Plateau residents upset after city removes parking spots for trees
Some people living in the Le Plateau-Mont-Royal are seeing red over a new landscaping project meant to bring more green to the neighbourhood.
They say they have an issue with where the trees are being planted.
Residents of Colonial Avenue welcome the added greenery but not everyone is happy with the decision.
"It's not looking too great, not gonna lie," said Plateau resident Ysandre Beaulieu.
"I think the city hall needs to take another look at this project," added another resident, Hans Lamarre.
The borough planted four trees in the street this year. Every tree takes away a parking in an area that's already difficult to park in.
Trees are being planted on Coloniale Avenue in the Plateau. (Laurence Brisson Dubreuil /CTV News)
"It's one of our important engagements here in the neighbourhood ... that all streets should have trees on both sides of the street," Maeva Vilain, a borough councillor.
Vilain says the project is a low-cost solution to adding greenery on streets with limited sidewalk space. At around $32,000 each, the street flower beds cost about 10 times less than sidewalk ones, she added.
"That's very important for the biodiversity, of course, and also it's important to have big spaces because they absorb a lot of water. It acts like a little sponge," Vilain said, adding that it's a handy feature as floods become more frequent.
Maeva Vilain is the councillor for the Jeanne-Mance district in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. (Laurence Brisson Dubreuil/CTV News)
On the other hand, drivers argue the new trees make life difficult for them.
"When I have family visiting from outside of Montreal, or like from other areas, they can't park and the parking is already very expensive here," said Vic Gort.
Some believe it particularly hurts drivers without parking stickers.
"They've only chosen spots that are unpaid parking, so they haven't reduced paid parking spots at all," one resident told CTV News.
If the choice is between removing a parking space or adding a tree, Vilain says the city is staying true to its promise.
"We are very worried about climate change — we need more trees," she said.
The borough shows no signs of backing down on street tree planting as four more trees are expected to be planted in 2025.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING CTV News projects N.B. Liberals will form majority government; Holt to become first female premier
CTV News is projecting the New Brunswick Liberals will form a majority government in the province, returning to power for the first time since 2018. Leader Susan Holt will become the first female premier of the province.
Major Toronto hospital network reinstates masking requirement
The University Health Network is making masks mandatory as respiratory illness season ramps up.
Investigation ongoing into death of 19-year-old Walmart employee in Halifax
The investigation into the sudden death of a 19-year-old Walmart employee over the weekend is ongoing in Halifax.
2 plead guilty to B.C. murder of former Air India suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik
Two men charged in the killing of former Air India bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a British Columbia court.
Former B.C. premier Christy Clark wants to be 'part of the conversation' on Liberal party future
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces growing pressure to step aside, former B.C. premier Christy Clark says she is open to 'returning to politics' should the position of Liberal leader become available.
Death toll from B.C. atmospheric river climbs as driver found dead, another presumed drowned
Mounties on Vancouver Island say one person is dead and another is presumed to have drowned after two vehicles were found submerged in a river following heavy rains that washed out roadways across British Columbia.
Are you a Canadian stuck in Cuba without power? We want to hear from you
Daily life in Cuba has been largely affected since an outage led to a nationwide blackout in the country, followed by Tropical Storm Oscar hitting the country's east coast. If you're a Canadian stuck in Cuba through this ordeal, CTV News wants to hear from you.
Alleged assassination target calls expelled Indian high commissioner 'less of a diplomat and more of a hypocrite'
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun — a dual Canada-United States citizen and the target of an alleged assassination attempt in New York City last year — says the expelled Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, is 'less of a diplomat, and more of a hypocrite.'
5 dead in shooting at Washington state home with teen in custody, police say
Law enforcement officials found five people killed in a shooting inside a home southeast of Seattle on Monday morning and took a teenager into custody, police said.