Freedom Fighters on Foot:
the Montreal Pedestrian

by Joanne Carnegie

Crossing the street in Montreal is a extreme sport. There are only two rules.

Rule #1: Streets may be crossed anywhere that strikes your fancy. Corners and traffic lights are for babies.

Rule #2: Always show you mean business. Once embarked on a journey across the macadam, never waver. It's your duty to be as crazy as the drivers!

There's a phalanx of cars bearing down upon you from the left? Fix the lead car with a contemptuous sneer and press on. If it brushes your backside, thump on it with a well-placed fist. Cop car parked across the street? No problem--they're after bigger game. If it was the week for ticketing pedestrians, you'd have heard on the radio.

Remember: you, a Montrealer à pied, have a noble mission. You're an angel of anarchy, a foot soldier in the war against the machine.

Unless it's your machine, of course.
Hey! Get outta my way!