I Visited the Best* City in North America

Not Just Bikes

22 Dec 202351:29

EducationalLearning

32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThe video explores Montréal's urban design through the eyes of an experienced urbanist. It praises Montréal's improvements like public transit, cycling infrastructure, and pedestrianized streets, yet critiques the still very car-centric nature of most areas. It argues that good urbanism exists only in isolated pockets surrounded by highways, parking lots, and dangerous stroads. While better than most North American cities, Montréal falls far short of claims it rivals Europe's best and locking in car infrastructure in new areas will hinder future progress. Still, for those able to live in its walkable neighborhoods, Montréal offers a good life.

Takeaways

😊 Montréal has made big improvements recently like better transit and more pedestrian/bike friendly streets.
🚌 The city is building a new automated light rail system called the REM across the metro area.
🚲 Montréal has a large Bixi bikeshare system and is building out new protected bike lanes.
🚦 However, the cycling network is fragmented between boroughs and lacks key connections.
🚏 Surface transit like buses is quite poor, with unreliable schedules and slow speeds.
🛣️ There are highways slicing through the city center which distribute a lot of car traffic.
😕 Much of the land around metro stations is devoted to stroads, parking lots and highways.
😀 The temporary summer pedestrian streets in Montréal are fantastic public spaces.
⏱ But good urbanism drops off quickly outside of the central neighborhoods.
😒 Overall, Montréal has some great areas but still struggles with car-centric development.

Q & A

What are some of the recent infrastructure improvements made in Montreal?
-Some recent infrastructure improvements in Montreal include projects to improve public transit, install protected bike lanes, and pedestrianize many streets.
How does Montreal compare to great European cities in terms of urban planning?
-The video creator explored this question during his week-long trip to Montreal. He found a mix of good and bad urbanism, concluding that Montreal has some nice neighborhoods but as a whole is not on par with the great cities of Europe.
What are some of the issues with the cycling infrastructure in Montreal?
-Issues include the network being fractured and disjointed between boroughs, infrastructure not always being built where it is most needed, overuse of bi-directional on-street bike paths, and too many intersections without protected turns.
What is the Metro pass system like in Montreal and what issues does it have?
-The Metro uses an OPUS card but you cannot store money value on it - instead you must load individual tickets/passes using machines at each station. This leads to long lines and is inconvenient compared to systems that allow online top-ups.
How walkable is downtown Montreal?
-Downtown Montreal is quite car-centric with highways and large stroads cutting through it. Outside small historic areas like Old Montreal, it is generally not very walkable.
What are pedestrianized streets and how are they implemented in Montreal?
-Pedestrianized streets prohibit car access to allow pedestrians and (sometimes) cyclists. Montreal pedestrianizes some streets in summer months but they are temporary and involve some design compromises.
What is the Bixi bike sharing system like in Montreal?
-Bixi is Montreal's bike share system using docks and mobile apps to rent bikes. It helps fill gaps in transit but has limitations in scale and user groups compared to surface transit options.
What are the Exo commuter trains like in terms of accessibility?
-The Exo trains are focused on suburban commuters coming to the city for work. They have very limited midday, evening, and weekend service, making it easy to get stranded when trying to use them for other purposes.
What are some of the suburbs of Montreal like?
-The suburbs have high car dependency, giant stroads, parking lots, and highway interchanges much like the rest of car-centric North America. Transit and bike infrastructure are lacking compared to the city.
What is the creator's overall assessment of Montreal as an urban environment?
-He found a mix of good neighborhoods and strong recent improvements, but ultimately concluded Montreal oversells itself and is not on the level of a truly great European city in terms of urbanism and infrastructure.

Outlines

00:00

😊 Overview of Montreal

This paragraph provides a brief introduction to Montreal, describing it as a large city in Canada that has made improvements to public transit, cycling infrastructure, and pedestrianization in recent years. It mentions the YouTube narrator has heard Montreal called the best city in North America.

05:04

🚲 Montreal's Cycling Infrastructure

This paragraph discusses Montreal's cycling infrastructure. It has over 900km of bike lanes, many built recently. The narrator rides with an engineer to learn about the infrastructure. Strengths include the Bixi bikeshare and some good examples of infrastructure, but there are also compromises and varying quality.

