Roger-Luc Chayer (Photos : Gay Globe Media)
The brand-new Place des Montréalaises, built at the staggering cost of 100 million dollars — yes, you read that correctly, it’s not a typo — is a disgrace and a failure on every level, far beyond what has been reported in the media in recent days.
The Place des Montréalaises was originally conceived as a tribute to the women who helped shape the city’s history, finally giving them symbolic visibility in Montreal’s public space. In addition to this recognition, the project was supposed to revitalize a strategic area located between Champ-de-Mars, City Hall, and the metro station of the same name, by creating a functional, aesthetic, and memory-rich urban space. It aimed to correct a form of historical oversight while improving pedestrian connectivity between Old Montreal and the downtown core.
And yet, the final result falls far short of expectations and presents such a level of danger that the entire site should quite frankly be shut down to prevent anyone from visiting or even crossing it.
During our visit today for Gay Globe, we witnessed the appalling state of the site firsthand. One must seriously question the competence of the civil servants and engineers responsible for this unspeakable fiasco. The threats to pedestrian safety became glaringly obvious within less than a minute on-site. How could such a poorly conceived slab of concrete ever have been approved? Here are just a few examples:
Dangerous Level Changes
Along the northern edge of the triangular park, there is a sort of gently sloping staircase that begins almost flat, then gradually turns into wide, shallow steps. The entire feature lacks any signage or protection for users. In our case, we only noticed the steps at the very last second.
And of course, since the park is not lit in any way — not a single lamppost has been installed — the situation becomes even more dangerous after dark, despite the space being officially open until 11 p.m. With no railings or visible markings, it’s easy to imagine a pedestrian, day or night, failing to see the steps and taking a serious fall. A real — and extreme — hazard.
A Concrete Swiss Cheese
Nearly everywhere in the park, large concrete circles filled with small patches of greenery have been installed. But here’s the problem: this massive concrete slab goes completely against the environmental policy of Mayor Valérie Plante, who has been telling us for years that fighting urban heat islands is a top priority. Not only has that objective failed miserably here, but the entire design poses a danger to users, who at any moment could lose their footing and fall into one of the many holes in this 100-million-dollar Swiss cheese.
Pathways That Violate Accessibility Standards
When we talk about an engineering failure, this is a textbook case. In several locations, wooden benches have been installed for passersby — oddly enough, facing away from the park. Worse still, many of these benches are placed so close to the surrounding holes that there isn’t enough space for wheelchairs to pass through, let alone someone with reduced mobility using a walker or even a cane. The space between the bench seat and the holes is too narrow for people with disabilities to move through. Picture this at night, with no lighting — a perfect trap waiting for the public to stumble into.
Yet Another Sudden Drop
Elsewhere in the park, another level change appears without any warning and could easily cause someone to fall if they’re not constantly watching their step. Once again, imagine this in the dark, with no lighting or signage. The drop begins almost flat and then suddenly reaches a height of about one foot — just like that, with no indication.
The Infamous Drain Channel
This is the infamous drainage trench that’s been making headlines since the park opened. It’s remarkably easy to get hurt here. As our photo shows, on the left side, there’s no trench between you and the handrail — but on the right, the trench suddenly appears. Anyone, especially people with reduced mobility, trying to hold on to the rail is forced to twist awkwardly just to avoid spraining an ankle. There’s no need to describe the ridiculous, painful, and frankly humiliating posture one has to assume just to try and use the handrail on that side — a real ordeal for anyone simply seeking basic safety.
An Officially Approved Disaster
Unfortunately, for reasons that defy logic, civil servants, the mayor, and engineers signed off on this mess — which is now being passed off as some kind of artistic statement. Thankfully, the women being honored by this space are not diminished by the absurdity of the site itself, as they genuinely deserve our respect and admiration for helping shape the Montreal of the past.
But it’s going to cost a fortune to fix this concrete slab — one that brings no honor whatsoever to our city.
ADVERTISING
