St-Hubert Plaza added to growing list of pedestrian-only streets in Montreal

Montrealers will enjoy “idling in the good sense” said Mayor Valérie Plante about the city’s pedestrian-only streets this summer.

St-Hubert Plaza has been added to the growing list. There will be 11 this summer — one more than last year.

“Pedestrian business streets are now part of the Montreal identity, one of the reasons why people will choose to come on the local street and enjoy the day or the night,” said Mayor Plante at a press conference.

The network of pedestrian streets spans more than nine kilometres, and over 2,000 businesses will be accessible on foot. The city estimates 100,000 people used the pedestrian-only streets on a daily basis in 2023.

“The street, once pedestrianized, will be accessible to all, whether the person is in a wheelchair, whether a person has sight issues, a mom with her her stroller, or just anybody that wants to come and stroll along the street,” said Mike Parente, director of SDC Plaza St-Hubert, the local merchants’ association.

It’s part of the city’s three-year plan, which invested $12 million into pedestrian-only streets.

“We put a lot of resources to make this a success,” said Francois Limoges, the borough mayor for Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie. “The borough makes sure there’s a lot of animation every day.”

When pressed about next year’s plans, Mayor Plante acknowledged the Old Port was on the horizon, but she wouldn’t elaborate on it more for now.

“People might come for a specific reason on a pedestrian business street, but because it’s beautiful, because there’s space, because there’s kids around, because there’s elders just chilling, or there’s animation, they might stay longer and maybe go for a drink, for a meal, try a new store… it creates a very positive experience for people,” explained the mayor.

The leader of the Opposition in Montreal is questioning how city officials are adding another pedestrian street without increasing the budget.

“Ensemble Montréal demands that this announcement be accompanied by an increase in the budget to ensure that the quality of the facilities and the pedestrian experience does not deteriorate,” said Aref Salem in a news release.

Salem also brought forward other another concern.

“Mayor Plante must also be sensitive to the issue of access to rue Saint-Hubert, which is heavily used by visitors from outside the city,” he wrote. “With the construction of a Réseau express vélo (REV) along the Jean-Talon/Bélanger axis to the east of Saint-Hubert Street, this pedestrianisation could quickly become the epicentre of a disaster of immobility.”

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Below is the complete list of this summer’s pedestrianized streets:

Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve

•  Ontario Street East from Pie-IX Boulevard to Darling Street (June 17 to Sept. 10)

Outremont

•  Bernard Avenue between Outremont and Bloomfield avenues (May 20 to Sept. 30)

Plateau Mont-Royal

•  Mont-Royal Avenue between Saint-Denis and de Lorimier streets (May 28 to Sept. 5), as well as between Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Saint-Denis Street (May 28 to Oct. 18)
•  Duluth Avenue East between Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Saint-Hubert Street (June 20 to Oct. 14)

Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie

•  Marché Jean-Talon between Place du Marché-du-Nord (north and south) from Casgrain to Henri-Julien avenues (June 6 to Oct. 13)
•  Saint-Hubert Street between Bellechasse and Jean-Talon streets (July 4 to Aug. 25)

Verdun

•  Wellington Street between 6th Avenue and Régina Street (June 3 to Sept. 8)

Ville-Marie

•  Sainte-Catherine Street East between Saint-Hubert and Papineau streets (May 17 to Oct. 17)
•  Sainte-Catherine Street West between Saint-Laurent Boulevard and de Bleury Street, as well as Clark Street and de Montigny Street to the Maison du développement durable quai (May 1 to Oct. 31)
•  Saint-Denis Street between Sherbrooke Street to de Maisonneuve Boulevard, as well as Emery Street (June 18 to Sept. 17)

Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension

•  de Castelnau Street East between Saint-Denis Street and de Gaspé Avenue (May 15 to Oct. 15)