By Montreal standards, it was a remarkably quick construction project. Perhaps that is because it mostly involved deconstruction: an entire interchange dismantled and replaced with a straightforward, easy-to-negotiate and pedestrian-friendly surface intersection. It has already been several months since the revamped Pine/Park interchange was opened. Since then, I’ve come to appreciate its wide sidewalks and broad vista of Mount Royal, uncluttered by highway signage and crumbling concrete bretelles. I don’t think I’m alone, either, considering how much pedestrian traffic there seems to be at the new intersection.
Of course, the roads, sidewalks and light fixtures might be installed, but the intersection is far from complete. Four parcels of land on each corner of the intersection remain vacant. Now, the Plateau Mont-Royal borough wants to know what you think should be done with this space. Three stages of public consultation will take place this fall, culminating in what will hopefully become Montreal’s greatest new public space. The first stage, which will last until October 9th, is an open call for ideas. The borough has set up a form for you to share your vision of the interchange, so make yourself heard! The best ideas will be compiled and presented on November 9th, followed by a “grand échange” on the 24th.
Personally, I hope that the space at Pine and Park will be used for something dynamic and unconventional. I would love to see some sort of water feature — this city doesn’t have enough fountains — and a mix of uses that will ensure a constant level of activity year-round, perhaps including a bit of outdoor retail space for cafés and street vendors. Over the summer, community activists in the McGill Ghetto made it clear that residential development would not be tolerated, and I agree that condos would be a rather poor use for what is, after all, a bridge between downtown and the mountain. But simple park space, like some have proposed, would be just as bland and unimaginative.
But enough about me: what do you think? This is your space, Montreal. Tell us what you want!
9 comments
I think it’s the perfect place for some form of public square. Being so close to the mountain & the tam tams, it would be a natural extension of those two places – creating a perfect gathering point downtown.
I’d like to see some innovative piece of architecture/art there, something like Chicago’s Cloud Gate park [http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/cloud_gate.html], designed by a famous architect – it has been years since a famous firm has designed something for Montreal, i.e Mies for Westmount Square or Kohn Pedersen Fox for the IBM Building. Ideally a piece of architecture which would somehow display the city’s diversity.
Also, I find that there is missing a large outdoor skating rink in the city – there is the one at the old port, but it is far away from most residential areas and very touristy, same with the one at beaver lake. One at the pine / park interchange would be perfect as it’s very close to downtown as well as nearby residents. In the summer, it could be also be used as a large fountain, where people could put their feet in on a warm day. There is a similar fountain found in Boston Common park, I think something like that would work quite well in Montreal.
Has anyone seen this disaster in the planning?
http://www.manifesteparcpins.com/
There will be public consultations:
http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=98,9055927&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Yep, I’ve seen it. I’ll be writing about the Groupe 6 proposal as well as some ideas from McGill urban planning students on Tuesday evening.
Great Chris, I look forward to your article. I was taken by surprise. The building itself is rather attractive but that is a terrible location. Far too overpowering.
Anything that would help hide those ugly brown towers would be an improvement.
Let’s not forget this spot of the city just 3 years ago was a slum, and turning it in to a boring park isn’t gonna help anyone, residential towers are a good idea, I’m not sure that this concept will still look fresh 15 years from now but it’s a start, also something must be done to the berlin wall that delimits the hospital, that thing is an incredible eyesore.
you’ve got to be joking. three years ago that area of town was *not* a slum.
this “concept” will end up in the same place as la cite has ended up thirty years in the future: a mistake and an eye-sore. i am sure that the developers of la cite also thought that it would bring about a fresh look to the neighbourhood but now all we’re stuck with is four towers and a whole lot less character.
Essentially it is now waste space
I don’t get the idiotic Tremblay administration… that interchange facilitated access significantly in the area. I was just in the “reamenaged” zone and it is a major PITA and also ugly.
I think people need to pull the head out of the rear end, with all the constant complaining about global warming, let’s put up traffic lights that make all the cars have to sit idle and accelerate again, only to stop again etc and be stuck in congestion. How many thousands of tons of carbon are going to be emitted just because of this horrible “traffic management”?
I know this blogue is loaded with the anti-car Nazis, but please a little bit of common sense!
Obviously you’re preaching to deaf, or might I say blind, people here.
Brace yourself for another disaster in the making folks, killing the best commercial street in Canada by banning cars (Ste-Catherine). Only in Montréal we can destroy the best we have, while not doing anything about what needs to be improved.
I had the chance and pride to manage from 2001 to 2007 the Park/Pine reconfiguration: 32 scenarios analyzed, functional analysis, value analysis, choice of the winning scenario, optimization, design and drawings, construction and traffic management, numerous stakeholders management (including Les Amis de la Montagne). One winning approach: the creation of the first Good Neighboorhood Committe for a City of Montréal project, which made a direct connection between citizens and engineers. I had been a very great joy to preside this committe for 2 years. The project got a Prix Orange from Sauvons Montréal.
I acted as both Project Director and Bridges & Tunnels Department Director at the same time, which was quite a peculiar situation. I wrote an intersting history of the project on ADUQ website.
Paul Laberge, ing., PMP