$970-MILLION FACELIFT
New plan for Parc Jean-drapeau
Parc Jean-drapeau will get a major facelift over the next 10 years that will lead to more green spaces, a riverside promenade and fewer parking spots.
Motorists will be able to drive to the park from Montreal and the South Shore, but will eventually have to leave their vehicles in parking lots near the entrances to Île Ste-hélène and Île Notre-dame.
Buses, bicycles or electric vehicles will be available to take people to different destinations, such as the swimming pool and the concert venue Place des Nations, which is being redeveloped.
The city wants to highlight the park's natural beauty and proximity to the St. Lawrence River. It will build a 15-kilometre riverside promenade, improve bicycle paths and make canals more accessible for kayaks and pedal boats.
“This is the most important plan for a large urban park since Mount Royal, 150 years ago,” Mayor Valérie Plante said Wednesday, following the release of the $970-million redevelopment plan.
“Over the last year, we have realized how precious Montreal parks are for residents.”
During conversations with Montrealers, Plante said, people often say they want better access to the water.
“When it's finished, it will be like a park in Brooklyn,” she promised. “There will be beautiful views of Montreal and the Jacques-cartier Bridge.”
The city wants to centralize and reduce the park's 8,400 parking spaces, which take up about 10 per cent of the land. Through traffic in the park will eventually be banned, according to the plan.
When Parc Jean-drapeau is very busy, motorists have to spend too long driving around the park hoping to find an empty space in one of the smaller parking lots, Plante said.
The parking lots near La Ronde and at the Casino de Montréal, on Île Notre-dame, will remain.
The new vision for Parc Jeandrapeau, which will take about a decade to implement, calls for the park's tree canopy to increase by 30 per cent.
There will also be more public spaces where people can play non-organized sports, have picnics and sit by the water. Walkways and docks will be built to give visitors a better view of nature.
“We want people to come and spend the day, have a picnic and be close to the water,” Plante said. “It will be a cool place for tourists in the future.”
The city wants to position itself as one of the greenest cities in the world, Plante said.
The redevelopment plan was finalized after three years of consultations organized by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal.
The changes will be done in phases over the next decade.
This week, $45 million in funding was announced for Île Stehélène's Biosphere, to repair and support the only museum in North America entirely dedicated to the environment.