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jean-talon

Spring has sprung. Flower and plant stalls have returned to Montreal's public markets, heralding the return of warm weather. They also mark, in the words of the Société des Marchés publics de Montréal, "the conversion of the markets to open-air mode." Gone are the winter barriers at Jean-Talon, Atwater and Maisonneuve Markets. Now, produce vendors are selling their goods just a few steps away from the bowery horticulture displays.

The markets have also announced some of their summer and fall programming, including the arrival of new restaurants and the return of seasonal events.

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"Saint-Denis" isn't actually named after a saint and though "Rosemont" might suggest the existence of a "pink mountain," no such thing exists. These are just a few of the oddities that dot Montreal's cityscape. Street names are an integral part of neighbourhood identities, though their origins often pass unexamined. In the case of Montreal, our street names form a paved tableau honouring the people that literally gave shape to the city, mostly rich egotistical white dudes.

Montreal neatly catalogues its odonymy (street naming history) in a publicly available online resource.

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After over a decade of planning and construction, the Pie-IX bus rapid transit route (BRT, or SRB in French) will finally begin operation on Monday, November 7. The 11-kilometre line crosses the whole width of Montreal Island from east to west, from Mercier–Hochelaga Maisonneuve to Montréal-Nord, and pokes into eastern Laval.

The BRT consists of dedicated centre-running bus lanes and large enclosed bus shelters. It gives Lavallois.es and East-End Montrealers a new way to (hopefully) quickly connect with other transit along an east-west axis without relying on the crowded eastern arm of the orange metro line.

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We were dying to know more about the upcoming Montreal Christmas markets, so we had to ask La Lutinerie what's up. Line Basbous, founder and general director of the non-profit organization behind Montreal's Christmas markets, generously accepted to give MTL Blog an exclusive interview before the official release of info.

According to Basbous, the Grand Marché de Noël de Montréal at the Quartier des Spectacles will open on November 19, the Village de Noël de Montréal at Atwater Market on November 24 and the Marché de Noël at Jean-Talon Market on November 26.

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If you're already over spooky season and can't wait to toss your carved pumpkins in favour of stylish fireplace-hung stockings, we have some good news. Montreal's Christmas markets will be back at three locations across the city this year: the Atwater and Jean-Talon Markets and the Quartier des Spectacles.

Organizer La Lutinerie has confirmed their return but hasn't yet published dates. Online, the organization is currently recruiting vendors and proposing the following as-yet-unfinalized schedules:

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The STM is charging ahead with the extension of the blue line, which will eventually bring the Montreal metro to the east end boroughs of Saint-Léonard and Anjou.

Beginning the week of August 29, the transit company is moving into the next phase of work, turning parts of rue Jean-Talon and boulevard Viau into an eight-metre-deep pit so crews can reroute sewer, water and electrical lines to make way for the eventual construction of a new station.

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Bonnie Wright took to the streets of Montreal this weekend, stopping at the colourful Jean-Talon Market. The actor, most famous for her role as Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter films, posted a series of photos and videos from the public market to her Instagram story, seemingly dazzled by the array of local produce for sale.

"Want it alllll," Wright wrote alongside a video of the veggies at the stand belonging to Ferme Des Quatre-Temps of Hemmingford in Montérégie. Her Instagram story photos also show vendor Moïse et Jacques L'Écuyer and the luminous panels above the market's central hall.

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Montreal's Jean-Talon and Atwater markets are in bloom. Literally. As plant and flower vendors return to their stalls and winter shelters come down, officials have shared a breakdown of all the new features coming to the popular markets in Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie and the Sud-Ouest this summer.

The list includes some new restaurants and counters.

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The city has announced the Montreal streets which will be pedestrianized for the summer of 2022. Since social distancing requirements inspired the city to block off extra space for residents in 2020, the summer pedestrian thoroughfares have become somewhat of a staple.

Terrasses line the sidewalks, shop owners put up stalls on the curb, and Montrealers can enjoy pleasant strolls without the noise, danger, and pollution of vehicular traffic.

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The city has announced the Montreal streets that will be pedestrianized for the summer of 2022. They are:

  • avenue du Mont-Royal from boulevard Saint-Laurent to rue Fullum;
  • rue Wellington from 6e avenue to rue Régina;
  • rue Sainte-Catherine E. from rue Saint-Hubert to avenue Papineau;
  • rue Ontario E. from boulevard Pie-IX to rue Darling;
  • avenue Duluth E. from boulevard Saint-Laurent to rue Saint-Hubert;
  • rue Saint-Denis from rue Sherbrooke to boulevard de Maisonneuve;
  • rue Émery;
  • rue Sainte-Catherine O. from boulevard Saint-Laurent to rue de Bleury;
  • rue Clark from rue de Montigny to the Maison du développement durable (one block);
  • place du Marché-du-Nord from avenue Casgrain to avenue Henri-Julien;
  • avenue Bernard from avenue Wiseman to avenue Bloomfield;
  • and rue de Castelnau E. from rue Saint-Denis to avenue de Gaspé.
In a press release, Projet Montréal, the party of Mayor Valérie Plante, said that the administration has devoted funding to keep subsidizing the summer pedestrian street program for three years. Pedestrianized streets became a citywide phenomenon in the summer of 2020 when social distancing requirements inspired the city to create more space for foot traffic.

"Boroughs, business owners, residents, customers, passers-by and tourists appreciate the quality of life offered by pedestrianization projects," Mayor Plante said in the release.

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It seems like we report on this every year, but once again, there are definitive plans to extend the Montreal Metro Blue line further east. Minister for Transport and Minister Responsible for the Montreal Region Chantal Rouleau announced a revised plan for five additional metro stations on March 18.

"The blue line will go to Anjou," Rouleau said. "The project has been enhanced to open up an entire population who will now have access to a public transit system worthy of the name."

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An external report on the conduct of STM officers during a violent intervention at Jean-Talon metro has concluded that the officers in question were "justified" using force. The incident occurred on April 17, 2021, when two STM officers detained a commuter who allegedly didn't pay a fare.

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