Montreal will be provided with more places to get and get active, according to a press release from the City of Montreal issued today. A wide range of sporting and leisure facilities across the island will be gradually reopened, from accessing Parc Jean-Drapeau by bike or foot to skateparks, tennis courts and more.
Beginning today, May 21, the city has announced that skateparks, petanque areas and outdoor athletic tracks will be open for individual use. Tomorrow, dog parks were once again available for use for pets to runs round, and municipal golf courses in the city will be opening their doors to the public on May 23.
That's not everything that will be available either: Starting May 23, Montrealers will be able to access Île Notre-Dame, Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve and Parc Jean-Drapeau, though citizens should note that the parking lot for Île Notre-Dame will remain closed—that means access will have to be restricted to biking and walking. The release today noted that closures of the parking lots of La Fontaine, Maisonneuve, Jarry and Fréderic-Back parks, in addition to the nature park of Île-de-la-Visitation, are still in effect.
There will also be a gradual reopening of the city's tennis courts. From now until early June, all 19 boroughs of the city will progressively reopen the 102 tennis courts across the island. Precautions will understandably have to be taken: "Only free play singles matches are permitted, and doubles matches are prohibited," the release reads. "Lessons and training sessions are not permitted, and players may only use outdoor courts." Players should also supply their own balls.
This comes right when Montreal's been experienced a lot of warm weather, and that's resulted in people flocking to Montreal parks and green spaces without a whole lot to do. Unfortunately, access to playgrounds and playground facilities will continue to be closed until further notice, so kids will have to be entertained with day trips to some of these locations. Playing fields are also still unavailable for team sports.
While the importance of social distancing, frequent handwashing, and face masks (even if it's not mandatory right now) are all meant to be carried, this means that less Montrealers need to feel cooped up at home when the temperature's never been better.
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