Montreal’s new opposition leader is voicing the party’s objection to Mayor Valérie Plante’s plan to pedestrianize Sainte-Catherine Street West in the downtown core. “It will make it very difficult to circulate downtown, so people just won’t come,” said Ensemble Montreal leader Soraya Martinez Ferrada. The party plans to table a motion pushing for its own vision, calling for wider sidewalks and one lane for vehicles. Martinez Ferrada says it’s about finding the right balance. “We have to make sure that we’re keeping a dynamic street, a successful street in terms of economics but also in terms of where people want to live,” she said. Independent city councillor Serge Sasseville argues that removing cars would hurt the downtown core that is already seeing fewer people. “Four out of 10 Montrealers are coming less to downtown Montreal since the pandemic,” said the Peter-McGill district councillor. “Downtown is less attractive.” Ferrada says that the lack of people downtown is leading to empty storefronts. “We’re up to 25 per cent of vacancy rate,” she said. The Projet Montreal administration disagrees and says the critics were wrong before. “We’re in close contact with stakeholders, and data shows pedestrianization boosts economic activity, which is why it’s expanding citywide,” the mayor’s office said in a statement. Plante’s team points to the first phase changes to Sainte-Catherine Street which faced backlash, but also said the city is open to adjustments. Martinez Ferrada believes the status quo is not working. “We have to be open to the idea that the street needs to change and it needs to change for the future,” she said. The motion will be tabled April 14.
