Montreal (Week)Day Trip Parking Advice
July 7, 2018 3:22 PM Subscribe
Driving up to Montreal from Vermont for a weekday meetup with friends who will be staying in le Plateau. What is my best parking strategy?
I'll be arriving mid-morning on a Thursday (the 19th) and leaving early evening on the same day. In between, I want to forget I have a car. They are staying more or less between Parc la Fontaine and Rue Saint Denis.
I know that summer in Montreal means construction, festivals, tourists, and closures. I also know, from previous AskMes, that street parking rules can be dodgy, and signage confusing. I don't really know that neighborhood. Which of these make the most sense?
-Find street parking in the neighborhood that doesn't require feeding a meter.
-Find a lot somewhere near where they are staying or along the orange line.
-Park at Place Des Arts and take the metro to meet up with them.
-Park at the Longueuil metro station and take the yellow line in to the city.
-Other?
Thank you for any advice you can provide.
I'll be arriving mid-morning on a Thursday (the 19th) and leaving early evening on the same day. In between, I want to forget I have a car. They are staying more or less between Parc la Fontaine and Rue Saint Denis.
I know that summer in Montreal means construction, festivals, tourists, and closures. I also know, from previous AskMes, that street parking rules can be dodgy, and signage confusing. I don't really know that neighborhood. Which of these make the most sense?
-Find street parking in the neighborhood that doesn't require feeding a meter.
-Find a lot somewhere near where they are staying or along the orange line.
-Park at Place Des Arts and take the metro to meet up with them.
-Park at the Longueuil metro station and take the yellow line in to the city.
-Other?
Thank you for any advice you can provide.
The very best policy for Montreal parking is: know that you might get a ticket.
The lot that horizons suggests is not that far but is a decent length walk from where you need to be. Or a $3.75 (I think?) metro ride. $10 +$7.50 for the metro for the Day starts to get close to half the price of a parking ticket, so depending on your appetite for risk and the amount of time you want to spend getting to and from your friends, I might be inclined to risk street parking. If the sign says JEUDI on it, don’t park there. But truly, it’s complicated.
posted by andreapandrea at 5:17 PM on July 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
The lot that horizons suggests is not that far but is a decent length walk from where you need to be. Or a $3.75 (I think?) metro ride. $10 +$7.50 for the metro for the Day starts to get close to half the price of a parking ticket, so depending on your appetite for risk and the amount of time you want to spend getting to and from your friends, I might be inclined to risk street parking. If the sign says JEUDI on it, don’t park there. But truly, it’s complicated.
posted by andreapandrea at 5:17 PM on July 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I agree that for an almost full-day of parking, I would go with a per-day parking lot. Paropedia.ca seems great -- you can also see on this site that there are quite a few parking lots near Parc la Fontaine which offer daily rates (for instance, in the south west corner, there is "Terrain 139 Sherbrooke Est" which has 3.50$ per hour / 15 $ max per day).
(((small note that Montrealers say "north" when they mean north west -- twist any map clockwise about 55 degrees for it to point the "Montreal way")))
Place des Arts is difficult to park / drive around right now. The festivals are down there, Ste-Catherine street will be closed to traffic in that area, etc. Probably best to avoid it.
As for street parking, it is a bit difficult if you don't have a neighborhood "license"/badge. Feel free to MailMe if you have a doubt (you can snap a picture of the closest parking signs) and I'll be happy to help :-)
Finally, it's probably not worth going as far as Longueuil. A 10-15ish$ daily parking fee seems quite reasonable -- since you'll be able to set it, forget it, and enjoy the city (on foot/bixi/subway/etc.)
Have fun!
posted by vert canard at 5:35 PM on July 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
(((small note that Montrealers say "north" when they mean north west -- twist any map clockwise about 55 degrees for it to point the "Montreal way")))
Place des Arts is difficult to park / drive around right now. The festivals are down there, Ste-Catherine street will be closed to traffic in that area, etc. Probably best to avoid it.
As for street parking, it is a bit difficult if you don't have a neighborhood "license"/badge. Feel free to MailMe if you have a doubt (you can snap a picture of the closest parking signs) and I'll be happy to help :-)
Finally, it's probably not worth going as far as Longueuil. A 10-15ish$ daily parking fee seems quite reasonable -- since you'll be able to set it, forget it, and enjoy the city (on foot/bixi/subway/etc.)
Have fun!
posted by vert canard at 5:35 PM on July 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I lived in that area of Montreal for the past 7 years (moved in October). It shouldn't be that difficult to find on-street parking where you can leave your car all day. You just have to be very careful about interpreting the street signs. There are a few things to watch out for:
- There is resident and non-resident parking. Resident parking requires a sticker and is off-limits for you. A sign that contains a red box with a number, like the sign on the right in this image, indicates that everything to the right of the arrow is resident parking only. Most blocks will have a bunch of residents-only parking, indicated by these signs at both ends. Don't park between the arrows.
- During the summer there is weekly street cleaning. The sign on the top left denotes street cleaning Monday (Lundi) between 8am and 12 noon. Don't park there. For your purposes, avoid any place that has a sign indicating street cleaning on Jeudi (Thursday).
- Some spots have time restrictions: the sign on the lower left in the image indicates a 120 minute time limit to the left.
You will have to find a spot where none of these apply. It's tricky but doable.
posted by googly at 6:24 PM on July 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
- There is resident and non-resident parking. Resident parking requires a sticker and is off-limits for you. A sign that contains a red box with a number, like the sign on the right in this image, indicates that everything to the right of the arrow is resident parking only. Most blocks will have a bunch of residents-only parking, indicated by these signs at both ends. Don't park between the arrows.
- During the summer there is weekly street cleaning. The sign on the top left denotes street cleaning Monday (Lundi) between 8am and 12 noon. Don't park there. For your purposes, avoid any place that has a sign indicating street cleaning on Jeudi (Thursday).
- Some spots have time restrictions: the sign on the lower left in the image indicates a 120 minute time limit to the left.
You will have to find a spot where none of these apply. It's tricky but doable.
posted by googly at 6:24 PM on July 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
Honestly, for just a day and no overnight, I'd recommend street parking.
Parking in this area is difficult, but not that difficult. Most blocks will have part of their length for non-permit parking, and you can park as long as you like provided it's not the street cleaning day for that side. Googly's description is perfect. The hardest part is figuring which way the arrows point.
Certain times of day are easier than others. Try around nine in the morning. After 4pm and into the evening is the hardest. In the morning, you shouldn't have to walk more than a block or maybe two.
posted by bumpkin at 12:00 PM on July 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Parking in this area is difficult, but not that difficult. Most blocks will have part of their length for non-permit parking, and you can park as long as you like provided it's not the street cleaning day for that side. Googly's description is perfect. The hardest part is figuring which way the arrows point.
Certain times of day are easier than others. Try around nine in the morning. After 4pm and into the evening is the hardest. In the morning, you shouldn't have to walk more than a block or maybe two.
posted by bumpkin at 12:00 PM on July 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by horizons at 4:00 PM on July 7, 2018 [1 favorite]