Montreal awards contract for closing Camilien-Houde to vehicles, redesigning Mount Royal

The City of Montreal says it has officially awarded a major, multi-year contract to go ahead with its plan – which several critics have opposed over the years – of redesigning Mount Royal and ultimately closing Camillien-Houde Way to vehicle traffic.

The contract is for services in engineering, landscape architecture and urban design.

The city says the main goals are to increase the amount of green space on the mountain, minimize erosion of the rock face, and protect travel for all users.

“It will also offer an exceptional walking and cycling experience, strengthen Mount Royal’s fragile biodiversity, and enhance the site for generations to come,” the city said in a news release.

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Some of the plans include facilitating pedestrian and bicycle access from the east; an enhanced public transit plan at the foot of the mountain and at summit of Mount Royal; and greening the equivalent of more than three football fields of asphalt.

The contract is broken down into three phases.

• Phase 1 (2026-2027): Redevelopment of Remembrance Road and the Beaver Lake and Smith House parking lots.
• Phase 2 (2027-2028): Preliminary design and plans to tranform Camillien-Houde into a major active mobility promenade.
• Phase 3 (2028-2029): Studies, preliminary designs and plans for the intersection of Camillien-Houde Way, Côte-Sainte-Catherine Road, Mont-Royal Avenue, Mont-Royal Boulevard, and Parc Avenue. “The goal is to build a simplified intersection that is more user-friendly and safer for everyone, while confirming the park’s role as a gathering place and green lung for Montreal’s communities,” the city wrote.

The Valérie Plante administration says the redevelopment project is scheduled to be complete by 2029.

Opposition at city hall has long maintained Plante’s long-term project would hurt the next administration.