Infiltration
THEORY
Ethics
Observations
 
PRACTICE
Abandoned Sites
Boats
Churches
Drains/Catacombs
Hotels/Hospitals
Transit Tunnels
Utility Tunnels
Various
 
RESOURCES
Exploration Timeline
Infilnews
Infilspeak Dictionary
Usufruct Blog
Worldwide Links
Infiltration Forums home | search | login | register

Infiltration Forums > Archived Canada: Quebec > Caleches and bicycles on Mount Royal... (Viewed 628 times)
UrbanLegend 






Send Private Message | Send Email
Caleches and bicycles on Mount Royal...
< on 2/6/2011 3:34 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Anyone know why the horse-drawn caleches were discontinued from their routes between Beaver Lake and the lookout on Mount Royal?

Perhaps the random piles of manure were finally considered too unsanitary--although the police on horseback are still permitted around there.

For those who are unaware, Mount Royal's caleches were very popular with tourists and locals alike for decades until the early 1980s when bicycles were allowed up there for the first time, if I'm not mistaken.

Oddly enough, I can't really remember anyone riding a bicycle up there before the '80s, or anyone even daring to try. In hindsight, this all seems hard to believe, but presumably the penalties for getting caught riding a bicycle were severe, and it's not surprising that a crackdown on cyclists soon took place because of damage to the greenery, although one can still see idiots riding on pedestrian-only marked pathways!

Not sure where the closest caleche stables were located, either. The last one I remember seeing was in Griffintown from which it would obviously be very inconvenient and daunting for horses to come and go on a daily basis.



nel58 


location:
montreal (st-henri) Qc
Gender: Female


yep..something's under..let's check ! (RIP Joséphine ,april 1998-october 2010 )

Send Private Message | Send Email
Re: Caleches and bicycles on Mount Royal...
<Reply # 1 on 2/6/2011 7:53 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
You are probably talking about "trail.bikes" ? Because I've been riding my "regular" bicycle up and down at least since 76 ..from the statue to the lake..and I was not alone !

UrbanLegend 






Send Private Message | Send Email
Re: Caleches and bicycles on Mount Royal...
<Reply # 2 on 2/8/2011 3:24 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Yes, that certainly seems reasonable.

Since we lived relatively nearby, I do remember we kids usually walked or took the 11 bus up to Beaver lake. We never got the urge to use our bikes. Perhaps we were just too lazy to ride up those steep paths.

Then in the 1980s when I did ride up around there, one day some pedestrians warned me about cops handing out tickets to cyclists,
presumably for speeding too close to children or picknickers. Maybe the city was just beginning crack down on violators.

I do recall a CTV report by Herb Luft in the 80s or 90s about trail damage caused by mountain bikers. He even interviewed some fool who said he'd spent $1500 for his bike and therefore ought to be allowed to go wherever he wanted! Oh, really? I still sometimes see these morons crashing down steep pedestrian-only trails or their telltale tire marks.

On the subject of park rules, when the city renovated Ile de la Visitation (at the top of de Lorimier St.), in the 90s, cyclists and pedestrians were allowed equal access to the trails in the beginning, but inevitably there was damage to foliage and probably even near-collisions with pedestrians which resulted in cyclists being restricted to certain wide trails only.

Furthermore, the waterways are a sanctuary for geese, so the less potential stress for them, the better, I suppose.

Having been both a cyclist and a pedestrian in Visitation Park, I have to say that I do prefer walking over cycling there. As for Mount Royal, there have been incidents of cyclists crashing into pedestrians, resulting in severe injuries, so I imagine it is only a matter of time before someone gets killed and bikes will be banned once again.

Maybe then, the caleches will return.

maZe 


location:
Montreal/Moncton/Ottawa
Gender: Female


"All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed" - Sean O'Casey

Send Private Message | Send Email | Yahoo! IM | maZe
Re: Caleches and bicycles on Mount Royal...
<Reply # 3 on 2/8/2011 5:25 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Calèches won't return, at least not under the current municipal administration. It's a known fact that the Tremblay administration is keen on putting an end to calèches. They cracked down on stables, enforcing strict inspections in the hope to close them down, they have drastically reduced the number of caleches permits (by over 60% I've read somewhere) and they are not making it easy for them to be able to work in the city... So this, combined with the traffic work being done on Camillien-Houde will make it impossible for caleches to get up/down the mountain safely. Of course, they are still horses on the mountain as the SPVM stables are up there and they do patrol the Mont-Royal park on horses.

Mechfreak57 in the UER chat : "George W. Bush is not perfect. He fucked up the borders and Irak is a shit storm but he's the best we've got. "
Save the world - adopt an American!
mewthree 


location:
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Gender: Male




Send Private Message | Send Email | Smashing Glass
Re: Caleches and bicycles on Mount Royal...
<Reply # 4 on 2/14/2011 4:58 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
somebody should create a robotic android horse to pull carriages up there...

maZe 


location:
Montreal/Moncton/Ottawa
Gender: Female


"All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed" - Sean O'Casey

Send Private Message | Send Email | Yahoo! IM | maZe
Re: Caleches and bicycles on Mount Royal...
<Reply # 5 on 2/15/2011 11:55 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by mewthree
somebody should create a robotic android horse to pull carriages up there...


I think it's what we call a car...

Mechfreak57 in the UER chat : "George W. Bush is not perfect. He fucked up the borders and Irak is a shit storm but he's the best we've got. "
Save the world - adopt an American!
Infiltration Forums > Archived Canada: Quebec > Caleches and bicycles on Mount Royal... (Viewed 628 times)

Powered by AvBoard AvBoard version 1.5 alpha
Page Generated In: 58 ms