Mount Royal is expanding – and losing some parking

Mount Royal Park is going to get bigger, greener and less car-friendly.

Three swaths of land behind the former Royal Victoria Hospital will be absorbed by the park by 2036, the city of Montreal has announced.

Montreal also plans to remove 40 per cent of the 725 parking spots — 290 spaces in all — in the lot adjacent to Smith House in 2024, with the land turned into a green space.

The cornerstone of the park expansion involves 30,000 square metres of land behind the Royal Victoria buildings that will be ceded to the city as part of a partnership with the Quebec government and McGill University.

The university plans to redevelop part of the 17-building Royal Vic complex as a state-of-the-art research, teaching and learning hub dedicated to sustainability and public policy. It could open as soon as 2028, McGill has said.

Read my story here.

Here are some images the city of Montreal provided.

Map shows three zones – a wooded area and two parking lots – behind the former Royal Victoria Hospital that will be absorbed by Mount Royal Park.

Aerial view shows the parking lot at Smith House. About 290 of 725 parking spots are to be eliminated in 2024. The area will be turned into a green space.

The current view of the parking lot at Smith House.

What the city says part of the Smith House parking lot will look like after 290 parking spots are eliminated.

Before and after shots show where the city of Montreal plans to plant 200 trees to honour the countries in Montreal as part of the United Nations COP15 conference on biodiversity in December 2022.