Still the city’s signature tall building, Place Ville-Marie is marking its 50th birthday this year with some new art to be installed on the mezzanine and an invitation for suggestions for a time capsule.
Updates from January, 2012 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Jacob Larsen spots a knot in the government’s Turcot plans – the unstable remains of Otter Lake that lie right in the way of the proposed shift of the CN tracks.
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This video’s been widely linked the last few days, but why not: explanation of ventilation in the metro and how it will be improved in the new trains. With English subtitles.
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Tux
Oooh, now this is one STM plan I like! Increasing comfort while not increasing energy use! Specifically, I hope they warm up Cote Vertu (on cold days that station is cold all the way down to the platform) and cool down Snowdon (The Direction Montmorency platform is boiling hot year-round no matter the weather) – Better temperature regulation on board the trains is good too though I’ve never found it as hellish as the bus, where, bless us, the STM actually HAS installed air conditioning on some of ‘em… (hopefully more in the future!)
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walkerp
That was quite interesting to learn why they can’t install AC in the trains in the metro.
They compare the closed tunnel system here to the open-ended one of NYC. I found that interesting because in New York some of the metro stations can get way hotter than anything I’ve ever experienced here. The trains are air-conditioned, but the stations aren’t and mid-August they can be quite hot and sticky.
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Marc
Of the stations I use most, I find Guy-Concordia to be the worst – like a sauna.
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SN86
It’s simple why air conditioning the metro cars would not be good. The heat being extracted from the cars and importantly the heat of AC machinery would increase the temps of the whole line with hot spots, an example being Guy. The reason the hot air in the tunnels cannot be removed is because of the many dips and rises so it will settle somewhere where vents don’t exist. As for heating the metro for very cold days, that might not be possible. One way is to reduce the tunnel to surface vent speeds but keeping the air fresh is a priority and adding heaters is not good as they are energy intensive considering the large volume.
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ant6n
@SN86
Hot air goes up; the stations are in the high points (dips are between stations). Shouldn’t that actually make it easier to remove hot air, because it should rise twoards the stations? -
truenorth
@ Marc I think they dug a little too deep there – too close to Hades.
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Blogger Gab Roy (we don’t all look like that) is being accused of inciting mischief after his post accusing a car dealer of a scam appears to have resulted in a fire and other damage at the dealership. Of course Gab Roy is blogging about it.
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Tux
Wish I could see the video in question that allegedly incites harassment. Then I could know whether my gut instinct that this guy is a total dick is correct.
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Domenico Cotugno
Gab Roy has since removed the original video he posted, but you can find it reposted here: http://youtu.be/ox6EXVVAGf8. He is pretty much a total dick.
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Tux
Ah, this guy is basically an internet troll but unlike most trolls he doesn’t stop being one away from the keyboard. Normally I’d defend his right to free speech but the internet and the world are already polluted with enough dickery as it is. I say lock him up!
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The head of a trucking organization warns that bridge tolls could isolate Montreal (ironic because “isolate” means “to make an island of” which we already are). The CAA is also anti-toll.
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Martin
Surprise, surprise, this was published in La Presse, whose Automobile section is on top of all things…
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Matt
I can’t wait to hear what defenders of toll-free roads will argue, though I’m certain none of it will make any sense to anyone fearing what’s to come over the next 10 years.
(And how is it that drivers feel entitled to freely accessible roads? Do they not understand the potential benefits of tolls? Do they not understand that driving is a privilege and not a right, and thus should cost them more than it does now?)
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Jonathan
I don’t see why trucks carrying goods can’t be excluded from tolls. This type of transport is essential. What the intention is in charging tolls is to charge drivers the cost of their using the roadspace to other users, namely goods transportation and other drivers. Because there are alternatives, it would make sense to charge drivers and not trucks with goods.
As well, considering that the effects of tolls usually reduces congestion, the idea is that transporting goods to and from Montreal would actually be easier, and therefore cost transport companies less.
To take it further… an equitable tolling system that charged transport trucks would actually charge the trucks the exact same amount of money they end up saving by the reduction in congestion. This would mean there would be no difference in the bottom line.
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qatzelok
Jonathan, the problem with subsidizing trucks “because they’re essential” is that this kind of unfair subsidy MAKES trucks essential by making other less destructive forms of transportation uncompetitive. It’s better for everyone to force trucks to pay for all the damage they really cause.
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Steph
Many toll roads charge by the axle — the bigger the truck, the bigger the toll.
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City ombudsman Johanne Savard has been at the job for eight years, and is now branching out into social media. Not sure why she’s in the news now, as the thing about social media was mentioned last year and blogged here too.
