Things Fall Apart

Huge infrastructure investments were made in Montreal in the 1960’s, including the métro and much of the highway network, but as it was all built around the same time it’s all reaching the end of its expected lifespan now and massive amounts of money are required to replace or repair it. For some reason this wasn’t foreseen and dealt with pre-emptively, and so the crumbling infrastructure of Montreal continues to make the news; today The Bay announced they’re seeking compensation from the city for shutting down several blocks of the downtown core last weekend while inspecting cracks in a tunnel between the store and the métro system, directly underneath boulevard de Maisonneuve. Meanwhile, the city says that as the tunnel is private property they believe The Bay is responsible for maintaining it, although they’re still doing studies to determine who was at fault. What gets me, though, is that the city has also announced they’ll start checking whether private tunnels like this are being regularly inspected and maintained by their owners, and keeping records. No-one thought of doing this before? No wonder this city’s falling apart!

Speaking of things that fall apart, any bets on whether civil war will break out in Turkey after today’s election? I hope the power struggle will be peaceful…