News
Montreal Gazette - Hip strip starts to suffer; Mont Royal Ave. merchants say they're fighting for their survival
Published: 15 September 2011
Buffeted by recession, rising taxes, climbing rents, proliferating big-box stores with their free parking, and now, they say, increased parking costs, dwindling parking spaces and new traffic-calming measures, shopkeepers say they're fighting for their lives.
Ahmed El-Geneidy, professor of urban planning at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, says the formula for success and longevity is relatively simple. He says "appropriate parking prices" and a unique shopping experience will keep Mont Royal Ave. successful. El-Geneidy says a new parking meter philosophy has been road tested successfully in San Francisco and can easily be transplanted here.