To MONTREAL RESIDENTS <span title="only!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!">only!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...</span>

Question

In your own personal opinion, has Montreal changed tremendously in the last 15-20 years (since the early 90's) or would you say that the city has remained pretty much the same since then, besides maybe a few new commercial buildings/stores sprouting here and there - especially in the downtown area?

As far as you're concerned, is Montreal BETTER or WORSE now?

Any personal and/or unbiased thoughts on residential areas too - why not?

Thank you so much for your time!

Answer 1

I think that depends on where you live in Montreal. In most cases, I&#039;d say Montreal is a little worse than it was 20 years ago.

I have not seen a significant improvement in the buildings, although some areas in Lasalle, Verdun, and St. Henri have improved. They don&#039;t seem as run-down as they were in the past, or have new shopping areas and condos that make them look cleaner and more modernized.

On the other hand, the areas around Lachine have taken a dramatic downturn, with more vandalism, grafitti, and the buildings looking generally old and worn out. The stores and buildings along St. Catherine between Atwater and St. Marc are closing or have been closed for a number of years now, making this area look tired and dirty.

Also there seems to be more homeless asking for money downtown, and squeegee guys are out and about in traffic again asking for spare change.

And we hear more and more about leaky water mains, cracks in the concrete, and lord knows you do not want to drive down Victoria Avenue without a 4X4 or you will lose a tire if not the whole car in the potholes!

On a good note, the public transit system seems as good or better than it has ever been, and the extension to the Metro may help with the traffic situation on the bridges.

Let&#039;s hope that we can see more investment in the city by the municipal, provincial, and federal governments to improve infrastructure and correct the fundamentals, or we could end up with problems with drinking water, sewage, and crumbling bridges.

We are missing a subway system for Dorval/Pointe Claire/Kirkland area (I don&#039;t live there by the way, just see all the traffic on the A20 and A40), and the city should do something to force landlords to improve empty lots or abandoned buildings. Other than that, I think we are a pretty good place to live.