Everything you need to know about the proposed revamping of St. Catherine Street

Last summer, the city of Montreal announced plans to majorly revamp Sainte Catherine Street West. Now that another year has passed and we are just one year away from the project’s launch, it’s time to remind my fellow Montrealers what we have to look forward to come 2017.

Due to the rotting of water and sewage pipes underneath Sainte Catherine Street, the city has no choice but to tear up the iconic shopping strip. However, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre saw this as an opportunity, announcing that Sainte Catherine Street will undergo a major transformation.

What does a more attractive and dynamic Sainte Catherine look like, you might ask? Well, according to Coderre it means a new and improved Sainte Catherine Street outfitted with heated sidewalks, WiFi, more trees and benches, charging stations for electric cars, and most importantly, larger pedestrian walkways.

The entire project spans 2.2 kilometers of Sainte Catherine Street, from Avenue Atwater all the way to Rue de Bleury. In particular, the parking lanes between Rue Aylmer and Avenue McGill College will be removed to make room for newly widened sidewalks.Along the rest of Sainte Catherine Street, the sidewalks will remain the same size, but the lanes reserved for parking will be reduced and the new space will be used as a pedestrian walkway, or for terrasses and food trucks during festivals.Finally, two lanes of traffic will remain in place but the speed limit will be reduced to 30 kilometers per hour to discourage cars.

The mayor has broken down the project into two designated phases: the first phase from Rue Mansfield to Rue de Bleury, and the second phase from Avenue Atwater to Rue Mansfield. Phase one is scheduled to begin in spring 2017 and there is no scheduled start date for phase two, however, the mayor has stated that the project will be completed by 2021.