In a year or so, sidewalk joggers like this one by Cote des Neiges Road will look outlandishly out of place because all of the action will be on the other side of the fence. For now being constructed inside the gates of the Catholic Cemetery, on the left-hand side of the picture, there will soon be a new way to get around town without a motor.
That's cuz the towne is building the Mount Royal Green Beltway, a 15-foot-wide, unpaved road around the east flank of Mount Royal. It will resemble Olmstead Road in Mount Royal Park, where pedestrians and cyclists walk hand-in-hand, as long as the pedestrians walk really really fast or the cyclists pedal really really slowly. And, of course, there will be puppies. Lots of puppies!
As you can see by this haphazardly slapped-up snow fence, there is the impression that work is already underway. (Aah! Look like zoo sorting station! -- Chimples) Never fear, simian friends, the work's being done by award-winning PLA/planex Consultants.
Hacking and slashing on the $2.8-million project, which sort of looks like Jacques Parizeau's profile, will wrap up in two years, with the blue section (Parizeau's chin and face) proceeding in 2010 and 2011. The yellow stripe's scheduled to be finished this year. The red section already exists.
You're right, by Jove.
ReplyDeletePeabody
Hahahaha! You kill me - it really does look a bit like JP. LOL!
ReplyDeleteBut on a serious note, I think that this just might not be such a bad idea. How does the people for the protection of the mountain (or whatever they're called) feel about it? I'm guessing they're not liking the idea too much?
Someone's been reading their history books. In 1909 the Province of Quebec Architects Association recommended a parkland ring-road roughly skirting the edge of pre-1913 annexations Montreal. The idea was that you could be carried anywhere simply by following the wooded trail. It was further designed to have three different types of traffic running parallel yet divided by rows of trees, giving the impression of the vaulted ceilings of an arboreal cathedral as described by Irving Layton. It's hard to believe it has taken this long for such a project to be undertaken and I hope they consider non-invasive lighting as well - walking across the mountain is an excellent way to get between Montreal, but it can be pretty hairy late at night. A small scale beltway would be an excellent resource, though they will need to anticipate high use and its inherent consequences.
ReplyDeleteAnd regarding the comment concerning Les Amis de la Montagne - a thought: why focus so much on the Mountain? If the broader idea is that we need to protect and preserve the Montreal ecosystem by maintaining large nature parks (and by extension maintaining our natural aesthetic) could they not focus at least some attention on re-planting in bald spots, perhaps lobbying portions of the cemetery to be gradually handed back over to Mount Royal Park? And what about physical land reclamation? There are a few ultra-modernist apartment buildings on Cedar and Cote-des-Neiges that ought to be torn down. I suppose what we need to do is weave 'The Mountain' gradually into a larger portion of the urban core.