Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Car-Free Streets

Montreal’s Car-Free Street Network Gets Bigger All the Time

Montreal’s Rue Ontario at Place Simon-Valois, free of cars. Photo: City of Montreal

Every year, Montreal transforms more of its streets into public spaces where people can rub shoulders with their neighbors without worrying about car traffic. Block by block, experiment by experiment, the city's pedestrian streets are growing.

In 2017 the city is adding three more street segments to its car-free network, Mayor Denis Coderre recently announced, awarding $1.7 million over three years to pedestrianize them. The streets will receive seating, landscaping, and pavement markings that as public pedestrian space. This allotment follows the addition of five car-free street segments in both 2015 and 2016.

Under Montreal's system, the first year of a car-free street is treated like a trial. The city observes how well the space is used, as well as the effect on motor vehicle traffic and local businesses. If the first year is a success, the city will commit to permanent changes or bring the car-free segment back on a seasonal basis every year.

The city reports that public opinion of the program is very favorable, and most of the pedestrian streets last beyond the pilot phase, either as permanent car-free spaces or seasonal pedestrian zones during the warmer months, according to the CBC.

The new additions under Coderre brings the city's total number of car-free street network to 45 segments covering seven kilometers reports the Montreal Gazette.

Here's a look at how people use these streets once traffic and parking give way to benches and planters, via the city of Montreal.

Screen Shot 2017-01-23 at 12.26.16 PM
Screen Shot 2017-01-23 at 12.25.39 PM
Screen Shot 2017-01-23 at 12.25.25 PM
Screen Shot 2017-01-23 at 12.25.12 PM

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Thursday’s Headlines Are Charged Up for the Fourth

The Republican megabill is bad for the electric vehicle industry, but it could be worse.

July 3, 2025

Why is the Secretary of Transportation Begging Americans to Take More Road Trips?

Instead of making America easier to see on all modes, the US Department of Transportation is encouraging U.S. residents to just get in their cars and drive.

July 3, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Are for the Children

From mothers with babies in strollers to preteens on bikes, much of the U.S. is hostile to families just trying to get around without a car.

July 2, 2025

Ambulance Data Reveals That Boston Drivers Are 4 Times More Likely to Run Over Pedestrians From Black Neighborhoods

"Overall, residents of predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods are about four times more likely than residents of predominantly white neighborhoods to be struck as a pedestrian."

July 1, 2025
See all posts