Every once in a while, I'm reminded how much of this city I have yet to discover.  Happy New Year to those who are celebrating today, and happy fresh starts and fall adventures to everyone.

Photo taken from Place Northcrest, looking north towards TMR and Ahuntsic-Cartierville

While our home-grown BIXI's have taken off in London England and beyond, they have yet to hit the streets in many parts of Montreal, including my 'hood of NDG.

When guests come to visit or when a show lasts beyond the last metro, it occurs to me just how practical it would be to to tap this service that so many of my fellow Montrealers rave about. Last year we heard that BIXI would hit CDN-NDG in 2010, but the most populated borough in the city is still serviced by a mere 10 stations, all in the area adjacent to Outremont, at least 4 kilometres from where I live.

When I asked the borough when we could expect BIXIs, I was told that the Public Bike System Company, the division of Stationnement Montréal that manages BIXI, had only installed stations in the area adjacent to Outremont because they insisted that the bike docks to be a maximum of 300 m apart. However, BIXI stations were launched in Saint-Laurent, LaSalle, Lachine Verdun and Ahuntsic this summer, proving that there's more than a little wiggle-room in the 300-meter rule.

I was excited to learn that a neighbour, James Maclean, was circulating a petition to bring BIXI to NDG, and I agreed to accompany him to the borough council meeting to present his collection of over 1000 signatures and get to the bottom of the issue.

Although the petition was well-received, borough mayor Michael Appelbaum refused to give any concrete answer about when we could expect BIXI in NDG. He reiterated the 300-metre rule and insisted that the borough had to wait for Stationnement Montréal to expand the network at their discretion. Yet when I had contacted the Public Bike System Company, I was told that decisions about expanding the bike-sharing network come down to the city and boroughs:

"La décision de prolonger le réseau BIXI dans d’autres secteurs revient aux arrondissements et à la Ville, vu les impacts financiers sur les opérations de la Société de vélo en libre-service," wrote their customer service representative.

Appelbaum also emphasized that the pilot projects that launched in far-flung neighbourhoods were intended for local trips only and were not part of the core BIXI network. However, the Public Bike System Company in LaSalle assured me that their bikes were part of the central network:

"Les nouveaux projets-pilote font partie du réseau central, et sont donc compatibles avec les vélos du centre-ville," wrote their customer service representative.

Even if we were adamant about the 300-metre rule, there's an obvious flaw in this logic: The borough is a continuous territory and we've already got BIXI stations in the north-eastern part of the borough. Therefore, it should be possible to expand the network throughout CDN and NDG by placing stations every 300 meters.

The real insight came when councillor Helen Fotopulos asked Maclean whether he had thought of passing the petition around in Westmount. In June, the mayor of Westmount said he was in no rush to bring BIXI to the town, which would leave a 2-km wide BIXI-black-hole between NDG and Atwater.

"That has been a stumbling block," Fotopulos said.

Symptomatic?

It's no easy task for citizens to untangle a decision-making structure split between the boroughs and city, where responsibilities are regularly handed over to the private or institutional sectors. Based on the contradicting responses I received, it would seem even those directly involved in the decision-making don't know whose court the ball is in. Do we really need to get a whole other city involved, or approach the elusive metropolitan level of government simply to receive a service that other parts of the city already enjoy?

I'm tempted to start waving around my broom but honestly, a 2 kilometer gap can be cycled in under 30 minutes easy. Let's get on with it already.

Spotted on the corner of Saint-Viateur and Waverly, during the Journée des Bons Voisins...Will it hold out until Halloween?

La Fruiterie Mile End sur l'Avenue du Parc, par un dimanche pluvieux.

Saint-Hubert is having a sidewalk sale this weekend and ball-gowns are on special, among other more practical deals (even on a regular day, most Saint-Hubert shops fall into I-suspect-this-was-manufactured-by-slaves price range, although to be fair, its mostly the same brands available elsewhere for more). You might want to save this visit for a rainy Sunday since the plaza's awnings provide at least a little shelter.

