The STM is about to put articulated buses on the road and I for one, am quite looking forward to boarding one of them. Over the next few months, passengers will get to try out two model buses that will run on the 80-165-535 route.

If you’ve ever had to take the 535 during rush hour, you will be able to relate to how hellish an experience it can be. I always like to think of it as playing the Lotto 535 because you never know if the bus that’s approaching your stop will be too full to even stop or if anyone will be able to get on if it does. If you’re not a “people who need people” kind of person, playing the Lotto 535 is not your game cuz’ more often than not, you will find yourself thrust up against total strangers who you would perhaps not normally choose to be so intimate with.

The addition of articulated buses will hopefully remedy the sardine situation. The new buses have been redesigned with wider aisles and of course, more seating by virtue of the fact that they will be longer. Reconfigured layout, poles and windows are some of the other improved features. That said, I hope that the new buses are also less “jerky” than the current low-floor ones. The STM will have a questionnaire on their site for comments about the test buses. So now is the time to voice your opinions. The next time you see the 535 coming round the mountain, hop on and take it for a spin. Then, let the STM know what you think.

Dave Phillips of Environment Canada says Montreal, as of the morning of the 8th of March, is but a measly 60cm from breaking that 70-71 snowfall record. You’ve heard of that record right? It’s the one your parents (if you’re my age) go on and on and on about.. “Ya, Justin but this is nothing like 1971″. Well, we are 60 cm from being able to say, BAH! ‘71 was a joke compared to ‘08. Or worse yet, to be able to nag our kids with “nothing like ‘08 son.. I remember ‘08″

It has snowed 80% of the time this winter. Which is to say, 8 out 10 days this year, there’s been some snow falling. And take it from a guy who rides his bike into work, I can believe it. One thing I plan on doing next fall is getting another frame that actually makes for proper mudguard clearance. I am fed up with having my feet and shins coated with salty water. Luckily I invested well enough in decent cycling boots and shoe covers but still.

So what’s gonna fall today into tomorrow? 30cm? That leaves us another 30cm to break the record. Ha! We’ll do that in a few days with the way it’s going.

So listen Montreal, hang tight, stock up on scotch, wine, and cook up something great for dinner and then sit back, look out the window while watching the Habs sit atop first place.. Spring will arrive. I swear.

St-Patrick’s parade is next week BTW. Just thinking about it cracks me up.

Oh, and don’t forget to move your clocks forwards tonight.

I was at the bike show this past Friday evening and one of the booths was advertising Cyclostation Mavélocity . They appear to be offering as of June 1 showers, coffee, bike repair services and secure parking for your bike.

They will be located on 345 De La Gauchetière West (between De Bleury and St-Alexandre).

A fantastic idea if you ask me.

After a couple of weeks riding the metro, back in late November, or whenever it was that we got our first snow, I made the choice to ride my bike into work all winter. I had done it before. I had been a bike messenger for two years. So I had a pretty good idea of what it entailed.

I’ve been using a fixie, basically a converted road bike, which was the first road bike I ever raced on, into a bike with one front brake and one gear that is fixed. There is no free wheeling.

This turned out to be an advantage in the winter as I can brake with my feet by back pedalling and not having to rely on my front brake. Because of all the snow and ice that had accumulated, the front brake, on many days, was nearly useless .

I won’t begin to tell you how much I spent in terms of clothing to keep dry and warm. But I probably could have done it for much cheaper then I had.. But I figured, if I was going to ride in the snow and slush, I might as well do it in semi-style.
(more…)

What do the Eiffel Tower, the US Capitol, Big Ben, the Acropolis, the Forbidden City, Christ the Redeemer, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Chateau Frontenac, the Sydney Opera House, the CN Tower, St-Basil’s Cathedral, Hagia Sophia, St-Peter’s Basilica, the Petronas Towers, and even the Hollywood Sign have in common?

They represent architectural icons that form a major part of their home city’s identity, something that Montreal clearly does not have.

To get a proper icon, two conditions are absolutely required (1) it has to be architecturally unique and (2) it has to be either visible from the city core or located in a centralized location. Other redeeming factors include (3) a close association with a major geographical feature, (4) a high symbolic/historical value and (5) the willingness of its host city to use it for its own marketing.

Building architectural icons is a challenge, for instance architectural originality cannot please everyone, that’s why it’s original. The other significant factor is cost, while there will always be hungry people in the streets, the benefits of an appropriate icon are harder to quantify. How to you precisely measure its impact on tourism or even something as theoretical as increased civic pride?

