-Marie district at the corner of Atateken and Sainte-Catherine Est streets.
The ice ring of around a hundred meters will notably expand the offer of urban spaces dedicated to outdoor skating, places “in high demand”, according to Béatrice Saulnier Yelle, press officer for the City of Montreal. The installation will host screenings, artistic workshops and dance events every weekend until early March.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF MONTRÉAL
The illuminated circuit will extend onto Sainte-Catherine Street East, temporarily blocked to traffic between Atateken and Wolfe streets.
By bringing more traffic to the Village with the new ice rink, the City hopes to kill two birds with one stone. In addition to encouraging local businesses, the influx of new visitors will contribute to the feeling of security in the neighborhood, according to Robert Beaudry, responsible for homelessness and urban planning on the executive committee of the City of Montreal.
Residents told us: when they walk around and there is activity and new people in the area, it reassures them, because it creates a mass effect.
Robert Beaudry, responsible for homelessness and urban planning on the executive committee of the City of Montreal
The City will also count on agents from the Mobile Mediation and Social Intervention Team (ÉMMIS) who already patrol the area to ensure healthy cohabitation with people experiencing homelessness who frequent the neighborhood.
The illuminated circuit will extend onto Sainte-Catherine Street East, temporarily blocked to traffic between Atateken and Wolfe streets.
A long-term project
The new skating rink is part of a desire to revitalize the Village, a project that requires the collaboration of all stakeholders in the neighborhood, underlines Robert Beaudry. “We don’t bury our heads in the sand, the issues of feeling of security, drug addiction, mental health are always present in the sector,” he adds.
Remember that in 2023, a crisis unit dedicated to the issue of security in the Village was created to bring the police, the health network, the City and merchants around the same table. In February, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said their efforts were bearing fruit.
However, a study commissioned by the local Business Development Corporation revealed a few days later that 93% of Village merchants were dissatisfied with the level of security in the neighborhood.
One summer later, Robert Beaudry said he was encouraged by the fact that commercial activity was “very good” on Sainte-Catherine Street East during the summer period. “That’s good, the pedestrianization worked well this summer. Now, let’s activate ridership this winter to continue in this direction,” he adds.
