There are statements that make history… and not for the right reasons.
Valérie Plante, the controversial mayor of Montreal, recently enthusiastically praised Saint-Denis Street and its famous Réseau express vélo (REV), saying that it was a “resounding success”.
A sentence that made many traders jump, many of whom have seen their turnover plummet by 50% since the implementation of cycling facilities.
In what world does Valérie Plante live? Did his mind collapse while cycling?
While the mayor happily pedals in her imagination where everything is going swimmingly, the merchants of rue Saint-Denis are struggling to make ends meet.
Local commerce, although essential to the economic vitality of Montreal, is bearing the brunt of the decisions of this disconnected administration.
“We lost half of our customers. People can no longer park easily, and bike lanes have turned the street into a logistical nightmare.tells us an owner, visibly out of breath.
And what does Valérie Plante say to this? She is pleased to “give back the city to those who live there”.
But which residents is it aimed at? To cyclists who represent a tiny portion of users? To the Montrealers who are gradually deserting local businesses because they simply can no longer get there?
The reconstruction of Montreal… towards the cellar
With this catastrophic management, it is difficult not to compare Valérie Plante to Geoff Molson, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton who would have decided to intentionally sabotage her team to reach the bottom of the rankings.
The mayor seems to be in the middle of a “reconstruction” operation, aiming to transform Montreal into an irreparable city and then congratulate herself on the few crumbs of success she will be able to harvest in the coming years.
A strategy that could be brilliant, if it were not so disastrous for the Montrealers who have to endure it.
While Plante boasts of the “success” of the REV and the redevelopment of Saint-Denis, she seems to deliberately ignore the criticisms and the economic reality of small merchants.
His speech is marked by barely veiled contempt for those who dare to oppose his dogmatic vision of the city.
The multiplication of cycle paths and the reduction of traffic lanes on major arteries like Henri-Bourassa are decisions which, far from benefiting the majority of residents, favor a noisy minority.
The city of Montreal is not just a playground for cyclists, it is a complex metropolis that must meet the needs of all its citizens.
Valérie Plante has announced that she will not seek another term, a perhaps unintentional admission that her decisions have left too controversial a legacy for her to hope to convince voters a third time.
But the damage is done. Between the deterioration of relations with merchants, monster traffic jams, and an increasingly dysfunctional city, Montreal will have to recover from the errors of a mayor who has too often governed for an ideology and not for her population.
While waiting for her departure, Montrealers can only hope that she does not decide to transform another major artery into a cycle path before leaving.
And that his successor, who will have the heavy task of repairing the damage, will not forget that Montreal is a city for everyone, not just for those who cycle to Saint-Denis.
Valérie Plante, with her smile and her speeches filled with self-satisfaction, seems to forget the many cries from the heart of the merchants of rue Saint-Denis.
The latter, already weakened by the effects of the pandemic, are now suffering the consequences of a development that has isolated them from their customers.
If the mayor praises a 16% increase in the number of businesses, she neglects to mention that many premises remain vacant or survive thanks to subsidies and personal sacrifices from owners.
“She lives in another world, this mayor. His stats are just window dressing. The real numbers are our empty bank accounts”protests a restaurateur who has seen his regular customers flee because of the lack of parking and the inaccessibility of the street.
The Express Bike Network, which Plante presents as a great success, has become the symbol of the divide between the vision of the municipal administration and the needs of citizens.
Although some cyclists welcome the REV for its increased safety, residents and business owners in the area denounce a series of problems that could have been anticipated with better consultation.
Customers by car, who still represent a majority of consumers, simply no longer find places to park.
The reduction of traffic lanes in Saint-Denis has amplified traffic jams in neighboring areas, irritating motorists and residents alike.
Deliveries and access for merchants have become a daily headache, increasing costs and causing delays.
Montreal is gradually losing its reputation as a city welcoming to tourists and commuters, who now avoid areas like Saint-Denis.
These problems are not limited to Saint-Denis. Valérie Plante's strategy seems to apply to the entire city, with apparent disregard for economic and social realities.
In Henri-Bourassa, the sustainable mobility corridor project is already criticized by traders, who fear a repeat of the Saint-Denis disaster.
But for Plante, all this is just a “necessary rebalancing”. In fact, this rebalancing looks more like an imposed imbalance.
Watching this debacle, it's hard not to see the parallels to a sports team undergoing a poorly planned rebuild.
Like a general manager incapable of defining a clear direction, or Martin St-Louis incapable of establishing a true hybrid defensive system, Valérie Plante seems to navigate by sight, sacrificing fundamental aspects of the city to impose a rigid vision.
She may say that she wants a hybrid city between bicycles and cars, the reality is that she wanted to transform Montreal into a big cycle path.
The Montreal Canadiens, in the midst of a rebuild, offer a striking example of what can happen when a poorly executed vision leads to frustration and disillusionment.
As the CH attempts to rebuild a competitive team with disappointing results, fans are already angry at ill-advised decisions and a clear lack of progress.
In Montreal, the situation is similar. Montrealers, tired of the chaos of infrastructure, municipal tax increases and priorities disconnected from their reality, are angry.
The city is in an economic and social impasse, just like a hockey team stuck at the bottom of the standings with no clear plan to climb back up.
Just like the Canadian, who must redefine its identity to hope to regain its prestige, Montreal will have to face a complete questioning of its governance.
If Valérie Plante actually leaves her post next year, her successor will have the enormous responsibility of repairing the damage and rebuilding a city which has lost the confidence of its inhabitants.
But unlike an NHL team, where fans' patience can sometimes be redeemed with a few wins, Montreal doesn't have the luxury of time.
Every business that closes, every resident who leaves, every visitor who doesn't return is a loss that the city could take years to recover.
For now, Valérie Plante seems to be playing the last period of an already lost game, insisting on decisions that only satisfied a tiny part of the population, while ignoring the urgent needs of the majority. Montreal, like the Canadiens, deserves better than a poorly thought-out reconstruction.
Amen.
