Street parking spots can be hard to come by in many Montreal neighborhoods, as most of the city’s distinctive duplex and triplex homes lack garages.
Photographer: Christinne Muschi/BloombergMeet the Montreal Mayor Who Declared War on SUVs
Oversized vehicles are devouring street parking spaces in the Canadian city. So one borough’s mayor is fighting back with bigger fees for hefty trucks and SUVs.
On a brisk spring morning in Montreal, Francois Limoges set off on a walking tour through Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, the borough he leads as mayor. Wearing sneakers and an artfully tied scarf, Limoges, 52, proudly pointed out the area’s new corner stores, stormwater-friendly “green alleys,” and contraflow bike lanes. Then he paused, frowning, to point toward an SUV hugging the curb next to us.
“At 5 p.m., these will be everywhere,” he told me. “There will be nowhere to park.”