Jessica’s Blog

Only 8 out of 68 metro stations in Montreal and Laval will have elevators by 2010 to make the metro system more accessible to people living with physical disabilities.

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With all the technical difficulties I’ve had with this project (and a big thanks to Nick for helping me!), I’m happy with the end result!  Lisa, you had said that we should use our own equipment (if we had any) as much as possible; therefore, I used my own digital recorder.  After everything was recorded, I realized that the quality was not the best.  For my final project, I will use an Edirol to make it better!

Accessibility In Montreal’s Metro

Script: (RUNS: 1:44 mins.)

Intro: The Société de Transport de Montréal is constructing elevators in five major Montreal Metro stations to facilitate accessibility to people living with physical disabilities.

This may seem like a good idea, but others disapprove.

Dr. Leo Bissonnette, Coordinator at the Access Center for Students with Disabilities at Concordia University, is one of them.

Clip: (Leo Bisonnette)
IN: I would think from the word “go”…
OUT: …which isn’t going to happen.
RUNS: 56 secs.

Voice-Over: In addition, Dr. Bissonnette thinks that there are no solutions to this accessibility problem.

Clip: (Leo Bissonnette)
IN: I hate to say it…
OUT: …far better off with the adapted transport.
RUNS: 12 secs.

Outro: For Concordia University, I’m Jessica Agnew.

I have not been able to find someone in a wheelchair that is willing to take the metro with me yet.  I had asked some students at the Centre for Access to Students With Disabilities at Concordia, but no takers so far.

I think that it would be hard for these students to take the metro with me because at the moment, since it is just Metro stations in Laval that have elevators (and therefore that are accessible), there would be no way of getting out of a Montreal station to go to school.

I will need to find an organization who accompanies people living with disabilities in the transit system (near Laval preferably because of the new elevators) or think of a plan B to substitute this element of my final project.

Also, I am looking into different Canadian cities that have an underground transit system to improve my document-only assignment.  I am still waiting for some officials of certain cities to respond to an e-mail I had sent concerning their respective systems.  Once I have received all the information I need, I will make a post of it.

To start off with, both projects were very different. One was talking about the war and how it is affecting Kabul, Afghanistan, and the other about the ritual and festivities surrounding hounds.

I thought that the “Displaced to Kabul” soundslide had a lot more impact on me (on an emotional level). Having all the pictures in black and white adds a certain effect of poverty, an effect in which we see the sad faces of the people of Kabul more clearly. It seems like the pictures have no colour because the people’s lives have no colour, no hope. Most pictures were well timed with the narration and they displayed what the narrator was explaining to the viewer. The story was short, but effective, and that is a crucial element of a soundslide story. Also, the narrator spoke in a sombre tone, which suited the subject at hand.

As for the “Misty Morning Hounds Opening Meet“, although expressed in a very different tone, still had a good story, nice photos, and effective narration. All of the images in this soundslide corresponded to the narration. Since it is hard to have so many pictures of the same event, because most dogs and horses look the same, the photographer used different angles and shots taken in motion. All the photos were rich in colour, which made the story come to life. The tone of the narrator, light and happy, was perfect for the story presented.

A big difference between the two soundslides is that in the one with the hounds, there were both ambient and natural sounds, which were not present in the Kabul project. I have to admit that because of this, I enjoyed the hounds story better because it felt like I was there. With the Kabul story, maybe natural and ambient sounds would not have been suited for the story, but maybe some music to accompany it would have made the story even more effective.

Therefore, I would like my soundslide project to resemble the hounds soundslide so that my viewers could interact with my story and for it to be more interesting to my target audience.  My project is there to take in points of view and shed light on the accessibility to people living with disabilities in our Montreal Metro system.  I will most probably use a neutral tone, so that my viewers, after having seen my project, can have their own opinions on whether or not the Metro is accessible to everyone.

According to the Statistics Canada 2006 Census, Montreal’s population was a booming 1.6 million people. And, just in Montreal alone, 15.2 per cent of the population is over the age of 65. With the population getting older and older (because of the baby boomer generation), many Montrealers will stop using their cars and use public transit, as a means of transportation. However, many will not be able to take the metro quite yet because of its lack in accessibility, both for the elder and the physically disabled. The history of the metro system in Montreal is an important factor to consider when asking the question, “why is there no accessibility in the metro?”

After having had electric tramways in the streets of Montreal by 1892, at the turn of the 20th century, it was about time that the city started planning for an underground system of transportation like most of the major cities throughout the world. Although many factors prolonged the implementation of what we know as the “metro system,” like incorporating the several-million-dollar project in the city’s budget and the depression of the 1930’s after World War I, Montreal is not, by far, the last city to offer its citizens this type of transportation. The first underground subway system was built in London in 1863, almost a century before Montreal. After this transportation breakthrough in England, it was put into service in Boston (1898), in Paris (1900), in New York (1904) and in Philadelphia (1907).

We can affiliate the birth of Montreal’s metro with mayor Jean Drapeau. During his election campaign, the construction of a metro system was part of his announced plan. After being elected in 1960, it only took a few months to put his plan into effect. Shortly after, the city of Montreal also discovered that it was the chosen city to host the next World Fair, an event that all Quebecers refer to as Expo 67. With this big event hitting up town, the plan for the metro system grew in importance to be able to transport tourists, visitors, and Montrealers to St-Helen’s Island.

