Montrealers aren’t hanging out downtown as much as they used to: SOM-La Presse survey [Video]

A new study suggests Montrealers are going downtown less often. In Notre-Dame-de-Grâce’s Girouard Park, people CTV News spoke to say they either go downtown regularly or not at all.

“It’s getting a bit better, but it’s not what it used to be,” said resident Philip Grauer.

Jennifer Gann said she makes the trip “very rarely.”

“I’m retired and this is my neighbourhood. Everything I need is here,” she said.

Herman Gill says he goes downtown a few times every month. “Sometimes with my friends to go in some malls, and to, you know, to have some fun with friends, that’s all,” he said.

According to a SOM-La Presse survey, four out of 10 Montrealers are going downtown less often than they were before the pandemic. SOM Vice-President Vincent Bouchard says this is a huge number.

“The decrease in the trend is the combination of working from home and the fact that even if you’re in Montreal, getting downtown is …