Themes, tags, keywords and great projects

Offer residential areas that are quiet, built on a human scale, safe, attractive, connected to public transit and that allow for pedestrian transit, reducing the role of the automobile. In order to do this, create neighbourhoods around metro stations, commuter train stations, and New Tramway lines by prioritizing the development of vacant or underused land located around these transit stations. The following are some of the qualities to aim for in residential areas:

• a sufficient quantity of green space integrated with building projects, like green laneways landscaped for and by residents;
• new parks and playgrounds, especially in central neighbourhoods where they are sorely lacking;
• residential buildings on a human scale whose height and size respect the architectural character of the neighbourhood, the wishes of the borough, and the expectations of the population;
• commercial areas with a diverse range of services accessible by foot and located close to public transit;
• safe roads where the use of cars is discouraged though traffic calming measures and a reduction of parking spaces available.

Increase the number of municipal inspectors by establishing a minimum number per borough based on housing stock. Grant powers to these inspectors to enforce measures to maintain the soundness and habitability of housing, including ordering necessary maintenance work done within a reasonable delay at the building owner’s expense. Also, create an Action Protocol to counter housing insalubrity, notably in the case of parasitical and other infestations.

Implement Projet Montréal’s program without raising property taxes for Montreal taxpayers. Taxes will simply be adjusted for inflation.

Guarantee stable and renewed financing of our municipal libraries to ensure they can carry out their mandate and adjust to growing need. Bring an end to ongoing negotiations with the provincial government and conclude the systematization of a library network. Specifically:

• Ensure that citizens enjoy the same level of service regardless of where they live in the city. The Conseil d’agglomération must be sensitized to the need for sharing resources between boroughs and associated municipalities;
• Bring libraries closer to the citizenry, especially to children and students. To this end, establish three libraries of median status and locate them strategically in the city with a view to maximum proximity for the greatest number. Outfit them with quality material and increase human resources (language specialists, longer opening hours). These measures would relieve pressure on the Grande bibliothèque;
• Use public libraries as resource centers for welcoming and socially integrating recent immigrants;
• Open the Grande bibliothèque seven days a week.

Issue a real passport to cultural education, healthful leisure and urban mobility by creating the CAMC card: Carte Autobus+Métro+Culture. This card will offer a preferential tariff to Montreal residents for public transit and free access to cultural centers, libraries, museums, sporting venues and green and blue spaces, as well as to the Botanical Gardens, the Planetarium and the Biodome. Offer tourists a version of the CAMC card for 1-, 3- or 7- day access to facilities.

Consolidate the network of cultural venues in our boroughs to ensure accessibility to the greatest number and integrate all neighbourhood facilities into an interconnected grid that favours cultural activity, learning and creativity. To make this possible:

• Encourage the emergence of new places of artistic and cultural diffusion;
• Centralize and make available on a single portal all the information essential to their emergence: regulation, legal information and counseling, available financing (subsidies, prizes and competitions, tax benefits), organizations and resource
  people, a complete list of artistic associations, calendar of events (festivals, etc.);
• Recognize and promote private initiative in this sphere of activity;
• Lend support to borough associations that bring together actors in the field of culture with a view to upholding the interests specific to each area of the city.

Use snow-removal vehicles that are better suited to the increased complexity of our urban spaces. In particular, ensure that vehicles do not damage trees, vegetation, benches and other installations. As well, adopt measures to optimize the use of road salts, which should result in an overall reduction of quantities used.

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.

The sidewalk brigade will keep sidewalks safe, comfortable and clean at all times – in winter and summer alike. It will remain in operation year round, with a consistent focus on the state of the city's sidewalks. In winter, de-icing and snow removal will be the obvious priorities but cleaning operations are also possible. Outside the winter period, the sidewalk brigade will assist borough administrations in maintaining the safety and cleanliness of sidewalks, particularly in areas with a high concentration of pedestrians.

Ensure that the City has enough inspectors to evaluate, on site and in real time, the quality of work carried out or services rendered by private companies. The inspectors shall have permanent positions and shall be persons experienced in public works and municipal services.

