Laval City Hall Watch - November 9 2016
City Watch
Hiking and cycling trail Oka / Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Members of the executive committee have awarded a contract to the company Pavage des Moulins Inc. in the amount of $111,954 (excluding taxes) for the continued infrastructure development of the Oka / Mont-Saint-Hilaire hiking and cycling trail. This path is part of the Montreal metropolitan Community (MMC) active transportation network which has sections crossing through Laval. The monies will be spent to construct sections of: Les Érables and Les Peupliers streets between the median of Grand Moulin and Les Ormes street; le chemin du Bord-de-l’Eau between Fabert et Larivière streets as well as de la Loire street and 88th Avenue between park Berthiaume-Du Tremblay and boulevard Lévesque.
The creation of the Greater Montreal Green and Blue Network,( referred to in the Metropolitan Land Use and Development Plan) relies in particular on the development of a metropolitan bicycle network, whose first component will be the walking and cycling trail connecting Oka and Mont Saint-Hilaire. This 143 km-long trail will connect the three national parks in the Montreal region (Oka Park, Boucherville islands Park and Mont Saint-Bruno Park), and the Mont Saint-Hilaire Nature Centre. It will pass through seventeen municipalities: Oka, Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, Pointe-Calumet, Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Deux-Montagnes, Laval, Montréal, Saint-Lambert, Longueuil, Boucherville, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Varennes, Sainte-Julie, Saint-Basile-le-Grand, McMasterville, Beloeil, mont Saint-Hilaire.
The construction of the Oka – Mont Saint-Hilaire cycling and walking trail will be completed in 2018 at a total cost of $60 million, which will be shared between the Quebec government, the CMM and the municipalities concerned.
Upgrading Laval dog parks
A contract was awarded to Les Entreprises C. Dubois in the amount of 301 $ 840.23 (excluding taxes) for the redevelopment and renovation of municipal dog parks situated at des Rossignols, de Lausanne and Laval-West parks. These parks built between 2003 and 2005 have been in use over ten years. Appreciative dog owners have taken advantage of these sites as they are well frequented. They provide outdoor green spaces that allow pet owners the opportunity to exercise and socialize their canine companions.
Grants totalling $ 75,000 for integrated urban revitalization projects (RUI)
The Executive Committee agreed to provide financial aid of a $ 25,000 grant to each of the following community based organizations; Diapason Jeunesse, the Youth Consultation Bureau and the Community Centre Val Martin, for a total of $ 75,000. The funding will enable these organizations to continue developing integrated urban revitalization projects (RUI) in the Pont-Viau, Plaza San Martin / Domaine Renaud and Chomedey sectors. These sectors face some of the biggest challenges for the mobilization of partners and citizens in the development and implementation of their action plans. That is why revitalization efforts required the hiring an agent to oversee and optimize the development of the plan of action. The grants cover these costs for the period between April 1st and December 31st 2016.
Integrated Urban Revitalization project(IUR) is a community based approach of consultation involving community organizations, citizens and representatives of the private and public sectors. The common goal is to identify and implement measures and strategies that will improve living conditions of troubled neighborhoods. Projects are funded by the Regional Conference of Elected Laval (CRE) and the Quebec government, in collaboration with the City of Laval.
Important notice for trash pickup
As of October 11th 2016 contractors responsible for Laval’s garbage and waste collection have not been picking up trash left out in non-compliant trash bins. This affects the garbage collection across Laval. For health and safety reasons, the contractors responsible for the collection now ensure that this rule is strictly observed by their employees. As the collection is done manually, the result of heavy lifting or emptying deep containers carries a high risk of injury that can be easily avoided by preparing the garbage appropriately.
Trash bins (garbage cans) must meet the following criteria: they must be closed or sealed; only bins made of metal or plastic are acceptable; trash cans must be equipped with external handles and a lid with a maximal capacity of 120 liters. They should not weigh more than twenty five kilograms (55 pounds) when full. A barrel or a handmade container is not a true trash bin..
Healthier vending machine offerings
The executive committee entrusted Group Promo-Santé Laval with the mandate to negotiate arrangements for the installation and supply of vending machines food service concessions in the eight municipal arenas of Laval. The organization Group Health Promo-Laval’s mission is to promote and foster healthy lifestyles and habits for Laval residents of all ages. The goal of this intervention is to provide access to healthy food at all times, not just during the opening hours of the arena snack bars.
Municipality negotiates terms for use of indoor swimming pool
The city of Laval has concluded an agreement with College Laval for use of their indoor swimming pool from fall of 2016 to the spring of 2017. The length of the written accord covers three periods including a fall session from the 6th of September to the 22st of December; a winter session from January 4th 2017 to April 2nd 2017 and a spring session from April 4th 2017 to June 19th 2017.
Exclusive access to the pool for the City of Laval and its users represents a little more than 30 hours per week. Laval has already announced its intention to construct a multimillion dollar swimming complex expected to be built by 2018. Besides being able to host international calibre swimming events the swimming and diving centre will also add much needed swimming pool hours for residential use.
New tougher rules prohibiting smoking in public place
The executive committee has asked city council to adopt the regulation L-12443 repealing regulation L-12179 which outlines the criteria and details regarding the banning of smoking outside a public place in the City of Laval. This new measure will insure that municipal regulations governing smoking in public places will conform to the new tougher rules contained in the Government of Québec’s law which have taken effect from November 26th 2015.
The amendments in the new law include; stiffer fines, more inclusive non smoking public and work places, inclusion of electronic cigarettes in the law as equivalent to regular cigarettes, more restrictions on the sales and advertising of smoking as well as restricting the flavouring and packaging of all sizes of cigarettes and cigarillos. The laws also forbid smoking in the presence of children sixteen years and younger and in locals that are frequented by children such as parks, daycares and even in automobiles. Fines now can reach up to $1500.
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