10:06

🚉 Montreal's Public Transit

This paragraph evaluates Montreal's public transit system. The metro system is good with 4 lines and frequent rush hour service. An automated light rail system called the REM is highlighted as a nice addition. However, surface transit like buses is found to be poor in service and speed.

15:10

🚶 Pedestrianized Streets in Montreal

This paragraph praises Montreal's pedestrianized streets in summer. They are numerous, long, decorated nicely, and popular. However, compromises exist since they are temporary implementations and still allow motor vehicle access in places.

20:12

🚗 Highways and Traffic in Montreal

This paragraph critiques Montreal's highways and traffic. Highways cut through the city center and feed traffic onto city streets. Most streets allow through traffic instead of prioritizing local access. This reduces quality of life and road safety.

25:14

🚎 Destruction of Montreal's Streetcars

This paragraph explains how Montreal once had an extensive streetcar network that was removed in the 1950s/60s. This damaged transit quality, walkability, and traffic flow throughout the city in a way still being recovered from.

30:16

🚴 Poor Surface Transit as Bike Share Replacement

This paragraph argues that poor surface transit has led to an over-reliance on the Bixi bikeshare system as a walking accelerator. However, bikeshare has limitations in scaling up and serving diverse needs compared to quality tram systems.

35:17

🚧 Fractured Governance Slows Progress

This paragraph notes that Montreal's division into independent boroughs allows local governance benefits but also results in disjointed infrastructure quality and decision-making across the region.

40:18

🚸 Walkable Islands Among Stroads and Highways

This paragraph coins the term "walkable islands" to describe Montreal's situation where decent neighborhoods are interspersed among car-centric infrastructure. Travel between islands is found to be frustrating.

45:21

🚏 Awful Land Use Around Transit Stations

This paragraph criticizes land use around Montreal's transit stations, often prioritizing car traffic flow and parking access over passenger experience and connectivity. Specific examples are provided.

50:22

😖 Montreal's Metro Ticketing System

This paragraph laments Montreal's outdated metro ticketing system which requires lining up at ticket machines instead of modern smartcard or mobile payments. It worsens station access and user experience.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Urbanism

Urbanism refers to the design and organization of cities and urban areas. It is a core theme of the video, as the narrator explores and critiques urban design elements in Montreal. He praises areas with good urbanism like walkable neighborhoods and transit-oriented development, while criticizing car-centric urban planning.

💡Walkable

Walkable describes urban areas designed at a human scale for pedestrians, with amenities and destinations accessible by walking. The video praises Montreal's walkable neighborhoods but notes they are like small islands surrounded by car infrastructure.

💡Transit

Public transportation systems like buses, trains, and subways. Good transit connectivity enables car-free lifestyles. The narrator critiques Montreal's metro and surface transit as inefficient in many areas.

💡Bicycle Infrastructure

Bike lanes, paths, and amenities that enable safe cycling in a city. The video notes Montreal is expanding its bike infrastructure but it is fragmented and politically-driven rather than data-driven.

💡Missing Middle Housing

Housing types like duplexes, townhouses, and low-rise apartments that fit between detached homes and high-rises. Montreal has more missing middle housing than most North American cities, enabling its walkable neighborhoods.

💡Pedestrianization

Converting streets into car-free spaces for pedestrians. Montreal's temporary summer pedestrian streets are praised as unique in North America, but could be better designed if permanent.

💡Stroads

Street + Road hybrids designed for high speed car movement that fail to serve either cars or pedestrians well. The video shows many examples of stroads cutting through Montreal.

💡Car Culture

Social and economic patterns dictated by heavy car use and dependent lifestyles. The video argues much of Montreal retains a car-centric culture despite walkable areas.

💡Public Space

Parks, plazas, streets and other areas accessible to all, that enable community interactions. Well-designed public space is a marker of good urbanism.

💡Suburbanization

Urban sprawl and development of car-centric suburbs. The video criticizes postwar suburbanization in Montreal through highways and malls, though transit-connected suburbs are better.

Highlights

First significant research finding

Introduction of innovative methodology

Key conclusion and practical applications

Transcripts

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