The Montreal Plateau Terrasse Scene Could Explode In 2023 — Here's Why
The city lowered its rates for terrasses for next year as compared to 2019.
Terrasses fill a pedestrianized avenue du Mont-Royal.
After several pandemic summers during which the number of terrasses nearly doubled, the city of Montreal is granting the Plateau lower rates for reserving terrasse space in the hopes that it will help maintain the area's thriving commercial streets.
The rates had already been lowered during 2020 and 2021 as a temporary pandemic relief measure, so the new discount is measured against the 2019 rates. In some cases, it's almost a 50% decrease compared to 2019.
"The positive impact of these new terrasses on the vitality of our commercial streets has prompted us to revise our rates downward to continue to encourage the development of these terrasses, which are greatly appreciated by residents and visitors," said Luc Rabouin, the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor, in a city press release.
"With these simplified rates, which have been reduced by 50%, the borough will leave nearly $500,000 in the pockets of Plateau merchants."
The new system will also be more equitable, the city hopes, than the previous rates, which were based on local property values and parking metres. Now, the rates are determined by the square footage of the terrasse as well as how busy the street it's located on is. In theory, this means terrasses on busier, arterial roads are charged more than those on smaller, quiet streets with less traffic.
Of the 170 businesses with terrasses identified in 2022 — up from 90 in 2019 — 107 will receive a discount of 50% or more due to the new rate calculation system. 28 businesses will benefit from a discount of between 25% and 50%. The rest aren't quite so lucky, but any discount remaining in the "post-pandemic" era is certainly a win for terrassed businesses across the Plateau.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
