Underground City, Montreal

Coordinates: 45°30′11″N 73°34′19″W / 45.503°N 73.572°W / 45.503; -73.572
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
RÉSO
Westmount
Opening date1962
No. of stores and services+1600
No. of floorsUsually 3 or 4, sometimes 2

RÉSO, commonly referred to as the Underground City (

Central Station
stand today.

Peel
Metro stations

Though most of the connecting tunnels pass underground, many of the key passageways and principal access points are located at ground level, and there is also one skybridge (between

Gare Lucien L'Allier
). In this regard, the Underground City is more of an indoor city (ville intérieure) than a truly subterranean city, although there are vast commercial sectors located entirely underground.

The network is particularly useful during Montreal's long winters, during which time well over half a million people are estimated to use it every day. The network is largely climate controlled and well-lit, and is arranged in a U-shape with two principal north–south axes connected by an east–west axis. Combined, there are 32 kilometres (20 mi) of tunnels over 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) of the most densely populated part of Montreal. In total, there are more than 120 exterior access points to the network, not including the sixty or so Metro station entrances located outside the official limits of the RÉSO, some of which have their own smaller tunnel networks. Some of the city's larger institutions, namely McGill University, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Concordia University, Université de Montréal and the Université du Québec à Montréal also have campus tunnel networks separate from the underground city.

Overview

In 2004, the downtown network of the underground city was re-branded and given the name RÉSO, which is a

Orange Line
.

The underground city is promoted as an important tourist attraction by most Montreal travel guidebooks, and as an urban planning achievement it is impressive.[citation needed] For most Montrealers, however, it tends to be considered more as a large mall complex[citation needed] linking Metro stations—they may not even know they are in it. Many Canadian cities have some kind of tunnel or skywalk system downtown to help people avoid the weather. Most parts of the Montreal underground city are open while the Metro is in operation (5:30 AM to 1:00 AM), though some are closed outside of business hours. Maps of the underground city and the Metro can be obtained free of charge from all Metro stations, and the network of buildings is indicated on most maps of the downtown core.

Nearly 500,000 people use it per day.[citation needed] It is also the largest underground complex in the world.[citation needed] It stretches for 32 kilometers (20 miles) and covers 4 million square meters (one and a half square miles). According to official statistics, its corridors link up with 10 metro stations, 2 bus terminals, 1,200 offices, about 2,000 stores including 2 major department stores, approximately 1,600 housing units, 200 restaurants, 40 banks, movie theatres providing 40 screens and other entertainment venues, 7 major hotels, 4 universities, Place des Arts, a cathedral, the Bell Centre (home of the Montreal Canadiens), and 3 exhibition halls: the Place Bonaventure, the Convention Centre (Palais des Congrès de Montréal) and the Olympic Centre.

History of the central segment

The vision for the underground city was originally that of

Central Station. Two tunnels linked it to Central Station and the Queen Elizabeth Hotel
.

The advent of the

Square-Victoria-OACI station connected to the Tour de la Bourse, Montreal's stock exchange
building.

Adding to the development of the underground city was the Montreal Urban Community Transit Commission's policy of offering the aerial rights above Metro station entrances for construction through

Place-des-Arts
) remained in the central segment.

In 1974, the

Place-d'Armes station, via Place des Arts, Complexe Desjardins, the Complexe Guy Favreau federal government building, and the Palais des Congrès
(convention centre).

Between 1984 and 1992, the underground city expanded, with the construction of three major linked shopping centres in the Peel and McGill Metro station areas: Cours Mont-Royal, Place Montréal-Trust, and the

Centre Eaton
, and two other office/mall complexes. Between 1984 and 1989, the underground city grew from 12 km (7 mi) of passages to almost 22 km (14 mi).

Mega-projects added to the size of the network throughout the 1990s, including Le

Gare Lucien-L'Allier
commuter train station.

The tunnel between the Centre CDP Capital and the Palais des Congrès. A display case sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Architecture holds a video artwork about the underground city.

Most recently, in 2003, the complete redevelopment of the

Lucien-L'Allier Metro station just south-west of the Bell Centre
, without going outside—a span of 1.7 km (1.1 mi) as the crow flies, or approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) walking distance.

Structural concerns, 2007 closure

On Friday, August 24, 2007, construction crews discovered a seven-meter (23 foot) long fissure in the ceiling of an underground corridor linking the

Lionel-Groulx stations until Sunday evening. According to a spokesperson for the Hudson's Bay Company, city workers may have caused the damage by hitting a nearby pillar.[3]

During the weekend, city workcrews worked non-stop to shore up the sagging slab of concrete, installing more than 1,000 temporary metal supports.

On Monday, August 27, 2007, service was restored to the Green Line, and all streets but the block of de Maisonneuve boulevard between Union and Aylmer were reopened to traffic. The one block that was not open to traffic was open to pedestrians. All buildings reopened, including The Bay. Officials said that it would take months to fix the problem.[4][5][6] While inspecting the site, it was discovered that 2021 Union, the Parkade Montreal building, was in danger of having concrete side panels fall off.[citation needed] City engineers performed emergency repairs. A report later blamed the construction of a bike path for the damage.[7] Street traffic on De Maisonneuve resumed in March 2008.