Once you see Ms. Savard’s picture, something may tweak your memory. Patrick Lagacé addressed this point a couple of years ago.
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Tux
Okay, that’s hilarious! When I saw the picture I was like “No way is JoJo ombudsman, seriously?” – Turns out it’s her sister! That is some funny stuff. For some reason, my thoughts turned next to “Bleu Nuit” – I guess ’cause I often watched both it and JoJo when trolling late night TV as a youngster!
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Henry Aubin casts a critical eye on plans to enlarge two major access routes in and out of the city – Autoroute 15, the Laurentian autoroute, and Autoroute 19, essentially the extension of Papineau into Laval. Aubin notes that this flouts the CMM’s PMAD plan to limit sprawl, instead encouraging it, as Quebec has consistently done. Not everyone is thrilled with the Autoroute 15 plan.
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The issue of the “dangerous” Hydro-Quebec smart meters continues in the news with one group claiming they can cause headaches, palpitations, hormonal problems and possibly cancer.
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Tux
We’re constantly bathed in RF… not sure how a few more waves are going to make much difference. Frankly, I like the idea of the wireless meter, it means I don’t have to let hydro employees into my home (our meters are in the furnace room).
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Charles
Their websites (http://www.cqlpe.ca/ and http://www.dangersemo.com/) really look like conspiracy theorists’ sites! I guess they didn’t want to spend to much time in front of a computer.
Hydro should offer people the possibility of wired meters (they already have those) but people would have to pay for the extra cost (phone line installation, etc). -
Kate
Watch out for the electrosmog!
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mare
My (he’s a regular since the 8 years I live here) Hydro meter reporter came by last week and I asked him when we would get the new meters. He told me that after the pilot they’d roll out first in the west of Montreal and then in 2014 arrive here, in Petite-Patrie. I quipped he still had a few years of job security and he laughed wryly.
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Marc
It’s obvious these people have no idea of the difference between ionizing (x-rays) and non-ionizing radiation.
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John B
I’m going to sound a bit like a conspiracy theorist here, so bear with me…
When I first heard about this issue I thought it was just the crazies coming out of the woodwork, (and it may well be), but I read an article yesterday on CTV’s website, (http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120125/mtl_hydro_120125/20120125/?hub=MontrealHome), that made me think twice. I didn’t know that smart meters were wireless, I thought that they used some sort of over-the-wire communication on the power lines themselves, however, they seem to be wireless.
According to the CTV article the wireless communication is about the same power as a cellphone or a wireless router, (which I thought were quite different, but that’s another story). So if each smart meter is like adding another cellphone to the city, that could add up to be quite a bit of radiation. Assuming that every adult in my apartment building, (5 units, 10 adults), has a cellphone, and every unit has a wireless router, then the number of cellphone/router-class wireless devices goes from 15 to 20 when the smartmeters are installed, a 33% increase. Citywide this could lead to quite a bit if electrosmog, as Kate puts it. In larger apartment buildings with hundreds of units this could lead to quite a bit of output, especially if all of the meters are in one room. I’m sure individual meters are safe, but we may be looking at an issue like cellphones on airplanes here: one phone won’t bring down a plane, but 200 might, so nobody’s allowed to use their phone.
That said, I’m not a physicist, and there are lots of unknowns here, (how often are the transmitters actually on? Constantly? Once a day? Once a month?). I think smart meters are the way of the future, but the crazies might just have a point on this one because of the sheer numbers.
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Kevin
@John b
It doesn’t matter if there’s one transmitter or a hundred thousand: what matters is the frequency they use.
Radio transmitters just can’t hurt us. The very idea is about as sensible as being mortally wounded by the colour green (which is radiation at a frequency of about 510 nanometres) -
John B
@Kevin I guess that makes sense, after all radio waves are just light, but a “colour” that we can’t see.
On the flipside, I would think that if there was enough green light shining at me, I might burn simply from all of the energy landing on my skin, although I imagine it would take somewhat more energy than the output of the 5 smart meters in my apartment block.
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Kevin
@John B,
Maybe if it was a laser, but even then it’s unlikely to do more than dazzle your eyes.
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See, every so often the Canadiens pull this kind of win out of their hats and we all go “ahh! see, they CAN do it!”
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A man is still in critical condition in hospital after a January 12 accident at the incident-plagued CHUM construction site.
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Vision Montreal calls the $300K salary of new city DG Guy Hébert “indecent” but Quel Avenir asks why the fuss now when the previous DG earned more. Although he does go on to point out that the salary is high compared to similar posts elsewhere.
