Swarm on Sainte-Catherine

I was sitting at my desk yesterday (ok.it's more of a table) and heard something that sounded like a swarm of locusts. Well, i can only assume it sounded like a locust invasion, as i have never experienced one but have watched enough movies to have a vague idea (as if the filmmakers knew anyway). Wondering (and somewhat eager) whether the divine-being (whoever the fuck it is) was finally obliterating the human race, i poked my head out of the office and saw a swarm of skateboarders and a sprinkling of cyclists speed down Sainte-Catherine. I ran down to the corner as the tail end passed, and there were a couple cop cars with their sirens on dodging traffic to chase the group. Does anyone know what that was?

Garden (again)

As if Blork and i are competing in a garden post-athon, here are some more photos of my garden. Whereas Blork's have an artistic quality to them, mine are simply amateur photos trying to capture the very short life of the blooms after my impatient pacing (for weeks, really). Perhaps this is a friendly challenge, but i see this as a learning experience. I really do need to learn how to use my digital camera (i have had it for several years now).

oh, and i have another excuse: my roommate Jasmine is out west for the summer, and this is a way of relaying the images to her.

Underground Parks

Montreal's sister city Shanghai has announced the development of an underground park that will be part of the city's large underground network. A fibre-optic network would 'wire' light underground, solving the issue of it being underground.

I am not familiar with the way the underground city in Shanghai is organised, but in Montreal the underground city (except for certain passageways) are private spaces. It would be very interesting to see the insertion of a lavish public space in an area that is normally the domain of private development.

It is no secret that Montreal's downtown is seriously lacking some public space. Save for Dorchester Square and the adjacent Place du Canada, the downtown has no public parks. An underground park, if considered by the city, would not only help create a much needed park but help balance the private-space dominance of Montreal's underground and allow some warmth-deprived Montrealers some greenery in the dead of winter.

Write to your local representatives!

Sustainable Option #1: Grapeseed Oil

Sustainability has become a sort of buzz word, companies and organisations (and even governments) throw the word around in hopes of capturing consumers' attention. People are attempting to seek a more sustainable lifestyle even if they are a little unsure of what it means. In what i hope will become many more posts, i will recommend several alternatives to everyday consumer items. They won't necessarily make much difference, but it will make you feel a hell of a lot better about consuming.

The first 'sustainable option' is grapeseed oil as an alternative to olive oil. Because the olives used in olive oil are grown uniquely for the oil, the footprint in olive oil production is quite large. According to this document [pdf] commissioned by the European Union, most olive oil is now produced using intensified production methods that require a lot of energy input in terms of chemical fertilisers. As well, there are problems of soil erosion and water shortages as a result of these plantations. Even the low-input, more traditional olive groves have been increasingly reliant of these fertilisers.

Though i am sure that grape production has a considerable footprint, they are grown for wine
, oil and leaves. This efficiency makes the impact of grapeseed oil considerably less than that of olive oil which is grown uniquely for oil. Grapeseed oil also has a lighter taste and a higher smoking point, which makes it better for cooking.

Of course one needs to consider transportation in making a choice. Why would we want olive or grapeseed oil if we can have canola oil grown right here in Canada? Well... that's your call i guess. Fields and fields of canola (aka rapeseed) are grown in Western Canada for oil production, and about 80% of all canola seed is genetically modified. Unless you buy your canola oil organic (which is expensive), there is no way to know if it is GM or not.

The best option, i believe, is to have a bottle of grapeseed oil and organic canola oil on hand. So, ditch the inefficient olive tree for the versatile grape, and use organic canola oil whenever you really feel you need it (and you won't be wasting precious money).

Grapeseed oil can be found in many grocery stores. It can be found at Segal's on Saint-Laurent.

Fourth Citizen Summit of Montreal

Today is the start of the Fourth Citizen Summit of Montreal, the theme being 'Planning the City, economic development and participatory democracy: The Right to the City'. The Urban Ecology Centre is hosting the 40 or so workshops that will be simultaneously translated in English and French. Most of the programming is in French, but they have 12 roundtables and workshops that will be in English. One that sounds particularly interesting is titled 'the role of citizens' actions and economic development: Milton-Parc, Benny Farm, Point St-Charles,' starting tomorrow at 10:30. Check out the programme for all the details.

