More Canadian cities are warming up to the car-free street
CBC
Since 2014, one ice cream shop in Montreal has been hosting summer salsa dancing.
As dusk falls, a small section of Wellington Street between 1st and 2nd avenues quickly becomes crowded with dancers. The music booms from a DJ's tent and strings of lights twinkle from where they've been hung in the trees.
"I'm actually not a good dancer, despite my Latin American origins," said Coun. Kaïla Amaya Munro, who represents the borough. "But just coming out there, listening to the music and being part of the experience while eating ice cream … I think it's like magic."
These festivities, hosted by Crèmes Boboule, used to be part of Wellington's annual "summer party." Now, they're incorporated into the car-free streets that have appeared every year since the pandemic.
"They were just happy to have more outdoor space that they could use, walk, play games on," Amaya Munro said.
In response to the experience with car-free streets, the next car-free period in Montreal this summer will last longer on some roads and a new street will be added.
Montreal isn't alone in testing things out. Across Canada, other cities are also working on car-free or pedestrianizing projects.
Information from pedestrianization projects can be used to understand the impacts of going completely car-free, and cities may test out pedestrianization or temporary car-free spaces before committing entirely.
Pedestrianization projects or pedestrian-first spaces also expand the available space for walkers and cyclists.
In Vancouver, general manager Lon LaClaire discussed just that in a memo to city council about Vancouver's Gastown plan, which will be tested with its first seasonal car-free zone on Water Street this summer.
In Toronto, the city is working on pedestrianizing part of busy Yonge Street and High Park. Other projects to take space from cars have struggled, like CaféTO, but it is reportedly going more smoothly this year.
Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Halifax and other Canadian cities have also dabbled in deprioritizing cars.
Though progress has been slow, some — particularly businesses — remain concerned about the potential impacts.
But David Zipper, a senior fellow at the MIT Mobility Initiative in Cambridge, Mass., said research shows that going car-free can boost the bottom line for businesses when it is well-planned and with adaptive changes to make the transition smoother, such as making space for deliveries.
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