Meanwhile the Grand Débarras brings local designers and eco-chic styles to a down-and-out area of Hochelaga Maisonneuve (Sainte Catherine between Letourneux et Bennett, metro Pie-IX). It's a spot that I've gotten to know a little since the Dans la Rue van has added a stop in front of parc Morgan last spring. Being familiar with the late-night curb-side crowd, I'm curious to see how the same area looks in the light of day.

It's also the second round of the Journée des bons voisins on Saint-Viateur, and the artsy markets I mentioned last week are still on.

In the past seven years, 5 deaths, 30 serious injuries and 622 light injuries have been caused by accidents involving a right turn on a red light. In an interview with La Presse, the head of security at the MTQ said that, while of course 5 deaths are too many, that this is more or less what the ministry expected when they implemented the rule.

Right turns on red lights accounted for only 0.24% of traffic accidents in Quebec in 2009. But the article doesn't point out that these accidents almost always involve a collision between a car and a pedestrian or cyclist, which probably leads to an increased risk of serious injury or death compared to your average fender-bender.

The MTQ, always anxious to keep the traffic flowing, clashed with the city of Montreal over our refusal to adopt the right on red back in 2003.  Today, it seems, they acknowledge that it was the right decision for the city:

"Montréal est un cas à part au Québec... Nulle part ailleurs on ne trouve une aussi grande proportion de cyclistes et de piétons. Et cette tendance ne fait que s'accentuer depuis des années. Rétrospectivement, c'était probablement la décision qu'il fallait prendre." (Carl Bilodeau interviewed in La Presse)

The city of Longueuil also wanted to prohibit right turns on red lights but the Transportation Minister refused (see the Radio Canada report live from blvd Taschereau on the day the new regulation was put in place).

Given the increased nuisance and risk to pedestrians, it's kind of ironic that the MTQ's 2003 educational campaign about the right on red featured the slogan "je pense piétons", or in English "I put pedestrians first". Although pedestrians are meant to have right of way, I have been warned by friends who live outside of Montreal that it is unwise to assume drivers will be on the lookout, especially in towns where pedestrians are few and far between.

What about other Canadian Cities? We rarely stop to consider the effect of existing traffic regulations on our safety but the number of deaths and injuries in Quebec is apparently similar, if not better, than other parts of North America.

Image by Alexandre Normand, cc flickr

Given the kind of neighbourhood that Mile End has become, Riddell's storefront can easily be mistaken for work of installation art rather than a bona fide fishing gear store. Sadly, the curious storefront may not be around for much longer as the shopkeeper, George Riddell, passed away on June 30th at the age of 82 after keeping shop on Bernard street for 50 years.

Personally, I ventured through this door only once and quickly retreated, feeling as though I had stumbled into someone's private living room. I suppose I had - according to the Gazette article, Riddell lived in the shop. I was impressed by the posters tacked to the ceiling.

This a short film by Tim Van Horn gives us a glimpse into the shop and shows off the custom fishing lures that Riddell created (although not the ceiling posters...did I imagine them?)

A few more memories of the old man have been collected on Stillepost. I wonder what will happen to the all this fascinating clutter now that its caretaker has passed on?

First stop, I headed out the two new artsy markets that are taking place Saturdays in the Plateau:

Marché La Récré (left) is located in a school yard on Saint-Urbain above Bernard had mix of local crafts (I picked up some handmade pottery) and collections of second-hand vintage-y trinkets, on a background of chill music and cold drinks.

Marché Montréal (right) is in a parking lot on Saint-Dominique below Prince Arthur. Here the offer was even more ecclectic, with jewelry, garage-sale-style vintage clothes, $1 records, designer t-shirts, really really good deals on socks and mexican-style bbq tacos (3 for $5 and super delicious).

