Talk: The origins of public transit in Mile End

Talk by Justin Bur

If you find it’s frustratingly difficult to get new public transit lines built in Montreal, take heart: 150 years ago, it was just as difficult, maybe worse. Even along Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Mile End’s main street, transit was a complex problem. Over the years, omnibus, horse-drawn streetcar, and electric streetcar services were fought over, built and torn up again. Should transit serve already built-up areas, or rather come first to attract people to new development? Who should pay, and how much? And what about the railway? Despite the confusion, the network that resulted ended up serving Mile End well and directing the urban form of the city for many decades.