Bourgeau Park revamp, future of Village community pool yet to be determined
Several of Bourgeau Park’s facilities face uncertainty under redesign plan
The Pioneer bar demolition, if approved, will have a domino effect on the entire Pointe-Claire Village, including nearby Bourgeau Park where numerous recreational facilities face an uncertain future. If the contentious demo and luxury condominium project is approved by the city’s demolition committee at a public meeting on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) at the Holiday Inn and Suites in PointeClaire, a 35-spot parking lot next to the Pioneer will be sold by the city to the developer for $730,000 as part of the condo project. Mayor John Belvedere said the city has plans to eventually build a 200-spot parking lot in Bourgeau Park as part of the city’s master plan for a redesign. But rumours have been swirling that some of the park’s recreational facilities, including the Piscine du Village Pointe-Claire (PVPC), could be sacrificed under a new plan to build a bigger municipal parking lot in the back of the park, next to homes and businesses on Lakeshore Rd. A petition to save the community pool was submitted at last month’s city council meeting, and PVPC president Catherine Millar lent her support to it. “As a community member, Pointe-Claire citizen, and as the current PVPC executive committee president, I signed and support the petition. However, the petition was initiated and submitted to the city by a Pointe-Claire resident and not by the pool,” she said. Although Millar has not been given a guarantee the pool will in fact be included in the city’s future plans for a re-designed park, she is putting faith in Belvedere, a former PVPC president who was elected mayor last November. She said the mayor is a “vocal supporter of our pool and the entire outdoor pool system, I am confident the re-designed park will include a pool. “(But) it is clear that support from the mayor alone will not ensure that the pool stays,” she added. “It is essential that a number of city councillors support the pool as well. This is one reason that I signed the petition.” In the city’s own Strategic Planning Program (SPP) from 2016, it noted that the future redevelopment of Bourgeau Park should be done with access to Lake St. Louis in mind. “Views onto Lake St. Louis will also need to be protected and enhanced, specifically the view corridors from Lakeshore Rd.” One of the SPP’s “proposed initiatives intended to stimulate thinking about how to achieve this objective, include the following: Replace the Alexandre Bourgeau Park pool with aquatic play.” Mayor Belvedere recently told the West Island Gazette a pool would be part of the park’s redesign, but nothing official had been decided yet. “The rumour is we’re going to scrap all those sports facilities. No, we are not. If anything, the least we’re going to do is bring everything up to today’s standards,” Belvedere said. But the mayor added that PointeClaire residents should expect changes to Bourgeau Park, which presently includes a softball diamond, soccer field, tennis courts, pétanque courts, children’s playground and a park chalet. There is also a boat ramp to the lake, parking, picnic tables and green space near the shoreline. The park is bordered to the east by Cartier Ave. and Pointe-Claire Yacht Club. The west side is bordered by École primaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys. Millar said the PVPC serves an important public service in providing recreational swimming for the surrounding community. “We have over 300 members and are one of the only outdoor pools that is open to the (general) public. In addition, we provide daily swimming lessons to PointeClaire city day camps as well as a number of private daycares and day camps.” With this summer’s extreme heat, the pool has been more popular than ever, Millar noted. “During this summer’s extremely hot weather, a large number of residents, from newborns to seniors, have been coming to PVPC to stay cool. This year we began collecting data on the number of residents that use the facility. Our pool has long served the broader Pointe-Claire community and we will be able to demonstrate this to the city if necessary. While many members use the Lakeshore Rd. parking lot when ferrying their families to the pool, she said others find alternative means of getting there. “While a parking lot near the pool is essential, many people in the community walk or ride their bikes to the pool. Other nearby parking lots are also used. “Once the re-designed park plans are made available for public consultation, I will absolutely advocate for parking near the pool.”