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Implement reintegration measures aimed at the homeless:

• through increased funding to organizations providing support for the homeless;
• by establishing a mechanism allowing for cooperation between the police and these organizations;
• by ensuring stable funding for these organizations;
• by creating a program to form a reintegration task force;
• by protecting and renovating boarding houses accessible to the homeless population.

To increase the number of trips made on foot or bicycle from 350 million to 1 billion each year, dense and multi-functional residential neighbourhoods must be built. The Belgian “Code de la rue”, which gives priority to pedestrians and cyclists, is one tool which can encourage such development.

Housing and urban design policies must allow walking and cycling to once again occupy a central place in city life. In the downtown area, on commercial streets, in residential areas, along metro, train and the future tramway lines, the public space of roads, sidewalks and alleys should be developed with the following objectives:

• Reduce the area accessible by automobile and increase the area exclusively reserved for pedestrians and cyclists;
• Assure the comfort and safety of pedestrians and cyclists, especially children;
• Develop convenient, attractive and safe walking routes leading to metro stations, primary and secondary schools, parks and other places where there are large concentrations of pedestrians, especially children;
• Increase the visibility and legibility of public transit signs in the urban environment;
• Decrease noise pollution;
• Ensure that all sidewalks be accessible at all intersections to people with reduced mobility;
• Give priority to the safety of pedestrians of all ages, including people with reduced mobility. This requires changing the culture that gives automobiles priority and allows pedestrian crossings to be brazenly and routinely ignored by making such crossings more visible and ensuring they be respected by, if necessary, increasing fines;
• Include in all tenders for contract on infrastructure and roadwork the requirement that contractors maintain sidewalks and bike paths affected by their work.

Beyond actively contributing to realizing these goals, the City of Montreal and its boroughs would also support and collaborate with organizations which encourage active transit in the city.

Take every available and appropriate measure to ensure that the Highway Code is respected to the letter in Montreal: stop signs, speed limits, pedestrian crossings, priority for pedestrians at intersections and on sidewalks (e.g. parking lot entrances), car idling, etc.

Reduce the off-highway speed limit to 40 km/h on all streets in Montreal and further reduce it to 30km/h on residential streets, near metro stations, schools, parks and other places frequented by children.

Numerous studies from around the world demonstrate that changing the posted limit has virtually no effect on the speed of vehicles. It is also impossible, of course, to assign a police officer to every street corner. The most effective and sustainable means of slowing vehicle traffic is to physically redevelop streets and intersections.

Clearly it will be impossible to redo all streets and intersections immediately; but traffic calming work can be scheduled to coincide with other basic maintenance, such as resurfacing. Residents and merchants would be consulted during the planning stage to choose the specific measures best suited to their particular streets. Furthermore, at the request of a majority of citizens in residential neighbourhoods, calming measures could go as far as restricting passage of motorized vehicles to residents and their visitors.

Follow the example of many Nordic cities by installing snow-melting technologies so as to eliminate the necessity of snow removal in certain key locations. Priority locations are metro stations and other areas with high concentrations of pedestrians, heavily used outdoor staircases, access ramps for people of reduced mobility and steep streets. So as to minimize costs, coordinate installations with scheduled road and sidewalk repairs. Snow-melting methods usually rely on heating wires; the city of Stockholm, however, is evaluating the possibility of using excess heat presently released into the atmosphere by major facilities such as metro lines.

During snow storms and the days following, make it a priority to remove snow and ice from sidewalks. Create a sidewalk brigade responsible for winter maintenance and follow-up between major operations.

Owing to our harsh climate, Montreal has developed considerable expertise in snow removal; foreign visitors who witness these operations are always impressed by them. However, these operations do not lend themselves to scheduling, tied as they are to snow storms. Many days or even weeks can elapse between major storms but light snowfall or periods of freezing and thawing are common occurrences. The roadway quickly dries off in these conditions but it is another story for sidewalks, which often become challenging or unusable altogether. The main role of the sidewalk brigade will be to ensure maintenance during these intervals between major storms.

The sidewalk brigade will be made up of several teams of blue-collar workers, each provided with the necessary equipment (including sidewalk snow removers, de-icing vehicles and street sweepers), all of it identified in a distinctive colour. So as to ensure maximum efficiency, the brigade will be the responsibility of the central city administration, though the boroughs will continue to ensure regular sidewalk snow removal.

The cost of the equipment and operation of the sidewalk brigade (annually, and taking into account the following commitment on cleanliness) is estimated at $10 million a year.

Request that boroughs identify and provide locations for people who wish to engage in this art form (as has been done in Quebec City with the pillars of a major bridge). Graffiti found outside these zones will be considered vandalism and offenders treated accordingly by authorities. Graffiti will be removed and Projet Montréal commits to supporting existing programs to this effect.

Develop a prevention-based approach so as to maximize the efficiency of a repressive approach, used as a last alternative. The best way of fighting against the expansion of street gangs is to prevent young people from joining them in the first place. All actors involved, including the Montreal Police Department, the City, the boroughs, community groups and school boards must act together to ensure that after school, young people have access to a variety of sporting, cultural and other activities that keep them away from street gangs.

Ensure that the Montreal Police Department, mainly through its neighbourhood stations, strengthens its ties with the community and engages in permanent dialogue with civil society. It seems clear that, in many neighbourhoods, the police department needs to build or re-establish a relationship of confidence with citizens. With deeper roots in, and a deeper understanding of the community, the police department will be better able to anticipate problems and carry out mediation before they arise. This community-based approach fosters a humane and respectful interaction.

So as to improve the current situation, but also in order to prepare for the future and set an example province-wide, the Montreal Police Department must exercise leadership by promoting this community-based approach, not only to the various government departments but also to young people seeking a career in policing.

Request that the Government of Quebec establish an investigative unit (like Ontario's Special Investigations Unit) that is not part of any police force and which will automatically investigate whenever a civilian is killed in a police operation.

Impose a moratorium on new pawn shops within the territory of the City of Montreal and put more rigorous controls in place for those already in operation within the first year of a Projet Montréal administration. There is an established link between the presence of stores of this type and criminal activity (armed robbery, home invasions, etc.). They are incompatible with neighbourhood tranquility.

The Montreal Police Department is an essential public service which must remain public. In recent years, a trend toward commercialization of this service has taken root: the police department offers an ever wider array of services to companies and individuals in exchange for remuneration. Projet Montréal believes the mission of the Montreal Police Department is not to commercialize its services but rather to put all of its personnel at all times at the service of the public. A Projet Montréal administration will not request that the police find sources of additional revenues either via the commercialization of its services or by any other means tending away from its core mission.