PIERREFONDS-ROXBORO
Borough offers residents new flood guide
Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis says the borough is committed to reaching the goals laid out in its local Sustainable Development Plan (SDP) for 2018. Beis said the second edition of the local SDP is meant to dovetail with the first edition, launched in 2012. Environmental concerns are part of the plan, which calls for a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Agglomeration Council of Montreal adopted the Sustainable Montreal Plan in 2016 which called for three challenges or target to be met. It included reducing GHGs by 80 per cent by 2050. It also called upon the city and its boroughs to make Montreal more equitable in terms of improving access to services and facilities, and to “fight inequalities and promote inclusiveness.” Beis said the first local plan led to the “implementation of mechanisms for administration and decision-making that have guided us ever since in our everyday practices, operations planning and development of new projects.” The mayor said the borough has taken hundreds of actions to fulfil the plan’s broad challenges. “We looked at our last sustainable plan and we looked at over 250 actions we did on the territory, and we looked at the percentage of what were able to achieve the last three years, and then asked, ‘How do we move forward with other elements added to it?’ So it’s not like we’re forgetting something.” Beis said last year’s flood hampered efforts to deliver SDP actions. “The year of the flood stopped a lot of aspects of what we do. The public works and services were so overwhelmed with all of that. A lot of stuff was put on the back-burner,” he said. “But even with that, we are able to accomplish a lot.” Environmental issues are part of the SDP. Beis said the borough plans to plant 300 trees in the next year, but many of them will be to replace dead or dying trees. “With the whole Emerald ash borer (insect) killing ash trees, that’s why you see the environment a lot in there. It’s because the number of trees we’ve had to cut down. ” Mobility issues, including public transportation and accessibility, are also priorities, Beis said.