How do they pull it off in a city that is not particularly open to street vendors? They sidestep the red tape by hosting the event on private property, renting the space from a parking lot. The market organizers only have to pay for the spaces they set up shop on, a cost which is transferred to the vendors who chip in between $45 and $65 for a spot.

After a nap in Carré Saint-Louis, I had a lucky find: the Under Pressure International Graffiti Convention in Place de la Paix. I've never seen Peace Park so full of life with little kids running about, teenagers popping breakdancing moves, skateboarders flying through the air, rainbows of spray-paint cans, fresh murals, hip hop crews, dogs, punks, and families of curious tourists all mingling.

Under Pressure is working with the City to put on this event for its third year. The festival continues tomorrow in a lot behind Foufounes Electriques (more on the event's Facebook page).

I also swung by Chinatown for to check out the new carnival which is on for the next three weekends. Although there were dozens of people walking around in very extravagant, manga-like costumes, I must have missed the exciting bits: the only action was some pretty horrid Karaoke in Sun Yat-Sen park (no photos supplied).

Finally, I headed down to catch an open air concert at the new DALHOUSIE art space, literally wedged between the New City Gas Co. building and the CN viaduct.

Photo c. Tristan Brand

The Corridor Culturel Griffintown, a grassroots citizens' group with an interest in the neighbourhood's heritage and future development, was able to secure a permit to hold artistic events in the cul-de-sac after impressing the Sud-Ouest borough councillors with their Nuit Blanche event last February. Check out their calendar for the coming weeks - I am planning to go to the poetry event on August 24th and may even read a piece.

Of course while I was at this final stop, I ran into someone who informed me that there was a Japanese festival going in the old port today, and that reminded me that I'd forgotten to zip up to Little Italy for the street fair there...it's all too much for one person. Good thing there are a whole lot of us.

Last month, the Court of Quebec ruled that the City's anti-postering bylaws violates Montrealers' freedom of expression. The ruling would imply that the City must either change the bylaw that currently prohibits postering on public street furniture, or supply a vast quantity of dedicated places for citizens to place public notices.

Fortunately, it seemed that there is already a solution in the works: on July 5th, just 10 days before the court ruling, the Direction de la culture et du patrimoine presented a project to install hundreds of dedicated postering collars and/or kiosks in the Plateau and Ville Marie boroughs.

The city's proposal acknowledged their obligation to provide a space for public notices, as per a 1993 ruling by the Supreme court of Canada. This priority is balanced against concerns about tidiness and the cost of cleaning the street furniture (it is estimated that the Plateau borough alone spends $100,000 per year cleaning hydro poles). The two boroughs currently provide a total of 10 dedicated postering kiosks which the court found was insufficient.

This new willingness to see postering as an essential communications tool for community and artistic groups rather than as a kind of vandalism happened to coincide with the court ruling and it seemed that all the elements were coming together to spark a productive dialogue about the place for posters in the city.

Then the City went tight-lipped on the issue.

When I contacted the office that has been working on the postering issue for months, I was told that they would not comment until the City decided whether to contest the court decision.

"En premier lieu, la Ville doit décider si elle portera le jugement en appel, sinon, elle devra ensuite déterminer quelle sera la solution retenue en matière d'affichage libre sur tout son territoire" wrote Gonzalo Nunez, a communications officer with the City of Montreal.

Even the proposal that was previously made public is off limits for discussion.

One question raised by our readers is whether legalizing postering will simply create one more place for private companies to plaster their advertising. Is the City able to make a distinction between community, cultural, and commercial promotion, with the objective of creating dedicated spaces for community and cultural posters?

Unfortunately questions which would shed light on the complexity of this issue that the city must juggle remain unanswered.

Why are dedicated postering kiosks, like this one on University street, seen as "tidier" than posters on hydro poles? No comment.

In fact, the only concrete information I was able to ascertain was that the City will continue to fine people for postering on public property, a position they can apparently uphold for the next 6 months:

"Il est important de rappeler que les dispositions sur l’utilisation du domaine public sont toujours applicables et valides, tandis que celles visées par le jugement demeurent en vigueur pour les 6 prochains mois," wrote Nunez.

