When the hell is the whole damn island of Montreal caving in - HUH?!? Sheesh...
Yet more striking evidence that populating ("peupler" or "povoando" seems like better words to use here right now, oddly enough...) that area was a very BAD IDEA...
After seeing frightening evidence that the rigorous (and, these days, unpredictable) weather will age the major structures there way faster than any damn engineer can ever imagine; after seeing (and most shamefully failing to predict and prevent) an overpass (from) collapsing under its own weight, killing mere commuters; after noting the intolerable againg and decaying of bridges, other overpasses, aqueducts, subterranean passages (including the famed city beneath the city, at the subway level, in downtown Montreal...) not to mention many old buildings (old factories included) that deface that so-called metropolitan area by their mere state of decomposition...
NOW the mayor of Montreal says that "all preventive measures will be taken to assure that the safety of our citizens is enforced (...) blah-blah-blah" (I paraphrase - of course!)
The most important line of metro - the green one, between key stations Berri and Lionel-Groulx, I do believe - was completely condemned on Friday the 24th of August (which could have easily been a 13th for all the boutiques affected by this...! Since that stretch of the subway line includes the elite stations Peel, McGill and even "la câline de PLACE DES ARTS"!!! Imagine how much these depend on the subway to bring them ALL of their regular customers! And now - NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO COME; the big glitzy THE BAY store was even quarantined...!)
And why all this chaos?
Because a very scary rift, two centimeters wide if I remember correctly, was spotted on a huge cement block that is the very FOUNDATION of the huge structure there (supporting all the stores above it; and roofing the metro below!) - and the location of this was right underneath that The Bay store!
(Okay - that is nothing next to the 1 billion light years wide "hole in the universe" that astronomers have just "discovered" or "stumbled across" - but that is also another completely different story right there too...!!! No one is immediately endangered by this hole either...)
It was heartwarming to hear the mayor of Montreal voice his concern for all in this situation - he mentioned virtually everyone, from those daring commuters who DARE drive their car downtown, contributing to congestion/traffic jams, noise, the annoyance of it all AND pollution of course... to pedestrians, who merely walk on by, from their overpriced condo to the bar at the corner and back... from shopkeepers to other workers in the street block implicated in this potential MASSIVE CAVE-IN (and, if it occurred, what a huge hole it would make right at the center of this supposed "big town" too... Yikes!)
Yes, the mayor mentioned them all - every category of peeps one can think of, on the spot, BUT ONE; THE SUBWAY USER!
Why the omission?
I wonder - is it because public transit system users are like unto "the people beneath the stairs" - or "the subhumans from underground"...?!?
They're half-zombies already - they can be buried and left there, it doesn't matter really... IS THAT THE DEAL HERE?
Metro commuters are a lesser sub-species of commuters... expendable and easy to forget? IS THAT IT, HUH?!?
I kid you not - Montreal's mayor simply snubbed all of his precious metro system's clientele by mentioning by name pedestrians, car drivers, business owners and the like - but not caring enough to say the precise magic words "METRO USERS"...
And that is simply an aberration.
The same day, Quebec City's mayor died very suddenly.
A dynamic lady, full of life and energy, and yet she suddenly felt her heart aching - and one heart attack later, she was gone. She may have been substantially older than Montreal's mayor (she was 70) and also quite moreso controversial than he is; but SHE would have NEVER made such a faux pas!
No no no!
And the mere fact that she died and he lives on proves it to me:
something is amiss here!
ALL the good ones are dying, falling by the wayside - and only the CRAP REMAINS!
IN POWER.
That is very bad news for the rest of us!
But the light at the end of the tunnel is this:
if we're any good too, we're going to croak soon as well.
And then the crap left behind will not matter anymore! ;)
posted by Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ at 11:02 PM
4 Comments:
SOURCE ARTICLE - en français!
Courtesy of Radio-Canada.ca
------------
Centre-ville de Montréal: Le périmètre de sécurité est élargi
2007-08-25 05:22:24
Les autorités parlent d'un risque réel d'effondrement après la découverte de deux fissures sur une dalle de béton située sous le boulevard de Maisonneuve. La ligne verte de métro est fermée jusqu'à nouvel ordre.
La découverte de fissures dans le sous-sol d'un magasin La Baie, au centre-ville de Montréal, a forcé l'évacuation d'au moins quatre édifices et l'établissement d'un important périmètre de sécurité.
C'est un employé de la Ville de Montréal qui a téléphoné à la ligne d'urgence 9-1-1, vendredi vers 13 h 30, pour signaler deux fissures sur une importante dalle de béton dans le sous-sol de La Baie, situé sous le boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest.
Une partie de la dalle de béton du plafond s'était affaissée de 2 cm et l'une des fissures ferait au moins 7 mètres de longueur. Immédiatement au-dessus, à l'extérieur, une fissure est aussi visible dans la chaussée du boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest.
En soirée, les autorités municipales ont élargi le périmètre de sécurité établi plus tôt dans la journée.
Le périmètre est complètement fermé à la circulation, que ce soit pour les piétons, les automobiles ou les commerçants. Il le restera au moins pour la fin de semaine, pour des raisons de sécurité et pour permettre les analyses nécessaires.
