Two local streets will be permanently closed to allow La Fontaine Park to be expanded. Traffic was already temporarily prohibited there, but was to be reopened in 2026. This will ultimately never be done to make way for pedestrian and cycle facilities.
Posted at 3:00 p.m.
Updated at 3:16 p.m.
A notice adopted Wednesday by the executive committee of the City of Montreal announces the “permanent closure” of Avenue Émile-Duployé between Rachel and Sherbrooke streets, as well as Avenue Calixa-Lavallée Nord, to automobile traffic. .
The two axes had been closed since 2023, but the City currently planned to reopen them in 2026, time to test the presence of cultural events and various activities on the sections.
We now want to go further. “Thanks to these modifications, permanent park developments will be able to be carried out there by the Service des grands parks, du Mont-Royal et des sports, in the long term,” indicate the authorities, who say they are proceeding “for the benefit of the Montreal population” .
Montreal affirms that the La Fontaine Park Master Plan, adopted by the municipal council in November 2018, already planned to “reintegrate the Calixa-Lavallée and Émile-Duployé axes into the park, by redeveloping them into interior promenades, in order to reaffirm the tripartite composition of the park”.
Access will, however, be maintained on Calixa-Lavallée Avenue for authorized vehicles, including those of the City which “are necessary for the maintenance of the Calixa-Lavallée Center and park equipment,” we also read in municipal documents. , which promise “signage on the premises” to warn the population. Furthermore, the cycle path crossing Avenue Émile-Duployé will be maintained.
Jeanne-Mance Park not to be outdone
Not far from there, near Jeanne-Mance Park, the Plante administration will also permanently block the passage of cars on part of Duluth Avenue West, between Avenues du Parc and de l’Esplanade.
That said, “maintaining the bicycle link crossing Duluth Street at the park will be subject to reconsideration when the bicycle plan is updated” in 2025, affirms the City, without offering guarantees.
For the general director of Piétons Québec, Sandrine Cabana-Degani, we must welcome these new measures and multiply them. “In this case, in addition, the experimentation by citizens has already been done, so people have appropriated the space. Now, by continuing on a permanent basis, it will allow us to do much more interesting things,” she says.
“We will be able to green more, by putting in trees and plantations. On a temporarily closed street, we often see more bins and smaller facilities. There, we will be able to think about street design differently, through urban furniture, and provide a real experience to the people who use the space,” concludes M.me It means.
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