This attractive little space is the result of the pedestrian-oriented rebuilding of Bernard Street, a minor mixed commercial/residential street in Montreal.
It’s wonderful to note the many details that have gone into making this small space. The bulb-out sidewalks at each corner increase pedestrian space, slow traffic, and mean that pedestrians have only a short distance to walk to cross the street. There’s a little bench for sitting any way you want (it was almost constantly occupied when I was there, waiting for a place at a restaurant). The tree has a well-designed, attractive tree-pit cover that will let in rainwater while protecting the roots, and will eventually expand when the roots grow up. The pedestrian sign is large and obvious in its meaning, not only telling cars to be careful, but also inviting pedestrians to treat the space as their own. The garbage can, tree, bench and post are all lined up, leaving a wide clear space on the sidewalk for pedestrians to walk unobstructed.
It looks so simple, yet somehow it is difficult for Toronto to manage ANY of these things. In the first place, Toronto does not even routinely consider this kind of transformation when it rebuilds a street (the underfunded Civic Improvement Program can only affect a small number of projects a year). It has taken a long struggle to get the city to consider putting all sidewalk obstacles in one line to leave a broad clear space for walkers. It took a struggle to get the city to agree to just consider putting bulb-outs on residential streets. The covers put on tree pits are ugly and hamper trees. And the city almost never puts benches on streets.
There are some inklings that positive change is in the air, however, and this example from Montreal provides a good model for where we want to go.
9 comments
That’s lovely. I’m going to Montreal for the long weekend — maybe I’ll swing by this street.
i’m depressed. This photo reminds me of what a great time I had in Montreal a few months ago and how often I thought “why cant we do this?” while there. sd
You failed to mention, these are far between in Montreal. These are recent improvements. They have alot of catching up to do compared to TO. Lets put in perspective.
A couple of comments.
That tree is going to get killed by cyclists locking their bikes to it. Perhaps Toronto should send them some of their post and ring poles.
And they’re missing a recycling container of any kind. That open trash bin is going to be full of glass and cans.
But I am glad to see an actual bench sans advertising. I’m convinced so many of Toronto’s ad/benches have been dropped into place by advertisers and stay due to civic indifference. Usually these ad/benches are angled awkwardly to ensure they face traffic flow rather than being useful to residents. ie. NW corner of Coxwell and Mortimer.
I hope Toronto’s new standards can be as strong as this Montreal example.
– Dabusan
What? A nice simple bench, without any vagrant-proofing device? How odd to these Torontonian eyes.
BTW, that’s Bernard Street, which is in the process of being dug up (at least part of it) for like the fourth or fifth straight year. It’s insane. People in the area are sick of it. Businesses are reeling. They dig it up, pave it, dig it up, pave it. I don’t know how much the price tag is for that tiny stretch of Bernard, but man. It’s got to be a lot. Our tax dollars at work.
Also BTW, Dylan, did you notice the city now leaves a narrow strip of earth (or peat) between the sidewalk edge and the buildings, on both sides? People can plant their own greenery there, if they like. This is a new thing, and I’ve only noticed it in this tiny stretch of Bernard.
A reply from a friend who lives right near that corner:
“they’ve been doing that bloody construction ALL SUMMER – starting at 5am (yes, really! illegal but they don’t care) with jackhammers, and the workers disappear by 10am but are paid for a full day. last week they started working starting from 2 AM WITH JACKHAMMERS AND OTHER HUGE NOISY MACHINES because they realized they’d been slacking all summer and it had to be done by this week…sigh. i don’t think anyone in the neighbourhood has had a full night’s sleep since they started…and the dust and strench and pollution are unbelievable…all for that one bloody corner. argh.”
jesus christ, you have my sympathies David. I walked down the street today and it looked like it was almost over. but of course we’ve thought to so before.
oh and by the way, not a soul was sitting on those fancy benches. bernard is simply not that kind of street, really, at least not yet.
If they’d have put those benches on busy axes like St-Laurent or St Denis they’d be used non-stop. But no, instead, they waste millions trying to turn a quiet residential street into something it’s not, and the residents be damned.
don’t be fooled, Torontonians, Montreal is a beautiful city but we have nothing to teach you about urban planning.
I was lurking through the archives and I thought I would clear up some misconceptions here. Bernard Street was dug up on several occasions, in several stages, for two reasons: to replace the water main underneath and to widen the sidewalks.
St. Laurent Blvd. is currently getting the same treatment. Unfortunately, many people don’t seem to realize that the city is not just widening they sidewalks — they are replacing ancient water mains. Since this must be done in several stages it takes a lot of time.
I live at Park and Bernard and the dust and noise during construction definitely was terrible—but the pipes had to be replaced and the sidewalk improvements were just the figurative icing on the cake. The street is far, far nicer today and in my experience there are many more pedestrians who linger there than they were before.
(Incidentally, I’m not sure how Shawn could describe Bernard as a “quiet residential street.” Maybe he missed the fact that it’s lined entirely by businesses?)