Let the Games Begin!

With the spectacle of the Winter Games behind us we can look back on some favourite moments (or not), and (or) we can choose to remind ourselves that the rain-soaked games proved to be yet another instance of climate change creeping up on us. We seem to be so incredibly enamoured by the blockbuster events of our times that we lose sight of the fact that there may be more important (albeit mundane or – god forbid – real) things simmering on the backburner of civilisation’s hot-stove.

Where do we begin?

Where else but in our own back yard! For us at Car Free Mile End, and for our friends and neighbours in the Mile End, now is an exciting time, since we are in the midst of the run-up to our next public event – potentially our biggest to date.

On Monday March 22 Le Cagibi (5490, boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal 514 509-1199) will host an evening of “participatory democracy in action” featuring a presentation (by our very own Matt Vick) on the car-free possibilities that exist for the Mile End, followed by a Discussion Forum open to all citizens and stake-holders implicated in the initiative.

Regular readers of this blog will know that we at CFME are motivated in large part to find and provide a framework that will have real, long-term impact on the neighbourhood, one that will help address some of the causes and symptoms of our society’s over-use of the car and fossil fuels in general. Mile End is obviously no car-dependent suburb, and is probably a pretty progressive minded place, from what I have experienced. It has a good vibe to it. But if we are going to keep it safe and clean, why not consider the benefits of Car-Lite arrangements now, when all signs point to the need for change?

We have said many times that CFME is all about getting the conversation going. Creating dialogue, and showing by example are our best tools. The example we seek to implement will hopefully take the form of a street closure (of St. Viateur W.) for one or more days over the course of the summer ahead. Kick-starting the collaborative process needed to achieve this will be one of the objectives of the Café Citoyen.

I like to think of the frame-work for closure as a sort of “festival of active transportation”. This could be limited to a day of events or spread out for a number of days, and would feature the many recreational, practical and utilitarian options there are for getting mobile. It could be a neighbourhood exploration of all the alternatives we can think of: Does any one know how to connect a stationary bike to a generator? Come talk to us! Do you give workshops on how to change a flat or tune up a bike for little to no cost? Who wants to set up a skateboard half-pipe in the street?! How about bean-bag races, or a “mile-end-athon” run around the neighbourhood? Or walking tours? And of course we should think about all those things that make the daily life of the street fun and liveable to begin with: terasses and green spaces, enhanced by music, art and theatre. All in all, what this will include is ultimately up to anyone who cares to help shape the event. And this is one of the many things that will be discussed on the 22^nd.

I hope to see a lot of people there. There seems to be a certain movement afoot, gathering momentum. More and more people are cluing-in to the fact that we don’t have to simply accept what we have taken for “normal” all our lives. We can shape our own living arrangements together.

So on the 22^nd of March, let’s get started!