Montreal officials say they’ve left no stone unturned to prepare for Grand Prix

City officials and organizers of this weekend’s Grand Prix in Montreal say they’re ready for the more than 350,000 people expected at the Formula 1 race.

They say they’ve learned lessons from last year’s event, which was marked by heavy congestion and poor communication. 

“All our partners were involved in order to turn in every [stone], to find new solutions, to think outside of the box,” said City of Montreal spokesperson, Philippe Sabourin. “This year, we’re confident that we have a good plan for mobility.”

Multiple stakeholders came together Monday, including Montreal police, the fire department and Transports Quebec.

Provincial and municipal officials said they were both taking steps to scale back or pause construction work or lane closures on some busy highways and streets around the city.

“We created a zone downtown Montreal where there is no additional construction work sites,” said Sabourin. “So it’s forbidden to open a new construction site between Saint-Laurent, Peel, Saint-Antoine and Sherbrooke Street.”

The city has also removed 250 infamous orange cones from its streets and is trying to cover up existing construction sites to improve Montreal’s appearance for visitors. 

“There are a lot of construction sites, but we manage,” said one visitor from France.

“We find the roads are a little rough here. But other than that, yeah, it’s fine,” said Dave from Calgary.

STM maintenance workers will continue their strike during the week with reduced bus and metro times – but for race weekend starting Friday, normal service will be in place.

“I don’t think we would have used them anyways — we like the simplicity of Uber,” said Katie Clifford, visiting from the U.S. “So we’re having an easy time.”

Organizers have also launched a new app this year to provide real-time updates on the event. 

“The basis of the app was mobility,” said Sandrine Garneau, COO of Brand and Strategy for the promoter, Octane Racing Group. “Therefore, fans who are hoping to come on site can download it. And it will give them the easiest and fastest path to get to the island.”

A city spokesperson is still warning that people need to plan their trips around Montreal carefully this weekend, and should bike or take public transit where possible. 

“If you’re heading on the South Shore, exit the island very early in the morning before seven o’clock — come back late in the evening after eight, let’s say Sunday would be after seven p.m,” said Sabourin. “If you’re planning to move in Montreal with a bicycle, a BiXi, public transit.”

Another lesson learned: easing of terrace rules, as last year firefighters shut down non compliant terraces on Peel at the start of the weekend.

“Obviously, there’s no compromise with fire safety — that’s something for us that’s clear,” said Guy Lapointe, division chief with Montreal’s fire department (SIM). “That being said, we’re really trying to work with the restaurant owners towards making sure everything is safe, but with as little problems for them as possible. And if we do have to go back this weekend, we’re going to try to be as subtle as possible.”

“Everything has been done in order to have a magnificent weekend for the Grand Prix du Canada,” added Sabourin.

-With files from The Canadian Press