The city's unwillingness to discuss the issue - even the proposal that was already made public - would seem to portray the decision-makers as inflexible, insensitive and closed to public input. Yet when I spoke with Hilary Leftick, Executive Producer of Pop Montreal and member of COLLE she told me that the Direction de la culture et du patrimoine was quite willing to discuss the needs of the arts community in order to develop a viable solution.

Frankly, the only conclusion I've come to right now is that the City is botching their communications job (and not only on this dossier).

I hope to have more info by the end of September when the City must decide whether to contest the court decision or address the underlying issue about expression in public space.

The Main in little Italy is closed for Italian Week festivities. Things were just getting started when I biked by Friday afternoon but these two little girls were taking advantage of the opportunity to plunk down in the middle of what is usually a busy artery.

Corner Saint-Laurent and Saint-Zotique.

You can listen to the sound here.

I love that both the STM's press release and metro newspaper refer to the tones as "le fameux dou-dou-dou," a home-grown noun for an idiosyncratic local sound.

Last fall I wrote about the source of the sound which is unique to Montreal's metro system, a by-product of the 70s technology. The real dou-dou-dou will eventually be lost when the 19631973-edition metro cars are replaced (although at this rate it won't be any time soon). I like that there've found a way to preserve this familiar little audio experience in its natural habitat.

The STM is looking for feedback so if readers have any relevant comments, I'll be happy to forward them...

When I was a small that willow felt like a kingdom of possibilities hanging high above the ground. Later, as teenagers, we straddled the branches and let our legs swing down lazily while we exchanged gossip or plotted pranks.

By that time, the Westmount Park willow had undergone a number of life-saving interventions: its swooping branches were propped up with metal braces, its hollow trunk was patched with concrete. It was hard to ignore the fact that we - among thousands of other tree-climbers - were driving that beloved willow into the ground, but who could resist the invitation of those low-slung branches?

We loved that tree to death, didn't we?

I recently learned that climbing trees is illegal in Montreal - at least trees that are planted by the city (it's in the cleanliess act along with the ban on postering).  I am outraged by this rule, but I am resigned to it. Within the city we are so many many people that any patch of nature we preserve is bound to cave under our collective weight.

This summer I spoke with some educators from Les Amis de la Montagne about the degradation caused by the millions of visitors who romp through Mount Royal's fragile habitats seeking a tiny corner of wildness, a breath of mountain-top freedom. Much of thier mandate has to do with educating visitors to keep to the paths, curbing destructive mountain-biking practices and preventing people from lighting fires.

I love this city - I have written it dozens of times on the blog - but some sacrifices seem almost unbearable: That children should not test their strength and courage in the tree-tops, that teenagers should grow up without the kiss of bonfire flames, that we must not stray from the paths to chase butterflies and inspiration through the forest. That we grow up in the city wondering what we may do before we ever contemplate what we can do.

But what is the solution? Do we surrender that little semblance of freedom? Or do we do what Westmount Park has done all these years and sacrifice the beloved tree, patching it up season after season while its roots and branches wore away under our feet?

La rue Sainte-Catherine, piétonnisé entre Berri et Papineau pour l'été, vue depuis le Pont Jacques-Cartier.

Abandoned building on Parc Avenue and Van Horne, August 1st, 2010.

Only look, no touch!

Overgrown CP yards in Point-Saint Charles

Photo cc Asaf A Ali http://www.flickr.com/photos/asifali1985/

Le crépuscule tombe sur Montréal: le ciel perd son teint bleu et prend une lueur orangée. Les nuages sont des taches claires sur un fond sombre et deux ou trois étoiles scintillent faiblement, ou peut-être que ce ne sont que des satellites.

