Park Avenue, Montreal

Park Avenue (officially avenue du Parc) is one of central Montreal's major north-south streets. It derives its name from Mount Royal park, through which it runs. Between Mount Royal Avenue and Avenue des Pins, the street serves as the boundary between the mountain, to the west, and the smaller Jeanne Mance Park to the east. The portion of the street south of Sherbrooke Street is known as Bleury Street, and south of Saint Antoine Street the name changes again to rue Saint-Pierre. The northern end of Park Avenue is Jean-Talon Street and the Park Extension CP Passenger Rail Station, now serving, in part, as the Parc metro station and commuter train station.

Once one of Montreal's most elegant residential avenues, Park Avenue is now a busy commercial street, home to the Greek community since the 1940s.

Park also lends its name to the residential neighbourhood Park Extension, at its northern end.

Parc Avenue name change controversy

On November 28, 2006 Montreal city council voted in favour (40-22) of renaming Park Avenue after former Quebec premier Robert Bourassa, as announced on October 18 by Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2006/11/29/qc-parcavedecision.html#skip300x250] ] If Quebec's Toponymy Commission approved the change, all of Parc Avenue and its continuation would have been renamed Avenue Robert-Bourassa.The proposal was controversial, especially in light of the historical nature of the name. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2006/10/19/parcave-renamedafterbourassa.html] ] (The STM's Parc metro station (and AMT commuter rail station) were to remain "Parc" due to a moratorium on renaming metro stations. [Fr icon cite web | title=Holà aux changements de nom des stations de métro | url=http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20061026/CPACTUALITES/610260776/5155/CPACTUALITES | accessdate=2006-11-28] )

After Bourassa's family publicly expressed reservations about the controversy, Tremblay announced on February 6, 2007 that he would not pursue the issue further and that the council would be presented with a motion to withdraw the resolution of November 28.

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