In Montreal, journalist Louis-Philippe Messier is mostly on the run, with his desk in his backpack, looking for fascinating topics and people. In this city chronicle he speaks to everyone and is interested in all areas of life.
Countless cars caked in ice and still unused at the start of the afternoon showed Thursday that many Montrealers, wary of the ice, have decided to put the eternal “stay at home” instruction into action.
In Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Rosemont, the Plateau and the Latin Quarter, where I walked, the streets were so sparsely busy around midday that I would have thought it was a Sunday morning.
It wasn't at all the normal city hustle and bustle of a Thursday. Long live telecommuting!
Many unused vehicles parked showed that many Montrealers preferred to stay at home. Louis Philippe Messier
At the pharmacy near my house, the display of crampons had not been robbed. There is no rush for salts and abrasives at the local hardware store. No broken branches in Lafontaine Park.
“We have been selling a little more de-icing salt than usual since last night, but not that much,” confirms Alain Lafond and shows me the large bags that are standing next to the checkout at RONA in Maisonneuve.
“Around 2 a.m. I heard the machines, they were de-icing the sidewalk near my house on Sainte-Catherine and Pie IX, and this morning I was able to go back to work without any problems,” adds Mr. Lafond.
Partially de-iced and well watered with gravel, the sidewalks in the four counties I visited were passable…except for sections here and there that seemed forgotten.
Here and there in the de-iced areas, small pieces of sidewalk could be seen that had been completely forgotten by the snow… like here in Rosemont at the corner of 7th Avenue and Mont-Royal. Louis Philippe Messier
Nothing was done for the cycle path near my home and surprisingly also for the cycle path in Maisonneuve.
In front of the Bennett bike path, which was completely covered in pristine, smooth ice, I was excited. Finally the ideal conditions to try out the winter Bixi!
A few hits on the handlebars and seat will cause the ice to fall off.
A few hits on this handlebar were enough to free it from the layer of ice. Louis Philippe Messier
The studded tires grip perfectly. When rolling on the artificial ice, a muted crackling sound is created.
“This is my first bike ride on ice, but I trust the spikes on the tires,” Alix Sérandour, a French woman who rode home in a BIXI and picked up her purchases at the Maisonneuve market, told me.
The BIXI's studded tires adhere well to the ice layer. Louis Philippe Messier
Will Montreal still be as relaxed for a second day of ice tomorrow?