8 thoughts on “Attractiveness of the community

  1. protogenes

    Actually, if you have lived in the West Island you might understand the desire not to have sidewalks added to your street. So they have not suddenly gone “off the deep end”, as some areas have resisted sidewalks for decades before now.

    The lack of sidewalks give the area a retro-timeless feel that is hard to describe. I know we fought to keep them from our street in Pointe-Claire.

    So think before you call names Mr Fagstein, not all actions are crazy if you try to understand them.

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  2. Fagstein Post author

    I lived for 20 years on a West Island street with no sidewalks.

    Given the choice between “retro timeliness” and safety from speeding SUVs, I’ll choose safety.

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  3. Shawn

    Quiet residential streets in my hometown of DDO still don’t have sidewalks. However, if you get onto residential streets that are more “arteries” — Anselme Lavigne, Westpark, Roger Pilon — they’ve had sidewalks, well, for as long as I can remember. Which is a while.

    There article make it found like there may be enough foot traffic to warrant a sidewalk, but I have no way of knowing.

    It’s certainly not an all or nothing thing issue. It would be crazily expensive and, well, crazy to add sidewalks to the hundreds (thousands?) of truly quiet little blocks, crescents, cul de sacs and the like snaking across the West Island.

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  4. protogenes

    Given the choice between “retro timeliness” and safety from speeding SUVs, I’ll choose safety

    Yes, I realize cars were just invented in the past 10 years.

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  5. DAVE ID

    I guess you’ve never lived in the burbs. I mean real burbs. Sidewalks are horrible and a distinct sign you’re not in Kansas anymore. There’s a different mentality in the burbs than in the city.

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  6. South Shore Guy

    Complete asinine! Most of the South Shore already has sidewalks (Longueuil, St. Lambert, Greenfield Park, most of Brossard and St. Hubert)…

    It’s much better than having to walk into the middle of the street to avoid parked cars and walking on people’s property. Get with the times!

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  7. lagatta

    Sidewalks a sign of “urban jungle”? Suburban idiocy.

    With the decline of petroleum that car-dependent anti-urban planning is on the way out anyway. Lots of suburbs are being urbanised by the development of townhouses, blocks of flats/condos and horror – sidewalks!

    A tramline or two would be a good idea as well. The Queen line in Toronto goes well into Etobicoke.

    Pavement-free streets are not “timeless” – they were developed in the post WW2 period. Such shortsighted planning, like the wilful destruction of tramlines throughout most of North America, were a deliberate attempt by the auto and petroleum industries to foster car dependency. Not much different than the free smokes given to armed forces personnel during the war, by the cigarette industry.

    Merchants of death, the lot of them.

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