Garden

This is the first full summer where i have my own backyard. I've done the whole balcony container garden thing, and i've done the whole community garden thing. Nothing compares to having your very own fresh earth to break right outside your kitchen's back door.

When i'd moved in, the backyard had not been taken care of by the previous tenants for many many years. Vines that had been planted had not been led up the walls properly and the Day Lilies were left uncontrolled. I've managed to do a tonne of work, thanks also to my father who came to help pull out those damn pervasive Day Lilies and alter the borders. Intermingled with the new plants and shrubs i've planted cucumbers, kale, nasturtiums, tomatoes, peppers, beets, spinach, sage, oregano, basil, thyme, parsley and rosemary. Here are some photos i took of some flowers that have begun to flower. Long-live the digital macro zoom! Hopefully as my garden progesses, so will my photography skills.

Note: I will be starting a new full-time job which will be occupying much of my time. So, you may expect these posts to slow down a little.

Ontario and Smart Growth

Here's an interesting article from the Toronto Star, by way of Spacing, on Ontario's adoption of a Smart Growth policy. I know that they have been commissioning reports from the Neptis Foundation right left and centre for several years, but it appears that the province is going to officially adopt such a policy. The most important facet of Smart Growth is that it involves planning growth on a wider scale, rather than the ad-hoc nature of most suburban development. Carefully planning out safe and walkable neighbourhoods to complement and feed public transit corridors. And of course the words 'sustainable' and 'sustainability' are rampant in the Smart Growth reports.

The article mentions that this adoption will not only affect municipalities (having to conform to the provincial legislation), but will permeate through all provincial departments. Using the article's example, the government liquor stores will no longer be able to locate in strip malls surrounded by parking. This shouldn't be only accomplished through tough legislation, though. Federal and Provincial governments should implement policies of 'consistency' (for lack of a better word) to avoid such obvious hypocrisy.

Heirloom Vegetable Seedlings at Maison Verte

The Coop La Maison Verte (5785 Sherbrooke West) has received their annual shipment of heirloom vegetables seedlings. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and other organic vegetables and herbs are available. Here is a list of what they have received, you can no longer order them, but have to go in and choose from their selection. There are some interesting varieties of tomato plants like the Pineapple Tomato (red and yellow stripes), as well as purple, black, green, yellow and orange varieties.

They're a little pricey, but well worth it!

A Billion Trees

The UN has managed to garner pledges to plant a billion trees, thanks to Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai. Maathai (the first African women of her status) started the programme to combat climate change and fight poverty. The article mentions that deforestation in Africa has led to conflict over the now scarce resource, and planting trees will help calm the fire. Maathai successfully influenced the planting of 30 million trees in Africa, which sounds more like a reforestation programme or a restructuring of African forestry (which i assume is sustenance harvesting).

Hopefully this programme doesn't merely plant trees without each participant country laying out laws and guidelines on forestry practices. The forest is usually cut down for a reason, and that need for energy (which is the most common end-use for wood in the developing world) will just shift to other areas.

Why Tramways over More Buses?

So this is the debate. Montreal has decided that its priority is to develop a tram network, starting with about 20 km that will eventually expand. I took a course a couple of years ago in Urban Transportation and one main focus was on the differences between bus service and tramways in the way they shape a transit system and travel behaviour (as well as the city landscape). I have to first point out that i am not a tram enthusiast. I just truly believe that the a tram system is needed in Montreal.

Because there is a large initial capital cost in a tram system, it's more relevant to compare costs of the two services over a long period of time. With any sort of transit service the level of service (the type of service as well as frequency and quality of service) needs to be relevant in it's context. The bottom line all depends on ridership. Luckily, the proposed lines along Park and Côte-des-Neiges would replace the bus lines with the highest ridership. Apparently the Park bus line actually carries more people than the blue line (according to some big hotshot McGill researcher who gave a lecture in the course). So here is why, in Montreal's case, a tram network is advantageous :

-Fast. A tramway with a Dedicated Right of Way (that is, separated from normal traffic), is faster because it does not get stuck in traffic like buses do. Even the dedicated bus lanes have snarls when cars are turning. And a tram would have its own right of way even outside peak hours.

-Permanent. Tram stops have a more permanent place in the minds of transit users, like a metro station does. Same thing with tram lines. This is important in attracting investment and users. Bus routes and stops are not very prominent in the streetscape and (in the minds of transit users) can be moved or removed at whim. This also means trams routes aren't as flexible as bus routes.

