Eight-kilometre pathway would travel through several of Laval’s wetlands
Despite a current lack of support from the city for his project, Laval Citoyens leader and mayoralty candidate Michel Poissant is pledging to build an eight-kilometre nature trail through some key wetlands in Laval if he becomes mayor in the November municipal elections.
Poissant, the city councillor for Laval’s Vimont district, made the announcement last week during a press conference held outside the Quintessence high-rise condo building complex on St-Elzéar Blvd. on the northern edge of Chomedey.
An electoral priority
A large group of residents came out to express support with placards calling on the city to protect Laval’s wetlands from development. The proposed trail was mapped out and designed by Georges Pelletier.
The condo buildings on St-Elzéar are located next to a wetland. Poissant is pledging to make the nature trail – to be known as the Parc linéaire Ruisseau Papineau-Lavoie et rue des Charmes – a priority should he be elected on Nov. 7.
‘Citizen project,’ says Poissant
While addressing the crowd, Poissant maintained that the trail should be relatively easy to complete since the land it would travel across is owned largely by Hydro-Québec and the City of Laval. “It’s a project that is very interesting from the standpoints of being economical and citizen-driven,” he said.
‘It’s a project that is very interesting from the standpoints of being economical and citizen-driven,’ says Poissant
“Thanks to the creativity and perseverance of a resident of the area, Mr. Georges Pelletier, we are pleased to present one of the many projects of our program, namely an eight-kilometre nature trail that will be carried out during our first term,” he added.
Bike and walking path
“The vast majority of the land used is already owned by the city and/or Hydro-Québec and therefore acquisition costs will be minimal. As soon as we take office, we will begin negotiations.”
For the areas under power lines where there is more space, Poissant said they will develop a path for pedestrians and cyclists. “We can then move or rearrange certain bike paths nearby,” he continued. “This trail will be the biggest in Laval and can be compared to those of several cities of the north shore.”
Making Laval greener
He noted that the route of the proposed path would contribute to the Laval region’s growing green heritage. “The pandemic made us realize the importance of having access to nature as a prized resource,” he said.
While explaining the route of the path, Georges Pelletier acknowledged that there could be some obstacles to overcome.
He said there are some private tracts of land where it would have to pass across. In all, the path would cover 90 hectares of land.
He said they would try to buy the private tracts, while paying as little as possible.
