The City of Laval’s executive-committee made a number of decisions during their Oct. 28 meeting on various issues, including the addition of vegetation to the borders of sidewalks to help with water drainage, and subsidies to a community group that has undertaken a community garden project.
According to a recent information release from the mayor’s office, Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest advised the City of Laval recently that the city’s application for provincial funding to create sidewalk borders with greenery had been approved by Quebec as part of a program for managing rain water sustainably.
As such, a subsidy amounting to $498,350 has been accorded to the City of Laval for this project. The city says that the installation of infrastructure like this will also serve as traffic calming measures, in addition to its primary purpose which is more efficiently manage rain water in order to reduce the risk of flooding.
New community gardens
The members of the executive-committee also decided to award a subsidy of $6,000 from the city for three years to the organization Le Collectif Écorécoltes, which will create a community garden in Notre Dame Park in Sainte-Rose. In March 2017, the executive-committee had adopted new regulations to support groups seeking to create community gardens in Laval. This was after they had viewed a presentation showing the success of community gardens that were set up in various areas of the province.
“In keeping with its strategic vision Laval 2035: Urban by Nature, the City of Laval recognizes the benefits represented by collective and community gardens for the population,” the executive-committee said in a statement. Since the adoption of the policy, four other gardens have seen the day in public spaces, including du Moulin Park, Rodolphe-Lavoie Park, Dumas Park and at the Le Sorbier community centre.”
Executive-committee members
The City of Laval’s executive-committee meets each week to make decisions on a variety of issues. The executive-committee includes the following people: Mayor Marc Demers, vice-president Stéphane Boyer (also councillor for Duvernay–Pont-Viau) councillors Sandra Desmeules (Concorde–Bois-de-Boulogne), Ray Khalil (Sainte-Dorothée), Virginie Dufour (Sainte-Rose) and associate members Nicholas Borne (Laval-les-Îles) and Yannick Langlois (L’Orée-des-Bois).
