The STM reopened the Charlevoix metro station Monday morning, right on schedule. (They were very proud of that.) The station has been closed for the summer as its only entrance was renovated and other minor work was done inside.
Before
After
New windows were installed as part of the renovation
What used to be a dépanneur on the left currently lies empty
Little changes inside
The mezzanine hasn't changed much from the pre-construction days, except for some scaffolding left behind
"Stained" glass windows inside - minus a missing pane
Work on the two coloured glass displays isn't scheduled to be complete until January 2010.
A frustrated, mobility-limited transit user walks down the metro's longest escalator
Transit users who ventured into the station for the first time in months would have probably been disappointed that one set of escalators wasn’t working – two of the three were stopped, making people walk down the longest escalator in the metro system.
People hoping time would be spent clearing graffiti inside will be disappointed
As will be people who think shoddy repair jobs would be fixed properly
Graffittis are ok… I don’t mind them that much, kind of a cultural thing…
pretty interesting blog as always, loaded with pictures. I like how every metro station is different and has its own personality in Montreal. Love the stained glass here.
My! They did a Red Green job!!!
I was there yesterday. Well passed through there yesterday on the metro, on the way to catch the bus home. There was nobody in the station waiting for the train.
A wonderful accomplishment! Here in Toronto, routine repairs can take years – escalators out of service for months beyond their original estimated completion dates, and recently a renovation of an entrance to our Bay station took almost year longer than estimated.
I do wish more would be done to improve accessibility to the métro. I was disappointed that Jean-Talon, where two lines cross and with a lot of traffic, was not on the list of stations slated to get a lift for people in wheelchairs and others who have a hard time using the escalators – or the stairs! Is Snowdon, also serving two lines, on the list? (There are many elderly people in that neighbourhood, and I’ve often seen them struggling up the often out-of-order escalators).
I agree, Maria.
If they’re going to shut down the station for an entire summer, couldn’t they add an elevator?
One isn’t supposed to take kids in strollers on escalators yet we’re often never given a choice. In some cases, there isn’t even a stairway to carry the kids on. I can’t see how carrying my kid in one arm while carrying a folded stroller in the other arm is supposed to be any safer than just getting on the escalator with my kid strapped into their stroller.
And people in wheelchairs don’t even have the opportunity to break these rules. Metro stations are completely off limits to them except if they want to ride between the 3 stations in Laval. (are there any other working elevators in the Montreal Metro system outside of Laval?)
An elevator takes longer than a summer to install.
in response to Fagstein; I’m no engineer but I tend to agree – installing (retrofitting) an elevator seems to take longer than a summer. But it should be more of a priority.
As for elevators but not in every station – sure, it is far from ideal (and this is an argument for trams as opposed to new métro lines) but having them at strategic points around the city – at least where two lines meet – is much better than not having them at all. Hence Lionel-Groulx and of course Berri, but also Jean-Talon and Snowdon. Jean-Talon is so far from both Berri and Henri-Bourassa as to make the existence of those accessible stations meaningless for people in Villeray/Petite Patrie and adjacent areas.
Modern trams are fully accessible to wheelchairs, walking frames and pushy things, prams and strollers.
Beaudry is one of the longest damned public works projects I’ve ever seen – perhaps the never-ending work on boulevard Saint-Laurent aka the Main could be a competitor.
Not so easy at Charlevoix. Two new wells would have to be dug all the way to 30 meters below the ground for the platforms, then another between the mezzanine and the street. Not a small proposition.
It would be easier at Jean-Talon, but wheelchairs would have to take a convoluted route… Not the best thing in case of evacuation…
Thanks for telling it like it is Fagstein!
The escalator at Beaudry metro is FINALLY working. That ‘reno-station’ took almost 5 years! (I had two kids 3 years apart by the time that work was complete)
It seems like the elevator at Lionel Grioux is almsot complete… but I wonder, what’s the point of having an elevator in only a few stations scattered across the city? Montreal is one of the worst cities to get around in if you have reduced mobility… or a stroller.
Something is better than nothing
Instead of a proper elevator put a lift that goes up and down the stairs, problem solved.