Montreal's Formula E race set to cause month of disruptions

CTV Montreal: E Race could mean traffic woes Montreal’s Formula E Race will mean days of lane closures and detours in the city.

Residents and commuters are looking at a month’s worth of disruptions as Montreal gets set to host its first Formula E event at the end of July.

The two E-Prix races are set to run through downtown streets July 29 and 30.

The track will be a three-kilometre loop between Berri St. and Papineau Ave. along Rene-Levesque Blvd. and part of Old Montreal.

Temporary paddocks and grandstands will be built and erected as of July 15 – and then will take another 10 days following the race to be dismantled.

The construction will mean some partial and complete street closures and parking restrictions over several blocks starting more than a week before the event.

The city confirmed it has spent close to $180,000 to rent almost 1400 parking spaces.

About half of those spaces are for residents who will be forced to leave their cars in one of a handful of designated parking lots, including one at the city's bus terminal.

That money is part of the $24 million the city is spending on the event.

Of note: other cities such as Paris or New York say they haven't invested any taxpayer money, with the organizers relying entirely on sponsors.

When organizers in Brussels failed to find a main sponsor, they turned to the city, which refused to foot the bill. That race was ultimately cancelled.

Evenko said tickets sales are currently ‘following industry standards,’ though CTV tried booking 12 tickets in a row - the maximum allowed -  at various price points and had no problem doing so.