While Montreal has a lot of worthy geographical and architectural landmarks none of these really qualify as an icon that would be recognized the world’s over. The closest thing that we have is the Olympic Stadium but it fails miserably when it comes to location. Other candidates include the St-Joseph Oratory and the cross on Mont Royal but they don’t have that “visual punch” that would make them instantly recognizable.

In fact, the one building that could have made it is the Biosphere. It is indeed very original, visible from afar, centrally located, closely associated with the St-Laurence River and it was built during an important period in our history. Unfortunately its problem is one of marketing. As my wife aptly commented “there is nothing to do there”. That may not be entirely accurate but its current role as an environment museum simply isn’t cutting it.

[update] Metroblogging Kuala Lumpur argues that residents and non-residents often have a different view of what exactly constitutes an icon.

The STM and Communauto this week announced a new partnership whereby purchasing 12 monthly bus passes, gets you a registration to Communauto for $5 extra instead of the usual $500.

This of course seems like a fantastic idea. But I suspect the devil is in the details.

People I know, who use the service, state that it often requires that you reserve a week in advance to get a car from communauto for the weekend. I’d curious to know from others, if this is in fact your experience. Because if so, dropping the $500 registration fee is going to open the door to many new subscribers.

Communauto’s fleet of cars, would be overextended and they would no doubt have to purchase more cars.

It has been a long long time since I’ve walked along boulevard Saint Laurent. I, like almost everyone else, avoided this street during its war-zone construction days. The work was finally finished in December to a big collective sigh of relief. Since then, I’ve been meaning to go back and check out the improvements but was too busy over the holidays to do so.

I recently had the chance to walk up the street in the early evening hours and was quite pleased with the new wider sidewalks. Despite the upgrade, the street doesn’t seem to have returned to its old bustling self just yet. Traffic was moving but there didn’t seem to be as much volume as in the pre-construction days. Sidewalks were not as people-packed either and there was no line-up outside Schwartz. The smell of roasting chicken wafting out from Coco Rico was delightful and it made me sad to think that this street and the businesses were put through the ringer for so long. It will take a while for people to start making their way back to the Main but hopefully they will.

I arrived back from holiday in France where I stayed with my girlfriend’s parent’s and friends. Still jet lagged and getting a little annoyed at waking up at 3am all the time.

One thing I love to do in France is regale our French friends at our Canadian winters. “Snow up to our eyeballs.. -25c and that’s considered warm!” And other such white lies. I sure as hell ain’t gonna convince them that we make great bread.. or better foie gras or have cheaper wine. So I gotta brag somehow.

We arrived Sunday and while it looked like Montreal, it felt more like Paris. What gives? Well at least there’s still snow on the ground.

That was Sunday. Today? The snow is pretty well gone and the temps are about spot on with Paris. So really, they have the great foie gras, the baguette with a crusty crust AND a light crumb and what do we have ?

Oh well, the good news is if it rains again tomorrow, I’ll be able to train on my bike outside.. Kinda like I did in France.
Ok, ok I’ll stop.

This sight struck me as poignant as I walked along Notre Dame street the other day near Peel. A new set of Prevel Lowney lofts sits patiently in half-construction with a cheerfully lit Christmas tree up top.

Happy New Year to all!

The warm fuzzy feeling that I had on the weekend during the snow storm as it was coming down is now effectively gone. Two days of struggling with Montreal’s public transportation has been enough to wipe out any seasonal cheer that I may have had. It is absolutely ridiculous for the city to encourage people to take public transport in the aftermath of the storm when there are clearly problems meeting the demand. It was freaking cold today as I waited 45 minutes for a bus this morning. I saw more “Désolé Hors Service” buses go by than actual buses for my route. When one did come by, it was too packed to stop. I finally managed to board a bus by going in the back door. I still had to walk a few blocks to work after that and I could hardly feel my feet they were so frozen stiff. Only the heat from the anger inside me kept me going. And things only got worse. Tonight, I waited for the bus to come home and I did not even see a single one pass in the space of 45 minutes. I was so absolutely frigid that I gave in and hailed a taxi. I am so fed up with the bus situation and I know my sentiments are shared by many of the people who were also waiting in the extremely long lines at every bus stop I passed while thawing in the cab. Something is just not right when people have to wait so long.