According to the proposed plan, there would be two underground lines built: a north-south line (Crémazie to Place-D’Armes), which would run alongside Mont-Royal to give a boost to the business region, and an east-west line, which would facilitate transport on St-Catherine Street (Atwater to Frontenac). However, after construction started on May 23, 1962 and the announcement of Expo 67, extensions of the lines were already thought of: the northern line would extend all the way to Henri-Bourassa; Square-Victoria and Bonaventure stations would be built in the west; and another line would be added between Berri-De-Montigny and Longueuil (to reach St-Helen’s Island).

The proposed budget at the beginning of the construction was of 132 million dollars. But, with the added line for the Expo, the total cost of the project amounted to 213.7 million dollars, which was a huge sum of money back then, but was also seen as a great investment for the city. In all, 105 contracts were revised and signed to make this project possible, including one with the Canadian Vickers for the manufacturing and shipping of metro cars, which cost a total of 45.5 million dollars; it cost a large amount of money because the wheels of the metro cars are made out of rubber and not steel. And, last but not least, to many people’s advantage, 5,000 direct and indirect jobs were created for its construction.

Different architects have designed all the metro stations. The city also decided to call this type of urban, underground transportation the “metro,” and not the subway, because this is what it is called in Paris.

After four years of hard-work, and 51 years of street congestion, urban traffic, and negotiations between many political leaders and financial institutions beforehand, the city of Montreal handed the responsibility of the metro to the Montreal Transportation Commission (now known as the STM: Sociète de Transport de Montréal) and the metro was inaugurated on October 14th, 1966. However, some stations were still under construction, like Frontenac, Beaudry, Victoria and Bonaventure, but these were opened in the months that followed. Finally, the last line, which extended to St-Helen’s Island, was opened to the public on April 1st, 1967, just in time for the Expo. Montreal then became the 8th city in North America and the 26th city in the world to have an underground transportation system.

With all this being said, the anticipated construction of the metro was mostly rushed for the transportation during the Expo. And therefore, there are three possible hypotheses as to why accessibility to the disabled and the elderly was not considered: the city of Montreal did not have the budget for it; the city did not want to waste more time for the construction because of the Expo; or the city did not think that the number of elderly or disabled people would increase at such a drastic pace in the future. But, some solutions have been planned…

Throughout the years, the metro has expanded, has been modernized (e.g. the new metro cars), and has served more than billions of people. It has even reached the north, with Laval’s three newest stations: Cartier, De La Concorde, and Montmorency. All three are equipped with an elevator to facilitate wheelchair access into the metro system. To pursue the project of accessibility to people living with disabilities, the STM’s current project is the construction of elevators in five of Montreal’s major stations: Lionel-Groulx, Berri-UQAM, Henri-Bourassa, Côte-Vertu, and Bonaventure. This project is said to be complete by 2010. With the majority of the population, the baby boomers, getting older, this will certainly be an investment that many will benefit from and be thankful for.

Resources:
The Years Leading Up to the Metro 1910-1966
An underground railway project in 1910!
1912-1913: Seeds of the Metro’s Initial Network
A metro in Montreal at the turn of the century:
 Why the excitement?
The Question of the Metro in the 1920s
The stage is set for a metro in 1930
The metro resurfaces in 1940
The 50s: Still no metro in sight despite the municipalization of public transit and the end of tramways era
October 14, 1966, Montrealers have a metro at last!
Accessibility to the Metro
Montreal Metro (Wikipedia)
Montreal Metro: A sense of pride
Frequently asked questions about Montreal’s metro system
Statistics Canada 2006 Census population results for Montreal

I really enjoyed taking this NewsU course. As a student journalist, especially in a journalism program where we learn about television and radio essentials, sound is crucial to making a story a STRONG one. I thought that there was a great page about the equipment required when recording ambient, natural or interview sound. I had no idea that there were so many different microphones that can be used to get different types of sound. I knew about the microphone angles because of the studio workshops I have done in my advanced radio class, but had no idea of the sounds different microphones could emit.

Also, from past experience, I have learnt that surrounding sounds (like from the lights and refrigerator) could be an issue when recording. I once did an interview in someone’s apartment, and during the recording, the refrigerator had turned on, making a buzzing sound that sounded awful in the final product. From now on, I am definitely taking into consideration these outside noises and making sure all appliances, lights, doors, and windows are turned off/shut before recording.

It was also nice to clearly understand the different between ambient and natural sounds. To be honest, I had no idea that there was a difference until I took the course. Now, with this lesson, I will be able to add into my pieces natural and ambient sounds where they further the story along and where they are able to add colour to my stories.

In addition, I was surprised about the “fair use” rules for music. When I created my Clevr slides, I had added music from Kanye West, completely forgetting that this music was copyrighted (I have since taken the music off the slideshow). But now I know that a 10-12 second clip of a copyrighted song is “fair use” and could take this new knowledge to my advantage in my pieces. I love music and I think that music makes some pieces stronger, therefore I will definitely use this rule in the near future.

And, last but not least, I hate doing voice-overs because I don’t like hearing the sound of my voice. I always feel that I rush the narration or that I don’t take breaths where I’m supposed to. I get very nervous, and this results in low-quality voice-overs. But, in the lesson, some tips (like drinking water and saying it over, and over until it sounds good) were helpful. Practice will definitely help me with voice-overs and I’m willing to give it another try!

This was a very helpful course that I wish I had known about during my first and second years at Concordia. If I am satisfied with my voice-over for my final project, maybe I’ll be able to put a link in the course to great stories with sound so that others can see that anything is possible when it comes to telling stories with sound.

Photography is not a Crime (The Colbert Report)