Le Devoir has had several good stories, mostly recently this morning. (http://www.ledevoir.com/2008/01/21/172605.html and http://www.ledevoir.com/2008/01/23/172881.html) In it Heritage Montreal points out that doing away with the grid layout of the neighborhood is doing away with an important part of Montreal’s urban history. The area was laid out in a grid in 1804, well before new York adopted the grid for the whole of Manhattan in 1811.

Jane Jacobs, whose house on Hudson Street in the West Village wa near a point where several old Manhattan grids came together, weas a big advocate of the grid as a way of geting eyes on the street for security and feet on the street to make the surroundings lively. Her lessons should not be forgotten.

Mary

1) What is the overall population for the first [phase of development? You can’t have the small service stores you need to encourage people to walk or bike in their daily lives unless there are enough people to support dépanneurs, fruiteries and the like.

2) What kind of bus links will there be? The tramway, if it is ever built ( and I think there are many arguements against the Park Avneue route at least) may well not be built until long after the aparatment houses go up?

3) What are the apartment sizes planned? Most condos currently available or under construction feature at most two bedrooms (bus sometimes three baths!) A good mix of bigger ones are necessary to attract families and the baby-boomers who’d like to have an office and a room for the grandkids to use as well as a bedroom.

This requires discussion: I’ve linked to to my own blog.

Mary