This summer, from June 22nd to October 15th, the block of Roy street in front of the Roulant will be transformed into a pedestrian space. The initiative includes an enticing urban planning project called Les Terrasses Roy. The inauguration of the space will take place tomorrow, Thursday 22 June from 5 – 7 pm. Find out more about this event (in French).
This pedestrianization and urban planning project is an initiative of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, which is responsible for its planning and management. This project is in fact a pilot project, as the borough is adopting an iterative approach, paying close attention the outcomes of this project – both rewarding and challenging. This approach appealed to us because we were concerned on behalf of our neighbours with how quickly the decision to close the street was made.
If you have any questions or comments on the project, you can contact the borough.
Santropol Roulant’s presence on the block no doubt helped stimulate the idea for the borough, and we were consulted about the project initially. We were eager to share our excitement as well as certain preoccupations.
Our excitement stems from the visibility that this project will bring to urban agriculture, and to the idea of democratizing and sharing a public and accessible space. Our preoccupations revolve around not seeing other communities from the area involved in the planning, such as our neighbours and other nearby businesses.
The fact that the borough approached the Roulant to animate activities in the area attests to the capacity of our organization to build vibrant and healthy communities!
All summer long, we will cultivate food and host activities in the space for the community. Access to the space and the harvest of the vegetables and herbs will be completely open the public. On the street, four colourful patios with gardens will each be dedicated to a type of agriculture, from corn, climbing beans, melons, to herbs, strawberries, ground cherries, clover, mesculin, and more! These gardens also provide an opportunity for us to engage our community in dialogue about food security. If you want to learn more about edible gardens, don’t hesitate to email Marie-Anne, our Urban Agriculture Manager at the Roulant.
We will host most of our upcoming community events in this space, including the majority of our agriculture workshops and probably other events. And of course we will be hosting our Farmers’ Markets each Tuesday and Thursday until the end of October, which will be even bigger and more abundant than ever!
A bike repair station (also for wheelchairs!) was just recently installed, for 25/7 access for the community!
These activities and installations will be completely accessible to you, no matter your level of mobility, which makes us very happy.
We look forward to seeing you all there!