Montreal will revamp Sainte-Catherine, including pedestrian zones

More greenery and social spaces are coming to Saint-Catherine Street West in downtown Montreal, but some merchants aren’t happy about it.

The second phase of the street’s redevelopment will be between Peel and St. Marc streets and will be completed within five years.

"I know it’s bothersome … but I have to say it should have been done sooner," said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.

Plante said important work needs to be done on the street's underground infrastructure to avoid having more pipes burst, and the city is taking advantage of the opportunity to give the street a makeover.

It plans to create two public squares on Saint-Catherine West: Place McGill, between Robert Bourassa and Mansfield; and Place Concordia, between Bishop and Guy. Both will be permanently pedestrian-only, with large plants and seating areas. Plante said she wants to see more greenspace downtown to help combat the urban heat island effect.

A Réseau express métropolitain (REM) McGill stop should also be functional next year.

The city already redid a stretch of Saint-Catherine West and Plante says it’s been a success – the area has seen more pedestrians than in Toronto or Vancouver and there are more people going downtown for other reasons than work, she said.

“We look at the rest of the world and we say, ‘it was so fun when we were in this city or that city and there was a big public space and room for pedestrians to walk without worrying about our safety,'" she said a news conference Wednesday.

"Well we think Montreal has the right to have that same ambition, too." 

Merchants divided over project

But some businesses say they were blindsided by the decision.

“We are saddened to see that not only were we not invited to today’s announcement but that we were not informed of this final decision,” said Glenn Castanheira, Montreal Centre Ville’s executive director. “Everything has an impact on profit of our business. Business is down which is why we can’t improvise on such projects.”

The downtown business development corporation wants the project suspended until more consultations are held.

In a statement sent to CTV News, a spokesperson for Ensemble Montreal said this project could disfigure downtown for the next 50 years. The official opposition adds merchants’ criticisms remain unanswered and downtown traffic will be further paralyzed.

But the city says it has done its due diligence.

“We’ve been talking to the different stakeholders, the business association of Saint-Catherine… everybody. We’ve been talking to them for the last two years,” the mayor said.

She said that though critics' concerns are understandable, we need to look at things in a more "holistic" way and stressed the plan is an "excellent compromise" for pedestrians and motorists.

The Peter-McGill Community Council was consulted, and director Stéphane Febbrari Vermette said the project is welcome. He said residents have been asking for more public areas for eight years, but it's been an uphill battle due to the lack of space downtown.

"Ultimately cars don’t buy anything, people do," he said.

Revamping Saint-Catherine comes with a price tag of more than $300 million. The city says it has set aside around $700,000 dollars to support businesses during construction.

Merchants can apply for up to $45,000 dollars in subsidies through two existing programs.

The redevelopment is scheduled to begin in summer 2025.