Can a neighbourhood be too cool? The fight over Montreal's Plateau
A little night music is just too much night music for some of the residents of one Montreal neighbourhood ...
Vincent Stephen-Ong (left) with improvisational group Kalmunity Vibe Collective.
Last October, a venue that featured a a band called Kalumnity Vibe Collective was fined more than $1,200 after neighbours complained to police. When the band's saxophone player got home that night he made a youtube video about the experience and launched a social media campaign called "Save The Plateau". The Plateau is the Montreal neighbourhood where the venue is located ... an area jammed with restaurants and bars, and generally lots of action.
The area is in demand and in transition... like so many urban neighbourhoods in Canada. Municipal politicians across the country weigh the concerns of residents with the concerns of businesses trying to keep neighbourhoods thriving with restaurants, cultural events and nightlife, without making it uninhabitable for people who must work in the morning.
- Vincent Stephen-Ong is that saxophone player who was fined and who launched Save The Plateau. He joined us in our Montreal studio.
- Christine Gosselin is a borough councillor for Plateau-Mont-Royal. She was in our Montreal studio as well.
Do you live in the Plateau, or if you were listening and thought -- hey, that sounds like where I live! What do you love, or hate, about living in the heart of the city?
Tweet us @thecurrentcbc with the hashtag #thecurrentmtl to tweet about any of conversations from Montreal. Or e-mail us through our website. Call us toll-free at 1 877 287 7366. And as always if you missed anything on The Current, grab a podcast.
Our Montreal special was produced by The Current's Kristin Nelson and Montreal Network Producer Susan McKenzie.