Montreal's St-Urbain Street to get a facelift this summer
Parking spots to be removed for reserved bus lane, protected bike path
The City of Montreal says it's planning a revamp of St-Urbain Street, starting this summer, in an effort to protect its most vulnerable users — and attract more.
The artery is one of the rare straight paths to downtown west of St-Denis Street that's shared by drivers, bikers and public transit users alike.
The city says it wants to transform the street into a sustainable mobility corridor by adding a reserved lane for the 55 bus, bus platforms, and widening and protecting existing bike paths after it says it received numerous incident reports.
This vision will come at the expense of 447 parking spots — 382 on the west side of the road and 65 on the east side, according to city spokesperson Béatrice Saulnier-Yelle.
She says that of those, 257 are residents-only spots, all of which will be added along neighbouring streets. Some non-reserved parking spots will be replaced as well, though she couldn't say how many.
The first phase of construction, set to begin in June, will focus on the stretch of St-Urbain Street between Bernard Avenue and Milton Street in the Plateau–Mont-Royal borough.
The city says it has consulted with businesses and institutions alongside the artery since December 2023. It will hold a public information session on May 1.
Plateau-Mont-Royal borough councillor Marianne Giguère, who is in charge of bike paths and active transportation on the city's executive committee, said the objective is to have a safer way to move more people.
"We're upgrading quite significantly the cycling path," she said, noting it's just a painted lane at the moment.
She said adding a reserved bus lane during morning rush hour will also help transport more people quickly, safely and comfortably.
In a statement, Ensemble Montréal's active transportation critic Alba Zúñiga Ramos said his party supports the redevelopment of St-Urbain.
"However, this project must be carried out in collaboration with the entire population of the area and achieve social acceptance," the statement says.
Jean-François Rheault, CEO of Vélo Québec, said it's great news that construction, long in the planning phase, is set to begin.
It's a question of safety, as three people have died and four were critically injured along the segment in the last 10 years, he said.
"It's important to do something," said Rheault, who also applauded the bus line improvements as well.
However, Victor Gonzolez, who owns Barros Luco, a restaurant on St-Urbain, is concerned about the loss of parking. He said, rather than restricting car traffic, he'd like to see the bike path move to Clark Street, one block over.
"Why would you ruin people's businesses just for that?" he said, adding he's not looking forward to the coming construction.
"Our best season is the summer because we use the terrasse outside. We won't be able to use a terrasse because of all the construction, the dust and noise."
Written by Cassandra Yanez-Leyton and Isaac Olson with files from Rowan Kennedy