The furor over the announcement of pedestrianized zones for Ste-Catherine St. shows the importance of thorough consultation.
We’ve heard of lame-duck presidents.
It’s a term for a leader whose successor has already been or is soon to be elected and whose days in office are numbered. U.S. President Joe Biden is an obvious contemporary example.
While he still has almost two months until he moves out of the White House and Donald Trump will only be sworn in on Jan. 20, any major moves Biden makes for the rest of his term could be called into question. Their legitimacy could be challenged, even though Biden is still the one and only president of the United States, as per the process set out for the peaceful transfer of power.
That leaves Plante firmly in charge — at least until mid-March, when a Projet Montréal heir apparent will have to weigh whether to toe the line or set their own course, which could make for some interesting times ahead in city politics. Until then, Plante is moving full steam ahead with her agenda — including controversial things that won’t be completed before she leaves office.
The news that the city plans to pedestrianize two portions of Ste-Catherine St. W. is a prime example.
The mayor insisted discussions with various groups already took place. But it’s unclear when and with whom, since some of the major players were caught off guard.
They include Glenn Castanheira, executive director of Montréal Centre-ville, and Michel Leblanc, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. Plante has been working closely with both groups to revitalize downtown since the pandemic struck and left it hurting.
Castanheira professed himself “shocked by the approach that was used by the administration to make irreversible decisions without public consultations and without informing us of these decisions.”
Leblanc was more measured, saying many of the changes Plante has made to Ste-Catherine St. over her two terms have improved the downtown shopping experience after being initially greeted with skepticism. However, he said taking a step as drastic as creating two permanent barriers to through traffic on the thoroughfare “should not be the fruit of a unilateral reflection imposed on merchants.”
Both called for a real consultation and a postponement of any concrete plans for the area until after the next election.
What Plante just unveiled is major.
The sections of the downtown shopping street that would be closed to cars are a two-block stretch of Ste-Catherine between Guy and Bishop Sts., right in front of Concordia University’s EV building; and a portion between Mansfield St. and Robert-Bourassa Blvd. — or in shopper’s lingo, from Place Montreal Trust to the far end of the block where the newly renovated Eaton Centre is situated.
The closures would also include McGill College Ave. between Cathcart and Sherbrooke Sts. (i.e., from Place Ville Marie to McGill University), where Place Oscar Peterson is supposed to be built once the McGill REM station opens. Together, this would form a cross-shaped plaza in the middle of Montreal’s most iconic shopping district.
But dropping the project from the sky is not the way to achieve buy-in.
The problem is that Plante is running out of time to consult on the big things she still wants to do before leaving office, and seems to be abandoning the reflex that has served her well during her two terms.
But the fact this isn’t supposed to be done until 2027 — when it’s now certain she will be long gone from the mayor’s office — could leave her open to criticism that she’s too much of a lame duck to sign off on such drastic measures. Ditto for the pedestrianization of Ste-Catherine St., since the work will start in the spring of 2025 but won’t be done before the next election.
Both these issues could well become flashpoints in next year’s campaign, the more the mayor tries to steamroll through changes that haven’t yet been cast in cement.
Plante may not have to answer to voters come November, but that does not let her off the hook when it comes to consulting, listening and accountability.