A waterside boardwalk, marina, delightful shops and restaurants, schools: such are the elements which have long made Ste. Anne de Bellevue - the furthest-west of Montreal's island suburbs - into an urban gem.
But lately the town's decline is immediately evident to anybody cruising into the city of 5,000 founded in 1703.
Anybody who has hit the main drag would have noticed the jawdropping vacancy rate, which includes a pair of large-sized, once-thriving adjacent restaurants, leaving visitors half-expecting to see tumbleweeds blow by.
What caused the sudden decline in fortunes? One might look no further than a costly and ill-advised major rehaul of the main strip that left it closed for over a year and then left it more cumbersome to navigate upon its return.
But here's a bit more background: the city was one of those municipalities that demerged from one-island-one city in June 2004 as 1651 voters opted to leave the City of Montreal against 356 that voted to stay.
The popular mantra was that smaller cities are run more efficiently, as they keep a tight reign on their spending.
This formula might work for cities like Westmount which have solid cash coming in from commercial taxpayers such as Westmount Square, but Ste. Anne's has a different scheme.
And of course, it's easy to brag that you pay less but as you know, you get what you pay for.
Ste. Anne's squeezes their nickels by subcontracting such tasks as city inspection, which has led to very poor service. The city has since been unable to keep competent people on staff, as workers frequently leave to other more lucrative careers in such fields as pet grooming.
As a result of going solo, the tiny city was forced to take on expenses of maintaining 11 kilometres of roads and a pair of highway overpasses which a past mayor said "we can't possibly afford."
Already-high taxes were raised by over two percent in 2014, forcing landlords to sacrifice repairs and in many cases pass on those higher-expenses to commercial and residential tenants.
Many residents live north of Highway 20 and have no connection to the main strip, which they see as a place where drunken CEGEP students make noise and bother people, a reputation that has been undeserved for about 20 years as the Brass and other youth-catering establishments are long gone.
But the popular agenda of townsfolks that come to council meetings is to discourage commerce and traffic, a popular will that has hurt the tax base and led to a high vacancy rate on the main strip.
About four years ago then-mayor Francis Deroo approved a massive remake of Lakeshore Boulevard, aka Ste. Anne.
The street was closed and dug up for over a year with predictable results on the fortunes of main street merchants.
The renovation included trendy new elements such as wider sidewalks and narrower streets, changes which cost about 20 street parking spots.
Once reopened, elderly drivers found driving too harrowing on the lane-sized main drag and so they stopped coming. Other motorists noted the difficulty parking and also stopped coming to the many restaurants.
As a result, the newly-widened sidewalks have been less-trod, the newly-implanted benches unoccupied.
The massive marathon remake of main street included new underground wiring which would allow the removal of the old wooden electrical poles.
About two years later the poles are still there.
The one-term mayor that oversaw the urban remake is long gone.
Whether the city can recover and once again thrive is another question.
But lately the town's decline is immediately evident to anybody cruising into the city of 5,000 founded in 1703.
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| Restaurants have been closing in Ste. Anne's at an alarming rate |
What caused the sudden decline in fortunes? One might look no further than a costly and ill-advised major rehaul of the main strip that left it closed for over a year and then left it more cumbersome to navigate upon its return.
But here's a bit more background: the city was one of those municipalities that demerged from one-island-one city in June 2004 as 1651 voters opted to leave the City of Montreal against 356 that voted to stay.
The popular mantra was that smaller cities are run more efficiently, as they keep a tight reign on their spending.
This formula might work for cities like Westmount which have solid cash coming in from commercial taxpayers such as Westmount Square, but Ste. Anne's has a different scheme.
And of course, it's easy to brag that you pay less but as you know, you get what you pay for.
Ste. Anne's squeezes their nickels by subcontracting such tasks as city inspection, which has led to very poor service. The city has since been unable to keep competent people on staff, as workers frequently leave to other more lucrative careers in such fields as pet grooming.
As a result of going solo, the tiny city was forced to take on expenses of maintaining 11 kilometres of roads and a pair of highway overpasses which a past mayor said "we can't possibly afford."
Already-high taxes were raised by over two percent in 2014, forcing landlords to sacrifice repairs and in many cases pass on those higher-expenses to commercial and residential tenants.
Many residents live north of Highway 20 and have no connection to the main strip, which they see as a place where drunken CEGEP students make noise and bother people, a reputation that has been undeserved for about 20 years as the Brass and other youth-catering establishments are long gone.
