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Credit belongs to ex-Mayor Valérie Plante, whose two terms from 2017 to 2025 made the city a leader in public space reclaimation, with pedestrian streets the most visible expression of this legacy. What might elsewhere have remained a temporary measure became a permanent fixture of Montréal summers.

Plante’s political insight was to frame pedestrianisation not as a sacrifice, but as economic development policy. Her argument was clear: a shopping street can either attract cars or people. It can't effectively do both. When shops can no longer compete on convenience, they must do it on experience.

The backlash was predictable. Business owners feared removing cars would remove customers. But, as Plante told us in an interview, “the converse was the case.” These streets filled with terraces, pedestrians, children, cyclists, events and shoppers. Transportation corridors turned into destinations.

It is a bit reductive to give credit to only one person for this change. The boroughs and street business groups also played a big part. That said, I live near avenue Mont Royal and I love that it is closed to cars all summer. It is full of people walking, biking, skateboarding, hanging out.