Information collected will be centralized in a file for each company, to be known as a performance file. Over time, these files will permit the City to distinguish clearly between responsible companies and those whose work is inadequate.

The City is a public administration that manages $4 billion a year, $5 billion if one includes the Montreal Transit Corporation. The diversity of its responsibilities and the particular conditions under which certain services are delivered often necessitate the involvement of the private sector. To take the most obvious example, the City could not logically purchase an extra 1,000 heavy trucks that would be used only four or five times a year for snow-clearing operations. Moreover, it is perfectly desirable for the public and private sectors to share certain tasks so that their performance may be compared. Emulation and healthy competition between the two help bring about improved practices.

City contracts are currently awarded to the lowest bidder meeting all requirements of a call for tenders. The emphasis is almost exclusively on the price of a bid. The practice encourages companies to cut quality, pay little heed to certain obligations, such as providing adequate security for roadwork operations, or perform their work as quickly as possible. The way in which contracts are awarded at present does not allow the City to impose penalties on certain types of behaviour that can have harmful consequences not only for residents' safety, but also on the lifespan of the public works carried out.

Projet Montréal will reform the way in which contracts are awarded by implementing the following changes:

• The City will define the qualification criteria so as to base them on a company's past performance (see previous commitment) and on its contribution to major societal goals such as environmental performance (e.g., materials used, energy efficiency, less polluting vehicles) and social performance (e.g., gender parity in the company and/or among project participants; presence of cultural minorities within the company and/or among other project participants; social economy);
• Companies participating in a bid will have to submit two envelopes to the City, one containing information on criteria for qualification, the other containing a price.
• The City will initially open only the envelopes containing information about qualification criteria. Those that do not meet certain minimum requirements in this regard will be set aside, as will those with a poor performance file.
• The City will then open the envelopes containing a price from among the remaining companies, that is those whose bids meet the qualification criteria and which have an acceptable performance file.

Set up a permanent joint squad made up of the police and the city auditor general's department so as to detect signs of collusion among companies bidding on calls for tenders issued by the City.

Replace business terminology with names and terms better suited to public administration and public service. Thus, the city's “Department of Human Capital” will be renamed the “Personnel Department.” Likewise, the Montreal Transit Corporation will stop calling those who use its services “customers” and will revert back to the classic term “users.” All documentation of the City of Montreal and its entities will be reviewed and corrected to reflect this approach.

When upgrading or renewing software and in calls for tender, favour the use of free open source software and open standards. Where possible, plan for the progressive replacement of proprietary software with free, open source software by requiring each city department to develop a strategy for its use.

Adapt to seasonal climatic variations, which have become more and more pronounced, instead of setting fixed opening and closing dates in advance for winter and summer sports facilities (such as ice rinks, soccer and baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts), even delegating some maintenance to citizens' groups, as is already the case with snow clearing on rinks.

Ensure that the City of Montreal and the boroughs cooperate with school boards to maximize the potential of public infrastructure and facilities, particularly recreational facilities.

Plan public spaces that meet the needs and expectations of young people by involving them in the planning and construction of rollerblade facilities. Rollerblading allows young people to be involved in a sport, to get along in groups and develop their sense of belonging as well as participate in a form of artistic expression.

Set up a single point of service per residential address that provides quick and easy access to all publicly available information concerning that address, ending the current practice whereby this information is scattered and difficult of access (evaluations, complaints to the 3-1-1 line, applicability of heritage bylaws, renovation permits, garbage and recycling schedules, general borough information including council sessions).

Ensure that detailed information on the City and its administration is available to residents (with source files provided in standard, open-data format) and that city and borough websites respect universal accessibility standards.

Support provision of free wireless Internet coverage in the city's public spaces so as to respond to the needs of tourists, business people and the population at large.

Make the city more people-friendly by installing drinking fountains in heavily frequented public spaces and public toilets with attendants in certain metro stations.