Le maire Gérald Tramblay a assuré qu'il n'y avait pas de problème de structure au niveau du métro McGill. Le service sur la ligne verte est cependant interrompu jusqu'à nouvel ordre, entre les stations Lionel-Groulx et Berri-UQAM. Des autobus supplémentaires ont été mis en circulation sur la rue Sainte-Catherine, vers l'est, et le boulevard René-Lévesque, vers l'ouest.
Le maire Tremblay a aussi indiqué que les autorités ne croient pas qu'il y ait d'autres fissures semblables dans le Montréal sous-terrain. Tous les experts et ingénieurs de la Ville, ainsi que les services de police et de lutte contre les incendies, ont été mobilisés pour assurer la sécurité du public, a insisté le maire Tremblay.
...
Hmmm...
Here following is the very odd "subito-presto" translation of the above article done or rather perpetrated by (!) Alta Vista's BABEL FISH...
Downtown area of Montreal: The perimeter of safety is widened 2007-08-25 05:22:24 To print this page The authorities speak about a real risk of collapse after the discovery of two cracks on a concrete flagstone located under the boulevard of Maisonneuve. The green line of subway is closed until new order. The discovery of cracks in the basement of a store the Bay, with the downtown area of Montreal, forced the evacuation of at least four buildings and the establishment of an important perimeter of safety. It is an employee of the Town of Montreal which telephoned with the emergency line 9-1-1, Friday towards 1 p.m. 30, to announce two cracks on an important concrete flagstone in the basement of Bay, located under the boulevard of Western Maisonneuve. A part of the concrete flagstone of the ceiling had subsided of 2 cm and one of the cracks would make at least 7 meters length. Immediately above, outside, a crack is also visible in the roadway of the boulevard of Western Maisonneuve. In evening, the municipal authorities widened the perimeter of safety established earlier in the course of the day. The perimeter is completely closed with circulation, whether it is for the pedestrians, the cars or the tradesmen. It will remain it at least for the weekend, reasons of safety and to allow the analyses necessary. The mayor Gerald Tramblay ensured that there was no problem of structure on the level of the McGill subway. The service on the green line is however stopped until new order, between the stations Lionel-groulx and Berri-UQAM. Additional buses were put in circulation on the street Sainte-Catherine, towards the east, and the Rene-Lévesque boulevard, towards the west. The Tremblay mayor as indicated as the authorities do not believe that there are other similar cracks in underground Montreal. All the experts and engineers of the City, as well as the services of police force and fire control, were mobilized to ensure the safety of the public, insisted the Tremblay mayor.
...!
Montreal streets, subway line reopen after tunnel repairs
2 hours, 24 minutes ago
MONTREAL (CBC) - Montreal's Métro was fully operational again and most downtown streets were reopened in time for Monday morning's rush hour after crews worked non-stop on the weekend to shore up the ceiling of a pedestrian tunnel that was at risk of collapsing.
City officials cordoned off a seven-block perimeter of the downtown core on Friday, closed part of the Métro's Green Line and evacuated buildings while they investigated two cracks running the length of a city block.
Workers then installed about 1,000 metal posts under the concrete slab over the tunnel, which links the McGill station to the Bay department store and malls.
Mayor Gérard Tremblay told a news conference Sunday night that businesses in the zone may now reopen and six train stations along the Green Line were back in operation.
The only stretch of road still closed to vehicles on Monday is de Maisonneuve Boulevard, from Aylmer Street to Union Avenue.
The concrete ceiling had dropped about 21/2 centimetres, but Tremblay said there is no longer any risk of a collapse.
The security perimeter had left dozens of retail businesses closed during the busy back-to-school shopping period.
The fissures were discovered during a summer of heightened anxiety over the province's aging infrastructure.
Inspections and hearings over crumbling roadways have been on the minds of Quebecers and the agendas of politicians.
Last September, an overpass in neighbouring Laval collapsed on a highway, killing five motorists and injuring six others.
With files from the Canadian Press
...
UNBELIEVABLE...!
Unbelievable incompetence, that's what!
They fixed the problem - so to speak (they bought some time, is all...! Some time before "The Big Collapse" - bwah-ha-ha! Uh... joking!) but in the process of fixing that scary dent or crack, they actually punctured some pipes creating a huge GAS LEAK that necessitated to AGAIN shut down circulation downtown for a whole block "right at the center of it all"...!!!
Meanwhile - NOW Mayor G.T. wakes up and demands a through inspection of all the VISIBLY DECAYING INFRASTRUCTURES all over his not-so fair city of Montreal...
Sheesh - it sure wasn't one of his priorities when he campaigned to get elected YEARS AGO - obviously not, if it just occurred to him NOW, after someone else sounded an alarm...
For my part, years ago, I was ALREADY marveling at all the RUST I would see whenever I'd happen to drive by or be driven by the whole network of bridges, overpasses and highway roads... ONE LOOK and you know it is standing there ON BORROWED TIME...
But it never occurred to G.T. - no!
Howcome they elect such doofuses as mayors?
UNBELIEVABLE
And unbelievably ridiculous too!
;)
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