Grand Prix plus hockey equals public transit for Montrealers this weekend, city says

The City of Montreal says public transit will be key for anyone hoping to travel to Parc Jean-Drapeau or the downtown core this weekend.

The Canadian Grand Prix will be held Sunday at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, with official events surrounding the race taking place over three days, starting on Friday. The Grand Prix is one of the biggest tourist events in the city; thousands of tourists and locals are expected to flood the downtown streets where off-race activities are being held.

Despite the Habs starting their playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes out of town, there is also a watch party at the Bell Centre’s Espace 1909 Saturday night for their second game in the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals. Add to that a possible Montreal Victoire game at Laval’s Place Bell Saturday, and the roads, buses and métro network are sure to be busy this weekend.

Speaking for the STM on Tuesday, Laurence Houde-Roy said the transit network will be able to handle the capacity.

Roughly 150,000 to 160,000 people will be at Parc Jean-Drapeau on race day, and 97 per cent are expected to arrive by public transit, explained Société du parc Jean-Drapeau (SPJD) director Véronique Doucet.

“We have no problems with that number of people accessing the site,” she said.

Doucet added that construction work on the Concorde Bridge has been completed. But the bridge is only accessible to those with parking passes during the Grand Prix.

Two years ago, then-tourism minister Caroline Proulx criticized the city for poor organization around the Grand Prix, as traffic on the bridge was hampered by a protest that was held there. Furthermore, several restaurants were ordered by the city’s fire department to take down their terrasses on one of the busiest weekends of the year because they didn’t conform to regulations. A review of the fiasco was ordered by then-mayor Valérie Plante.

Christine Black, the city’s point person for sports events, said there is no going back to 2024 and the city has learned its lessons.

“We have done a lot of work in this area and we are in constant communication with the SPJD to ensure the success of this event,” she said.

Houde-Roy said the STM will be adjusting its métro schedule to meet the needs of everyone attending major events this weekend. The Yellow Line, linking Parc Jean-Drapeau to the Longueuil and Berri-UQAM stations, will run trains at their greatest frequency, every four minutes. There will also be more frequency on the Orange Line during the times when hockey fans are expected to flood the Bonaventure and Lucien-L’Allier stations to attend watch parties or take in the game at downtown bars.

The city has also put some road construction projects on pause for the busy period. However, Black could not say which roads will be closed at the times of the events. Detailed information is expected to be posted on the City of Montreal’s website.

Despite officials’ assurances that public transit will be the best modes of transportation for the various events this weekend, there was no obvious answer when a reporter asked what the plan will be if there is a métro breakdown.

“The métro is the only way to get to the island” for most people, Doucet said. “So we will make sure the métro will be working over the weekend.”

Houde-Roy added that there is an option to substitute buses for the métro, but the capacity of the buses would be far less than what the métro can handle.

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Jason Magder

You'll often see Jason Magder donning a hard hat and florescent vest at a local construction site. As The Gazette's transportation reporter for more than a decade, he has seen the new Champlain Bridge built, the old one demolished and followed the ups and downs of the city's transit system. He has been covering news in Montreal for 25 years.

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