Thoughts on Montreal

Thoughts on Montreal

Montreal was definitely one of the most well-planned cities of North America. Due to the completion of the landmark Place Ville-Marie project, it has attained considerable attention as a model for future urban design. A decision which has heavily influenced urban planning in recent times is creation of free space to provide a public plaza. Another concept to be kept in mind while designing such megaprojects is to take into account the daily traffic the site can endure- Place Ville-Marie did this by creating a network of highways and subway routes. Other evolutionary ideas include: segregating traffic into different modes by vertical levels and giving importance to local business environment by creating a relationship of interdependence on them. These ideas can be said to be followed now by almost all major megaprojects around the world.

And yet, it has its share of drawbacks. What can we learn from its mistakes? It must be identifiable to the public as both a plaza as well as a commercial building. Place Ville-Marie doesn't do that (and so does Metrotech in my opinion). While the intentions behind creating such a plaza are good, it is very uninviting for the public. The most revolutionary design change to be implemented in Montreal though was creation of an underground business district. Such planning led to better integration of these units with the existing business scenario. As for every megaproject, a hierarchy of transport networks was needed for them to be viable. An important question which must be answered for every upcoming city is: is the whole greater than the sum its parts? Let us wait and watch regarding other projects.

Pacific Park

Pacific Park

Living in New York, you can just feel that is the hub of any major infrastructure project in the US. One such project which is happening just a mile away from I live is the Pacific Park project. This project is concerned with the redevelopment of 22 acres in downtown Brooklyn which would make way for 6 million square feet for residential space, transforming the Barclays Center into a state-of-the-art sports, entertainment and cultural centre, 1.6 million commercial space as well as lots of open space.

“The project also includes major transportation improvements, including a new storage and maintenance facility for the LIRR and a new subway entrance to the Atlantic Terminal Transit Hub, the third largest hub in the City” (Pacific Park Brooklyn). The project has been delayed several times already; the new expected start date is 2035. An interesting feature about this complex is the fact that the world's tallest modular apartment building, 461 Dean, already opened in November 2016.

A tentative proposal of the park (Image Source: The Bridge BK)

Loop Link Project

Loop Link Project

Speaking from a personal experience, Chicago has one of the better public transport system in the US. It also has a good bus feeder system. But, it needs to integrate both of them. That is where the Loop Link Transitway would come into play. Starting from December 2015, Loop Link aimed at speeding up service between Michigan Avenue and the West Loop on seven CTA routes from the glacial rush-hour average of 3 mph to a modest 6 mph. This was also done with the intention of improving connections between Chicago's neighbourhoods and the jobs and attractions of the central business district.

Yet, they have been some contrarian views upon its start. “Despite those benefits, it's been unclear whether Loop Link has achieved its main goal of doubling bus speeds. In addition to the car-free lanes, time-saving features include fewer stops, raised boarding platforms at the stations (so operators spend less time "kneeling" the bus for people with mobility issues), and white "queue jump" signals that give buses a head start at stoplights” (Chicago Tribune). I would say yes, it has some adjustments to be made. But, let’s not jump the queue yet.

(Image Credits: CTA)