Sud-ouest merchants upset by traffic changes on Notre-dame St. West
Richard Bassila didn’t have to wait long Wednesday to get a taste of life under the new traffic regime that now governs Notre-dame St. West.
“We got our first parking ticket at 10:21 this morning,” said Bassila, the owner of New System BBQ.
His restaurant, a fixture on Notre-dame since 1948, operates 10 delivery vehicles, serving customers as far afield as Lachine and Ville St-pierre.
“Where do you want me to park now? It’s ridiculous,” Bassila said in a telephone interview. “We’re already suffering because of COVID -19 and now we have to put up with this. They are suffocating the city. They don’t care about the merchants.”
Bassila is one of several Sudouest business owners angry at the City of Montreal’s decision — effective Wednesday — to make Notre-dame a one-way street between Vinet and Workman Sts. for the next eight weeks, while removing scores of parking spots.
Société de Transport de Montréal buses have been rerouted to St-antoine St. for the duration of the project.
The move is part of Montreal’s plan to give merchants in specific neighbourhoods more room to operate by allowing them to set up terrasses to attract visitors, said councillor Craig Sauvé, who represents the Sud- Ouest borough. It follows in the footsteps of similar initiatives on Mont-royal Ave. and Verdun’s Wellington St., among others.
“Basically, we’re trying to give our merchants oxygen while creating a buzz,” Sauvé said in a telephone interview. “By giving them more terrasse space outside, hopefully it will give the local businesses that are having a hard time a boost. It’s true that there will be less space for parking, but you can put some tables there. We’ve also planned for delivery spots in this project, so the trucks can park there and deliver.”
Montreal announced the creation of an “active mobility corridor” on Notre-dame in mid-may, saying the changes would apply between Peel St. and Place St-henri. It released no other details at the time — a fact that Bassila and store owner Michael Stratulak said demonstrates a lack of transparency.
“There was no discussion,” Stratulak, who owns the Beige furniture store next to the Corona Theatre, said in a telephone interview. “They insist we knew about it back in May, but all they said at the time was that certain streets were going to be made pedestrian-friendly, which is vague. Then last Friday, we got a letter stuffed under the door telling us that this was happening. Now they ’re surprised that we’re upset.”
One pub owner who’s preparing to open a terrasse Friday said he has mixed feelings about the city’s project.
“I’m glad we have more space and I’m willing to give this a chance, but it feels like it’s too little, too late,” Simon Dunn, co-owner of La Drinkerie Ste-cunégonde, said in a telephone interview.
“We’re almost in August, and other neighbourhoods have had these corridors in place for weeks. Most of the people I’ve talked to around here aren’t happy. Because of the parking, this area will be one to avoid.”
Compounding the problem is a proliferation of construction sites on nearby side streets that make parking spots even more elusive, said Danielle Russell, a Sud- Ouest resident since 1984 who runs an events business on Notre-dame.
“It means that people cannot come, park and shop,” Russell said.
With parking at a premium, the fear now is that customers could decide to take their business elsewhere.
“This is a destination,” Stratulak said. “People are coming by car, and that is their choice. As a driver myself, I know that if I can’t find parking, I won’t go somewhere. As a business owner, that terrifies me.”
Sud-ouest has seen its share of closures since the pandemic started. Stratulak can rattle off at least four businesses on his block that have closed permanently this year — a Starbucks café, a Copper Branch restaurant, a jewelry store and a travel agency.
The city’s decision “is unbelievably short-sighted,” he said. “They have taken away our parking and not given us a solution. It’s very disappointing.”
Sauvé, the councillor, urged merchants to “keep the conversation going ” if they’re unhappy with the project. City officials will be monitoring traffic patterns over the coming days and will be ready to act if issues emerge, he said.
“People can talk to us,” he said. “We’re super open to doing adjustments. This is a temporary project, and nothing is set in stone. Our merchants are having a hard time and we’re in a period where we have to try new ways to make things work. We wanted to be proactive.”