The penultimate weekend of pedestrianization of Sainte-Catherine Street is marked in the Village by a sleepless night, from Saturday to Sunday, in around twenty bars and restaurants. This is an opportunity to promote the festive character of the neighborhood, while impatiently waiting for the borough to protect businesses with a nightlife policy and changes to noise regulations.
A 1990s atmosphere will permeate three of Danny Jobin’s establishments until 6 a.m., namely the District Vidéo Lounge bar, the nude dancers’ club Stock Bar and the Date, specializing in karaoke. The music, decor and disguises will be chosen according to this theme.
Last year, the District Video Lounge was unable to participate in a similar event organized by the Village’s Commercial Development Corporation (SDC), in partnership with the Ville-Marie borough, to celebrate the festive nature of the ‘artery. Mr. Jobin was then faced with a large number of noise-related complaints from a neighbor whom he described as quarrelsome.
“We did the renovations suggested by the City, we changed all the windows, we put in an airlock, so we were given the right to do it this year,” explains Mr. Jobin. In total, the work, legal fees and fines cost him around $200,000, the businessman calculates.
As in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, where the case of the temporary closure of the La Tulipe cabaret causes consternation, the municipal by-law of the Ville-Marie borough stipulates that sound emanating from any indoor place must not be heard outside its walls.
“I have been in the area for 30 years and, before my neighbor arrived, we had no noise complaints. You should not expect a country life on Sainte-Catherine Street,” says Mr. Jobin, who believes that bars and restaurants will be worried until the regulations are officially changed.
Gabrielle Rondy, general director of the SDC du Village, agrees. “We did a karaoke event in the street at 6 p.m. on a Friday evening and we received complaints. We received a complaint about classical cello in the street, laments Mme Rondy. It’s surprising, because it’s not new, it’s a festive street. But we often have issues reported by our members regarding noise with residents. » This portion of Sainte-Catherine Street was the first in Montreal to be pedestrianized during the summer, 18 years ago, she assures.
Great expectations
Furthermore, Mme Rondy believes that nightlife is essential for merchants and more broadly for the neighborhood, a haven for LGBTQ+ communities for many years. This is why his organization participated at the beginning of 2024 in consultations with a view to adopting a nightlife policy, promised since 2017 by Valérie Plante’s party. The SDC recommended in particular that the City designate the Village as a priority as one of the “nocturnal vitality zones”.
She also wants merchants to have greater flexibility regarding their opening hours. When bars and restaurants have the option to stay open until 6 a.m., the crowds are smaller — and less noisy — at 3 a.m.
Promoting night-time traffic is also beneficial for the sector, which is struggling with cohabitation problems, notes M.me Rondy. “When there are people on the street, the perception of security is greater. It provides natural surveillance and we see fewer misdeeds,” she says.
The City of Montreal promises that the nightlife policy will be officially announced by the end of the year. The borough’s noise regulations are also being revised, “so as to be compatible with the principles of the future” policy. Everything will be “followed by an awareness campaign dedicated to the most sensitive issues,” informed Nicky Cayer, public relations officer at the City of Montreal, by email.
The SDC is therefore organizing a pilot project for the fifth time. “Our members are asking us to orchestrate it until the policy is finally tabled. We know that it works and we know what we need to put in place for everything to go well,” says Mme Rondy. The mobile unit of the Psychosocial Research and Intervention Group will be on site to analyze drugs.