Final plans released for park, bike path to be built beside Falaise St-jacques
Transport Quebec has released its final plans for a new park and bicycle path beside the Falaise StJacques in the city's west end.
The 2.8-kilometre park will run from Montreal West to the Turcot Interchange.
The “bande verte,” or green strip, will serve as a buffer zone between the bottom edge of the falaise — the cliffs that run just south of St-jacques St. — and a fence that will separate the path from the CN tracks and Highway 20.
It will include a multipurpose path for cyclists and pedestrians, rest areas and a small parking area with recharging spaces for electric cars.
The forested area is a haven for bird-watchers and more than 65 species have been identified in the woods.
Work will start next month and is expected to be finished in the spring of 2022.
The government says 2,800 trees will be planted in the park along with 20,000 shrubs and grasses.
Following hydrological tests, Transport Quebec has determined that the water table is too high to build retention ponds and wetlands in the park.
“At the end, it will be a big urban park,” said Martin Girard, a spokesperson for Transport Quebec.
But some environmentalists are miffed that between 400 and 600 trees will be cut down as part of the redevelopment plan. They're planning a protest behind a bowling alley on St-jacques St. on Sunday afternoon to protest the felling of the trees.
Cutting the trees is necessary because workers need to access the cliff, ensure adequate drainage and protect the stability of the escarpment and the mound of the green strip, Girard said.
About 100 of the trees that will be cut are already dead or are dying, Girard said.
Transport Quebec angered environmental activists in 2015 when it cut down 200 trees in the falaise.
Some supporters of the project are suspicious of Transport Quebec's promises because it has scrapped a popular plan to build a cycling and pedestrian bridge from the new park across Highway 20 and the CN train tracks.
When plans for the redevelopment or the Turcot Interchange were released in 2010, they called for a cycling and pedestrian bridge, dubbed the Dalle Parc, to begin near the southern extreme of Cavendish Blvd. in Notre-damede-grâce, extend over Highway 20 and connect the new bike/walking path to the Lachine Canal.
“They double-crossed the community,” said Peter Mcqueen, the city councillor for Notre-damede-grâce. “They put it in the drawings and suddenly it wasn't there anymore.”
Numerous environmental groups and cycling activists continue to lobby for the Dalle Parc bridge to be built. The project is now in the hands of the city of Montreal, Girard said.