-Clean and Quiet. Trams have no emissions and are quiet. Air and noise pollution is almost non-existent when compared with buses. This has a tremendous effect on quality of life of an area.

-Comfort. Trams don't change lanes or swoop into stops like buses do, so it is a much more comfortable ride.

-Ridership. Other cities have experienced an increase in ridership when tramlines are introduced.

-Maintenance. Tram cars have an average operating life of 25 years versus 17 years for buses. They also cost less in ordinary maintenance.

This is not to say that a tram system in the order of Projet Montreal's proposal is needed. Tram lines could only really be efficient on those lines with demand. As a intermediate mode between bus and metro, the capacity needs to be there. A line along Park is especially necessary to help alleviate the congestion on the orange line between Henri-Bourassa (or Montmorency) and Berri. That line is already fully saturated and can't handle any growth.

Update: i re-enabled comments, i must have accidentally clicked on 'don't allow'. Sorry about that!

Montreal Tramway

A new tram system in Montreal has been the talk of the town for the last month if not the last year. I somehow fell upon this document [pdf 240 kb] put out by Projet Montreal, complete with maps of every borough, and their proposed tram lines. If you haven't forgotten the last municipal election, Projet Montreal is the very new municipal party that surprising won a seat. They are the ones who have been putting the pressure to introduce a tram system.

Their proposal is a very bold one at that, seemingly drawn up by randomly connecting lines using a blue felt pen. This is the type of ambitious project, however, needed to stop the automobile's pervasiveness. Implementing the key routes like Park Ave, Old Port, Henri-Bourassa and Notre-Dame would be a great beginning.

Update: (Thanks to the Montreal City Weblog) The city will unveil a transit plan today that will apparently address the need for sustainable transit on the island. Bridge tolls and streetcars are in order. It seems a lot of people (including Kate from the Mtl city weblog) do not think there are advantages of trams over buses... maybe an upcoming post?
Update #2: For those with a lot of free time (like myself) the 155 page pdf document released by the city is available here.

Bois Franc Development

My parents have decided to move back to Montreal from Suburban American Hell. I had taken the responsibility of real-estate agent in showing them several properties as 'ideas'. Of course it has been incredibly stressful for me, and i have now resigned. It's clear they have acquired a taste for suburban living that can hardly be changed. Even in light of global warming ( i mean it's even on the American news that my mother watches so religiously!), and the fact that her son has chosen the environmental challenge as a career path, they cannot see the reality.

I am already disturbed and upset just writing this bit about it, so i will move on to the point of this post: the Bois Franc Development in Ville Saint-Laurent, Montreal. If they are going to pick the suburban lifestyle, i figured they may as well pick the 'better' option. Bois-Franc has been developed on the principles of New Urbanism. In a nutshell, here is a short summary of (what i believe are) the most important principles of New Urbanism:

-The pedestrian is encouraged.
-The density is higher than traditional suburbs.
-High-quality of the architecture and design.
-A mixed-use centre is within walking distance.
-A mixture of housing types


I have visited Bois-Franc twice now, and i am actually pretty impressed with the development. The first most-striking thing upon arriving is that people are actually present. Like a scene from their promotional video, there are people, couples and families walking and biking around. This is something i have almost never seen in traditional suburbs. While i am impressed with the development, there are some things i am still concerned about:

1. The housing is quite expensive, and there are no affordable housing projects or low to medium-income rentals.
2. This is still a suburb, and most residents still depend on their cars to reach areas outside the development.
3. The central commercial square has a lot of parking around it, and are single-use buildings without any residential development on top (i.e. no vertical mixed use).

They had an observatory at the centre, where i took most of the pictures:

The centre has a lot of different services: movie rentals, café, restaurant, bakery, depanneur, etc.
The housing development around the centre
Notice the bus that runs through the development. Both times i was here, the bus had mostly young people riding them.
High density development
Many of the more prestigious developments are placed around these squares (notice the playground)
These townhouses are facing each other with a common landscaped walkway in the Garden City style.
Mixed housing types: retirement condos in the large building with lower rise duplex-style condos behind.
The higher density is achieved through small land parcels and narrow buildings with 4 floors of liveable space (finished basement to loft-attic)
Phase 3 of the project will start soon, which will cover all of the adjacent golf-course.