Les télés s’allument, les réseaux cellulaire bourdonnent: Rendez-vous sur la terrasse? Sortie au club? Les restaurants, bars et discothèques se font concurrence avec leurs néons toujours plus tape-à-l’œil; les clients y sont attirés comme des papillons de nuit.

Du sommet du Mont Royal, la croix conseil silencieusement de résister aux tentations. Quand elle a été construite en 1924, on se vantait qu’elle serait visible à 80 km de la ville. Mais aujourd’hui les tours à bureaux ont chacune levé leur propre idole illuminée. La ligne de toits est décorée d’une constellation de logos familiers par lesquels nous, habitants de la ville, avons appris à naviguer. Sans oublier qu’à son apogée, le phare de la Place Ville Marie balaye l’horizon comme une veilleuse géante.

Avec tout ça, il faut se demander: est-ce que les Montréalais ont peur du noir?

J'ai recemment rencontré un éducateur du planétarium de Montréal qui m'a allumé aux enjeux de la pollution lumineuse. Pour lui, la perte de la vision des étoiles représente une perte du patrimoine mondial et limite nos connaissances scientifiques sur l’Univers. Dans le cadre d'un cours en éducation relative à l'environnement, nous avons monté Halo la nuit, un dossier sur l'enjeu.

Les récentes recherches montrent que l’impact de la pollution lumineuse dépasse de loin l’observation des étoiles…la lumière excessive peut nuire à notre santé, notre sécurité, notre bien-être, et ceux des autres espèces.  Pire encore, cette pollution nous la payons cher – pensez à l’énergie et l'argent qui sont gaspillées à tous les soirs par les lumières pointées inutilement vers le ciel!

Suite à la pression de plusieurs groupes locaux, le plan d’urbanisme de la Ville de Montréal a intégré l'action 11.7 qui traite de la "mise en valeur du paysage nocturne".

Mais il existe une tension intéressante entre les nuisances et la valeur de l’éclairage nocturne. Par exemple, les créateurs du Plan de lumières du Vieux Port écrivent:

« Dans une ville de la nordicité où la nuit noire nous oppresse de septembre à avril, le recours à l’éclairage urbain, substitution de la dynamique vitale, est un acte de civilisation, une mesure de la démocratisation de l’espace. Pour s’approprier la ville, le citadin a besoin qu’on la lui offre jour après jour, nuit après nuit pour que sa présence lui devienne à la fois familière et étonnante par le jeu de ses silhouettes changeantes, évolutives. » (Plan de lumières du Vieux Port)

Malgré que la surconsommation de lumière puisse contribuer à plusieurs problématiques environnementales, nous savons qu’une des meilleures façons d’amener les citoyens à préserver leur environnement local est de les aider à développer un sentiment d’appartenance à leur milieu de vie. C’est en plein ça que la ville tente de faire avec son éclairage décoratif! Paradoxe intéressante...

La noirceur et le ciel étoilé font partie de l’expérience collective humaine depuis la nuit des temps. Mais de nos jours, les montréalais défendent leurs néons. Le ciel étoilé est peut-être une ancien patrimoine partagé par toute l’humanité mais d’autres types de patrimoine beaucoup plus immédiats allument aussi nos passions.  Ces points de repère partagés contribuent à définir l’expérience Montréalaise.

Est-ce que les montréalais ont besoin de lumière – même de lumière excessive – pour apprécier et aimer leur milieu de vie?

I always see a an assortment of curious characters on benches in front of the Grande bibliothèque.

Scrawled on an STM info panel at the Pierrefonds/Roxboro train station: "Does anyone take this bus?"

On a similar topic, Jason Prince ponders how bus transit could be tweaked to win over West island commuters. But the comments point out the obvious difficulties with transit in low-density suburbs: people have complex trips (dropping off the kids; picking up groceries after work, etc), an increasing number of suburb-to-suburb commutes makes it near impossible to create direct routes, and it often requires a car to get to the transit terminus in the first place.

No wonder this West Island bus stop looks a little forlorn.

Photo courtresy of Kellergraham.