Robert J 13:52 on 2012/01/27 Permalink
The Derek Drummond (in the OpenFile link) article makes a big deal about Place Ville-Marie as a major public space. Its seems to me that it is a good and a beautiful public space, but like Westmount Square it is a bit closed off to the public. The exterior court seems to be designed for office worker cigarette breaks as it has little street exposure (can be used as a shortcut between Réné-Lesvesque and St-Catherine, but you have to know its there). The interior court is a shopping mall, and even it is mostly used as a cafeteria by the office crowd (it doesn’t have as public a profile as the Eaton Center, for example).
I think Place des Arts and Place Émilie-Gamelin are much better examples of public squares in Montreal. They attract passers by and invite people to use them. Place des Arts (and the new squares around it) is by far the most occupied public space in Montreal in the summer. Émilie-Gamelin is located at the cities metro hub as well as major office towers, the provincial library, etc.
William 16:57 on 2012/01/27 Permalink
Oh yeah, the open air drugmart otherwise known as Place Émilie-Gamelin or Berri Square… great example :S
Best public square in my opinion? The fields at McGill.
Kate 17:52 on 2012/01/27 Permalink
Really, William? Because the McGill fields are not public. I don’t think non-students use them much if at all.
Place des Arts surprises me in summer – people really do hang out there, especially around that fountain that cascades down beside the MACM. Another place that surprises me is the square outside Parc metro in Park Ex. It’s kind of bleak (really needs some mature trees) but people do use the benches and hang out.
I recall reading that when PVM was inaugurated they somehow expected that central space to become a public square. It never did, it was always just a space people might occasionally cross as a shortcut but there was nothing for people to stay for. I don’t know what would’ve persuaded people to hang out there – it’s kind of grim with the tall buildings looming over it and the wind whisking through it.
Back in the day there were cafés in some of the sunken areas (originally open, now covered with horrible plexiglas pyramids) but they evidently didn’t flourish.
Lucas 17:59 on 2012/01/27 Permalink
I must say I’ve always enjoyed the central square at PVM. There are many afternoons when I’ve sat by the fountain and read. The view up McGill College to the mountain and the scale and, in my opinion, elegance of PVM1 always made it my favourite “space” in the city. I think it is underused at present and would be very excited to see someone take a crack at making it more hospitable.
Robert J 19:24 on 2012/01/27 Permalink
The problem with the PVM square is not the architecture of the buildings or the square, which are beautiful examples of modernism. Its the access to the square that is lacking.
On the Réné-Levesque side there is no crosswalk leading to the square, which creates no movement of people toward it (think of the crosswalk across Parc that leads to the monument in Jeanne-Mance park where the tam-tams are).
On the Cathcart side, the entrance to the square is blocked by parking garage ramps. The stairs that lead up to it are on either side.
Nothing at either entrance indicates a major public square, even though it could be used as a shortcut between Ste-Catherine, and say, the Gare Centrale (think of the way Square St-Louis is used as a path between St-Laurent and the Sherbrooke metro).
Even without a major makeover, adding a pedestrian activated crosswalk and signage would completely change the square. Put signs from the south side of Réné-Levesque and at the southern entrance to the square indicating the way to Ste-Catherine (could be marked “shopping and entertainment district” for tourists). Put a large sign at the Cathcart street entrance indicating a pedestrian footpath to the train station.
Such signage, specifically designed for pedestrians, is often used in Europe (the brown state-park looking signs indicating walking directions whereas the white ones are for cars, and other similar schemes).
I agree with Lucas, the square is beautiful, but to make it more hospitable we would need to create pedestrian traffic. As it stands, PVM is just a good place for a cigarette break if you work in the adjacent buildings.
Doobious 16:40 on 2012/01/28 Permalink
Personally, I love the plaza of PVM. No other place says “downtown” to me quite like it. And the view onto the McGill campus and the mountain is sublime, thank you very much Vincent Ponte.
One of the design studies I saw last year in the passage to the east end of Central Station had a large ramp connecting it to St. Catherine Street. I wonder how that would’ve panned out for bringing in more foot traffic.
It has changed a lot over the years though. I don’t much like the skylights, but the thousands of people who lunch in the food court daily would probably differ. And I remember there being some store fronts on the plaza too. IBM used to have a retail space on the west side, and some of the stores in the mall had second stories with access onto it. One book store in particular (WH Smith?) comes to mind.
I guess it’s the topography that makes it a “difficult” place to optimize. All four sides seem to be at different elevations.