On Sunday, June 20, on Hutchison Street, from Prince Arthur to Pine, the residents of Hutchison street will be holding a Festival of Peace and Poetry. The solstice festival will last from one P.M. to seven P.M.

At that time Hutchison street - a residential street-will be very different from its habitual state of a quasi-continuation of the Park Avenue autoroute. Instead of fast-moving cars and trucks on "our" street, there will be people enjoying the street space for other uses.

Residents will be bringing their chairs and tables onto the street. Residents will be eating lunch, reading, playing and listening to music, enjoying card games and getting to know each other better. Less sedentary residents and supporters will be playing volleyball, hackensack, frisbee and other games in the middle of a metamorphosed Hutchison Street.

In addition to celebrating the summer solstice together, the residents and their supporters from other neighbourhoods will reaffirm their simple request for peace and quiet on their street.

On February 15, a local resident made a formal request to the regular Neighbourhood Council of Plateau Montreal requesting that motor vehicles could only proceed northwards from Prince Arthur to Pine. In this way residents, visitors and delivery vehicles would continue to have access to the street while the present dangerous through traffic would cease. The six city councilors of the Council were in agreement with the citizen's request and referred it to the Executif Committee which is still considering it.

Clearly, this is a simple and reasonable request with many nearby precedents where the City government has taken simple measures to eliminate heavy through traffic. Hutchison above Mount Royal, Esplanade and Clark are a few examples.

The Hutchison Street Festival of Peace and Poetry is also part of the global "Reclaim the Steets" actions being held in 44 countries around the world in response to the meeting of the heads of the G8 governments taking place in Cologne, Germany on June 18.

Although a local activity to preserve our peace on Huthison street, the Sunday traffic-calming and Festival is not in isolation. The danger, pollution and noise of cars inflict damage throughout the city and harm particularly children and elderly people.

We appeal to all Montrealers to join us in this urban ecological festival and have a good time at the same time.

By Robert Silverman.

© Robert Silverman 2000