Enforcing 5 metre rule in Montreal - no cars parked at corners
According to Québec's Code de la route (Highway safety code) it is illegal to park within 5 metres of an intersection. However, this law is little enforced. This creates great danger for pedestrians (especially those "shorter" than a car, such as a child or a person using a wheelchair) and cyclists, since fast turning is practically the rule.
Verdun borough (formerly an independent city) in southwestern Mtl has taken the easy and inexpensive solution of simply painting the no-go area bright yellow (see photos).
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/le_15_18/2013-2014/chronique.asp?id... This has greatly reduced the number of injured pedestrians and cyclists.
In some places, many sidewalks are widened at intersections as well, meaning cars have to slow down and the length of the crossing for pedestrians is shorter, important especially for the very young, the very old, and others with limited mobility.
Yeah, that was an important move by Verdun IMO, should be done everywhere. And don't get me started on snowbanks near corners...
I love the idea of painting the areas yellow! The Plateau should do that too. My street has the wider sidewalk at one corner and a couple of blocks up the street between a church and a park has been painted green to extend the "park" with a paved area that can be used for games.
If it is the church I think it is, the borough will eventually remove the road surface and replace it with something more permeable, as they have done at Laurier park. Yes, the yellow paint is a good, cheap solution, though I hope they can also increase pedestrian safety via the extended sidewalks. That rule is far more often ignored than respected, though it is also the fault of the police and the authorities for not reminding people of it (they could issue warnings before actually ticketing, as I suspect most people (whether drivers or not) are unaware of the rule.
Of course most drivers also exceed speed limits. There is a 30km zone near my place (because of a school) and I often see drivers who clearly exceed it.
Rosemont - La-Petite-Patrie also passed a resolution about the 5 metres, but I haven't seen any yellow paint or other measures around here. Nor in Villeray, just north of here, except for the "saillies de trottoir" that had already been built on Castelnau.
If this is Parc Lahaie, it has become very beautiful indeed: http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=7297,74553730&_dad=porta...
I was there in October after it re-opened. Not completely finished (replantings, finishing the mechanics of the fontaine) but it resembled a lovely piazza/plaza in southern Europe or in Latin American countries farther south, in front of the baroque church. There were many people sitting there enjoying the last pleasant days until the springtime.
We need more Piazza type places in Toronto. The Yonge Dundas square is always busy