Several blocks of Montreal's downtown core, indicated by grass, will be closed to vehicle traffic between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. (Metropolitan Transport Agency)Montreal commuters who are married to their cars are being asked to leave them at home this week, as the city expands its annual car-free campaign from one day to five.

"In Town Without My Car All Week Long" is the new name for the eighth annual campaign organized by the Metropolitan Transport Agency.

Transit officials hope the expanded campaign will encourage more people to take a cleaner form of transportation to work or school for several days, not just one. Daily workshops, public lectures and street activities will take place all week in and around Sainte-Catherine Street and Complex Desjardins.

Five days of events, one-day ban on cars

The events will peak on Wednesday, when several downtown blocks will be closed to traffic from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The area, slightly smaller than last year's zone, will stretch from McGill College Avenue east to Bleury Street, and from René-Lévesque Boulevard north to de Maisonneuve Boulevard. The heart of the car-free zone, Sainte-Catherine Street, will be turned into a one-kilometre-long urban park with grass on the pavement and picnic tables set up where cars usually sit.

"The concept of driving solo is out of date in all of the large cities of the world. It's time to see life in the city differently," said event spokesperson Emmanuel Bilodeau, who has been biking to work, even in winter, for 20 years.

Events each day are structured around the following topics:

• Monday: Environment
• Tuesday: Public health and sports
• Wednesday: Active and collective transportation
• Thursday: Cycling
• Friday: Alternative vehicles and technological innovations

Other Canadian cities will also close roads to traffic on Wednesday, including Toronto. That city's event has moved this year to the north side of Queen's Park, on the grounds of the Ontario legislature.