Central segment

The central segment interconnects the following seven Metro stations via indoor walkway. As the

Yellow
lines, is two Metro stops from the closest station in this segment, in many cases it is quicker to walk than to take the Metro. The lists of connected facilities which follow are grouped by segment and nearest Metro station.

Bonaventure

Halles de la gare, going from Central Station to Place Ville-Marie

Square-Victoria-OACI

Paris Metro
style entrance which was restored in 2003

Place-d'Armes

Place-des-Arts

Metro station

Peel

McGill

McGill Metro before renovations
  • Complexe Les Ailes
    )
    • (access to Bonaventure Metro station via Place Ville-Marie/Gare Centrale)
  • Place Montreal Trust
    • (access to Peel Metro station via Carrefour Industrielle-Alliance)
  • Tour Industrielle-Vie
  • 1801 McGill College Avenue building
  • 2020 Robert-Bourassa
  • Place London Life/Les Galeries 2001 University
  • McGill University – 688 Sherbrooke building
  • The Bay
  • Le Parkade (2021 Union)
  • Promenades Cathédrale/KPMG Tower

Lucien-L'Allier

Other downtown segments

Berri-UQAM

The hub of the Metro network located two Metro stations east of

Yellow
lines.

  • UQAM
    (Université du Québec à Montréal)
    buildings
    • Judith-Jasmin
    • Athanase-David
    • Design
    • Hubert-Aquin
    • Sciences de la gestion
    • J.-A. de Sèves
    • Centre Pierre-Péladeau
    • Thérèse-Casgrain
    • Paul-Gérin-Lajoie
  • Grande Bibliothèque du Québec
  • Gare d'autocars de Montréal
  • Place Dupuis (shopping and office complex)
    • Hôtel des Gouverneurs


Guy-Concordia segment

Guy-Concordia

Located one Metro station west of

Concordia University
.


Atwater

One Metro station west of

Westmount
.

Champ-de-Mars

One metro station away from Place D’Armes, Champ-de-Mars is located right next to the new Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM). It is located near Montreal’s historic buildings and streets in Old Montreal as well as the Old Port.

Other segments

Pie-IX

  • Olympic Stadium
  • RIO (Régie des installations olympiques)
  • Regroupement Loisirs Québec

Jean-Talon

This station is the eastern transfer point between the

Blue
lines.

  • Tour Jean-Talon

Université-de-Montréal

Situated on the Blue line in between

Mount-Royal
.

  • Pavillon Roger Gaudry
  • Pavillon Claire-McNicoll
  • Pavillon René-J.-A.-Levesque
  • Pavillon André-Aisenstadt
  • Pavillion Jean-Coutu
  • Pavillion Marcelle-Coutu
  • Garage Louis-Colin
  • Pavillon Samuel-Bronfman
  • Pavillon Maximilien-Caron
  • Pavillon Lionel-Groulx
  • Pavillon 3200, rue Jean-Brillant
  • HEC Montréal – 5255, Avenue Decelles

Édouard-Montpetit

Situated on the blue line between Université-de-Montréal and Outremont stations, this station serves many Université de Montréal buildings and will be connected to the future Réseau express métropolitain.

  • CEPSUM (Centre d'éducation physique et des sports de
    l'Université de Montréal
    )

Vendôme

Montmorency
(off-island)

As the terminus of the Orange Line , this station is a major hub for bus transportation in Laval and the north shore.

  • University of Montreal
    – Laval campus

Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke
(off island)

As the terminus of the Yellow Line , this station is a major hub for bus transportation on the south shore.

Hotels

Special events

Every February, Art Souterrain presents a journey through the central segment of the Underground City during the Montreal Highlights Festival, showing contemporary artistic projects.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Un hommage à l'initiateur du Montréal souterrain". Médias Transcontinental S.E.N.C. 2006-11-19. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  2. ^ "City core in chaos". Archived from the original on 2007-08-27. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  3. ^ Sara Champagne, Bruno Bisson et Martin Croteau : Le centre-ville paralysé | Actualités | Cyberpresse
  4. ^ "Montreal streets, subway line reopen after tunnel repairs". CBC News. 2007-08-27.
  5. ^ CTV.ca | Subway, stores reopen in Mtl. after tunnel scare Archived 2007-08-30 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "De Maisonneuve fix to take months". Archived from the original on 2007-12-05. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  7. ^ Magder, Jason (2008-02-27). "Bay study blames de Maisonneuve bike path for crack in underground". Montreal Gazette. Canwest. Archived from the original on 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  8. ^ "Montreal Downtown & Underground event, Montreal Highlights Festival". Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2008-09-08.

External links

45°30′11″N 73°34′19″W / 45.503°N 73.572°W / 45.503; -73.572