Attracting in the upwards of 50,000 people, In Town, Without My Car! turns downtown Montreal into one of the largest car-free zones in North America ... for a day. A sustainable mobility initiative that debuted in downtown Montreal in 2003, En ville, sans ma voiture! changes the downtown landscape dramatically for a few hours. Noise typically goes down by eight decibels (a 34% decline in perceived noise by the human ear) and nitric oxide -- a common car exhaust pollutant and lung irritant -- levels drop by as much as 70%.
Car-Free Day Montreal: September 22, 2009
Activities, listed below, run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the blue zone. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Ste. Catherine, from Jeanne-Mance to St. Urbain (the section in front of Place des Arts) will remain closed to cars.
What Part of Downtown is Blocked Off?
Car traffic will be closed off past McGill College to the west, St. Urbain to the east, de Maisonneuve to the north and René-Lévesque to the south from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (note that all four aforementioned arteries will remain open to traffic, it's the streets within this perimeter that will be car-free). In addition, a small strip of Ste. Catherine Street, between Jeanne-Mance and St. Urbain, will be closed throughout September 22, from 8 a.m. till 8 p.m.
View a map of the perimeter.
Car-Free Day Activities
Performers on stilts, live shows, and a series of kiosks and demonstrations showcasing alternative modes of transportation are usually part of the festivities. The 7th edition promises a slightly different setup with a stronger emphasis on interactive activities than on information booths. Some 2009 event highlights include:
- Roadsworth in action
- a 72ft lunch table (on Union, between Ste. Catherine and de Maisonneuve)
- some sort of bicycle/taxi pit stop with four rickshaws the public can use to circulate around the perimeter (corner of Ste. Catherine and de Bleury)
- street hockey (on or around Ste. Catherine, between City Councillors and St. Alexandre)
- a sexually transmitted disease game (on or around Ste. Catherine, between City Councillors and St. Alexandre)
- tai chi sessions (on or around Ste. Catherine, between City Councillors and St. Alexandre)
- dance workshops (on or around Ste. Catherine, between City Councillors and St. Alexandre)
- an Internet café (corner of Ste. Catherine and Jeanne-Mance)
- BMX, skateboard and inline skating demos (on or around Ste. Catherine in front of Place-des-Arts, between Jeanne-Mance and St. Urbain at 5:30 p.m.)
The public had access to free ferry rides through September 22, 2008 from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and again from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. but unfortunately there won't be a repeat in 2009. Consult the ferry boat service website or call INFO-Shuttles at (514) 281-8000 for more information on the ferry boat service's regular schedule.
Why Should Motorists Care About Reducing Car Reliance?
According to the AMT, single-occupant car use impacts everyone's quality of life in the city. Here are just a couple of reasons to beat the habit:
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions (transportation is responsible for 47% of Montreal's greenhouse gas emissions and 10% of respiratory diseases are linked, even caused by smog in Montreal)
- reduce noise (road vehicles create about 75% of downtown Montreal's ambient noise, recorded at over 80 decibels in higher traffic zones, which, according to the World Health Organization, is a high enough noise level to make people aggressive as well as cause sleeping, hearing and cardiovascular disorders!)
Organized by the Agence Métropolitaine de Montréal (AMT) along with the city of Montreal, the Société de Transport de Montréal and the Quebec government, In Town Without My Car! is an international event that first started in France in 1998. The initiative caught on, with In Town Without My Car! events spreading across Europe and by 2002, the one-day-a-year sustainable mobility event was super sized by the European Commission to last a full week. Christened the European Mobility Week, 2000 cities and towns around the world participate in the week long event. In 2003, Montreal became the first Canadian city -- and was still the only Canadian and North American city in 2008 -- to participate in the En Ville, Sans Ma Voiture! climate change awareness campaign by imposing traffic blocks. Other cities, including Toronto who boasts itself as the first Canadian city to participate in the car-free day festivities in 2001, do encourage residents to leave vehicles at home, promoting car-free days on the same date as In Town Without My Car! but without closing streets. However, Toronto closed off Yonge Street in 2009, from Dundas to Shuter, a car-free first for the city.
For more information on In Town, Without My Car!, consult the Agence Métropolitaine de Montréal website.