But the popular agenda of townsfolks that come to council meetings is to discourage commerce and traffic, a popular will that has hurt the tax base and led to a high vacancy rate on the main strip.
About four years ago then-mayor Francis Deroo approved a massive remake of Lakeshore Boulevard, aka Ste. Anne.
The street was closed and dug up for over a year with predictable results on the fortunes of main street merchants.
The renovation included trendy new elements such as wider sidewalks and narrower streets, changes which cost about 20 street parking spots.
Once reopened, elderly drivers found driving too harrowing on the lane-sized main drag and so they stopped coming. Other motorists noted the difficulty parking and also stopped coming to the many restaurants.
As a result, the newly-widened sidewalks have been less-trod, the newly-implanted benches unoccupied.
The massive marathon remake of main street included new underground wiring which would allow the removal of the old wooden electrical poles.
About two years later the poles are still there.
The one-term mayor that oversaw the urban remake is long gone.
Whether the city can recover and once again thrive is another question.
As far as the restaurants go, that whole industry has, in general, been in decline over the last number of years. When Revenu Quebec declared war on them 5 or so years ago, that sure didn't help.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this perspective. The obvious decline in the town has been a sad mystery to me. How could a town with so much potential and such community-centred attractions show such steady failure? It is palpable every time we visit. Sad indeed.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me that the decline of St. Annes mostly started when Montreal put meters and paid parking there. People stopped coming because there was little to no free parking. Once people stop coming it's hard to get them back.
ReplyDeleteI'm not 100% sure, but I seem to recall that the meters went in thanks to local government involvement as a means to pay for Main Street renovations. They were later abolished.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the ongoing traffic problems on the island have discouraged many from making the trip out to the far western tip at Ste. Anne de Bellevue.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, the 411 bus would take about an hour each way to and from the Lionel Groulx Metro. It likely takes longer than that now.
I seem to remember that this bus route originally terminated closer to the town centre than it currently does.
Honestly, I think people just don't want that "Old Port" feel when they go to Ste Annes. Having people outside of every restaurant and basically harassing you in is a dead practice...other than the Old Port.
ReplyDeleteAside from that, food quality and prices are a main factor my family stopped going. Awful food with a nice setting with a big bill is like polishing a turd...no matter how much you do it...it's still a turd.
I blame the restaurant owners. They took their beautiful settings for granted and expected people to pay a premium, but they didn't deliver the full package.
Annie's and Cunninghams are still making the right decisions, good food moderately priced and cold beer.
I hope Ste Annes has a revival that will bring it back to the glory of the late 90's (remember the McDonalds?!?)
I was too young to know the days of he Brass and the Quai Sera but I remember as a child, Ste-Anne street was jam packed with people in the summertime. Possibly because this town boasted a lively nightlife scene and a place to see, be seen and have a great time. There were no more parking spots than there are today and that street badly needed maintenance... My point is, you can't just blame parking or construction. There was a culture that drew people there and if that's gone, the appeal simply isn't as important as it was. Some of the establishments grew old and tired and may not compete with other large chains that are now available in towns like almost neighbor Vaudreuil-Dorion among others. All is not lost, it will always have that boardwalk/village charm that you just can't fake in a strip mall development. Who knows, future generations of diners may gravitate back towards places with a more authentic feel.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is not the construction, the meters, the bridge, the parking, the fires or the students. The problem is that people want to more than just a nice view these days. The problem is the lack of quality retailers and restaurants. There are quality businesses and restaurants in Ste Anne's and that's why the remind there but they have been here for ever. Image if a Joe Beef decided to open a rest in Ste Anne..wow with it would bring people from all over Montreal to eat there and that what happens when you open a quality business. You have to make your own business in Ste Annes. People think you open your doors and people will flood in because of the boardwalk but people want more especially in the economy. You make your own business and if its good people with come. Do you know how many business closed during the road construction, the answer is 1 and the ones that closed afterwards they were already in trouble and the road work just accelerated the process. Every empty space on the main strip is vacant for a reason and its not because the village is suffering. Flooded basements, bad landlords, city hall expropriating buildings and meddling in permits and of course lack or quality and vision. You can just about know what business will close as soon as they open just by walking into the place. It's a vicious circle. Young entrepreneurs with great idea's see the empty spaces and get discouraged about the location wondering why but the real reasons are not as obvious.
ReplyDelete