Busy intersection now partly open, after being shut to traffic
Despite what appeared last week to be a work slowdown on road, sidewalk and sewer reconstruction taking place at the corner of Notre Dame and Curé Labelle boulevards, workers at the scene have reassured the Laval News that the project is moving steadily forward and is on schedule towards completion.
Traffic delays
The work, which has led to some traffic bottlenecks and inconveniences for local services and businesses, includes the replacement of a 200-mm drinking water main with a pipe measuring 400 mm to allow better water flow in the neighbourhood, and the addition of a second sewer drain to provide greater protection against sudden and extreme storm flooding.
Councillor Vasilios Karidogiannis told the Laval News previously that the intersection could be closed as late as June 24, although as of last week the intersection was partly open again and traffic was flowing north and south along Curé Labelle.
Area is growing
In the meantime, Notre Dame Blvd. immediately east and west of Curé Labelle remained closed, as the epicentre of the work shifted onto that street.
Work on this stretch is expected to be completed as the summer progresses.
The infrastructure work is necessary partly because of two major housing projects now underway.
One is on the north west corner of Curé Labelle and Notre Dame where the Récréathèque once stood, and a second around two blocks east where the Val-Martin social housing project is being rebuilt by the city.
The work will also be helping to alleviate sewer and water supply issues elsewhere in the district of l’Abord-à-Plouffe.
City once flirted with the idea of a suspended tramway in downtown core
A recent news report highlighting a long-term plan by the City of Laval to create a surface tramway along Saint-Martin Blvd. recalled that a former city administration once entertained the idea of an elevated tramway being built along a different route, also in Laval’s downtown core.
Street-level tram
The report on Montreal’s La Presse news site (and republished by the Toronto-based news service Torstar) noted that although Laval has begun to extensively consult its residents on the future of the downtown area, very little has been said until now about the surface tramway project.
According to La Presse, the plan, if adopted by city council in a few months, would lead to in-depth studies in the next five years. Technical and financial feasibility analyses would be held over a five to 10-year span.
Preliminary work on the project suggests the tramway would allow passengers to board trams at the corner of Chomedey Blvd. on the western fringe of Laval’s emerging downtown sector and travel three kilometres to Laval Blvd., the eastern edge.
Part of PPU plan
The surface tramway plan is described in the special planning program (PPU) now underway for the downtown. Initial designs show the tramway line at the centre of Saint-Martin Blvd., with other lanes set up for automobiles and bicycles.
If the project is taken seriously, it would not the first time Laval has flirted with trams – albeit trams of a different type. Following the opening of Laval’s three Metro stations in 2007, former mayor Gilles Vaillancourt came up with the idea in 2011 of an elevated tramway to reduce road congestion and encourage public transit.
Elevated plan abandoned
At that time, city officials suggested the elevated line would start at Montmorency station and end at Carrefour Laval. Although a feasibility study was commissioned, the project was abandoned when Place Bell was built and the Société de transport de Laval revised its plans. As well, Vaillancourt resigned from office in 2012, probably also contributing to the project being abandoned.
According to the Laval News’s coverage of the elevated tramway’s announcement a decade ago, the Agence métropolitaine de transport (a forerunner to the Réseau de transport métropolitain) and Hydro Quebec also supported the project. A number of major cities in the world – including New York, Portland, Lisbon, Singapore and Rio de Janeiro – all operated cable car systems similar to the one Laval wanted to implement at the time.
Elevated pros and cons
While aerial tramways have certain distinct advantages (they are quiet, operate constantly, are inexpensive to build and don’t need drivers in the individual cable cabins), according to an information handout issued by the STL back then, they also have disadvantages.
Among those, the towers and cables for aerial tramways can be intrusive in neighbourhoods, they are sometimes costly for cities to insure, some transit users shun the cable car cabins because of fear of closed spaces, and they are slower on average than buses for transporting passengers.
City on track to delivering needed affordable and social housing
The City of Laval says the first year of its 2020-2022 Action Plan for Housing yielded positive results, with a set goal of 1,000 affordable or social housing units being well within range by the time the target date is reached.
According to the city, most of the goals set for 2020 were reached, despite the COVID-19 pandemic which presented many unexpected barriers.
Much to accomplish
“In 2020, 59 actions were carried out or started out of 68 which were planned to take place over three years in the Action Plan of the Policy for Housing,” said Laval city councillor Nicholas Borne who handles housing dossiers.
“Several of these accomplishments are helping to increase the number and quality of social or affordable housing units,” he added. “To date, 497 units have been built or are in progress, and 176 units have received a financial commitment.
Immense needs
“Despite this encouraging report, we know full well that the needs remain immense. That is why we are pursuing our efforts to obtain the necessary government financial support in otder to catch up and to meet needs, which are greater than ever.”
Among the things the city says were accomplished in the housing dossier so far are the obtention of $20 million in subsidies from Quebec’s AccèsLogis program, and the ongoing development of almost 400 new social housing units at the Val-Martin site in Chomedey.
New social housing
The new social housing is to be delivered on this basis: 124 units now delivered and occupied since December 2019/January 2020; 160 units now being completed, with delivery scheduled for early 2022; and 75 housing units and a community centre now under development with no fixed date provided by the city.
‘To date, 497 units have been built or are in progress, and 176 units have received a financial commitment,’ says city councillor responsible for dossier Nicholas Borne
As well, says the city, $3.8 million has been set aside for lands to be dedicated for use to build social housing; the setting up of a new housing search system (SARL) to help Laval residents find non-subsidized housing; support for the implementation of Accès logement Laval, another search service to find subsidized housing; and the creation of a new housing section on the City of Laval website, bringing together comprehensive information on the topic.
Adoption of new policy
The city says it will be prioritizing the adoption of a fiscal policy for housing to allow the establishment of a reserve of lands set aside for social housing while better defining their availability.
It will also be adopting a new urban planning code, which will be contributing to the improvement of the quality of residential projects, while facilitating the implementation of social and affordable housing projects.
At the same time, the city says it is working towards the adoption of several large-scale PPU urban planning programs in Laval’s downtown and in Sainte-Rose, in order to elaborate development in these sectors, which will include more extensive planning for social and affordable housing.
But plan could change in August, depending on fluctuating infection rates
Elementary and high school students in Laval, the North Shore and Montreal will be allowed to put aside face masks and attend classes outside “bubbles” this fall at the beginning of the new school year if COVID-19 pandemic conditions continue to improve, the Quebec government announced last week.
Presenting the province’s preliminary 2021-2022 school plan with Public Health Director Dr. Horacio Arruda and delegated education minister Isabelle Charest, Education Minister Jean-François Roberge warned Quebecers not to become too excited as the agenda could be revised in August to reflect any upward swings in COVID-19 infection rates.
A normal school year
“I’m pleased with this recommendation from public health, of course, because it’s obvious that kids have better mental health when they can see each other from other classes,” Roberge told journalists during a webcast press conference.
“It’s important that the younger students can see the face of their teachers,” he added. “So, we hope we will be able to keep this plan after August, to have a normal school year.”
At the outset, the provincial government wants at least 75 per cent of 12- to 17-year-olds to have received a second dose of vaccine by the time the school year starts in late August, although even that might change. As it is now, 45 per cent of those in this age group have either already received their first dose or have made an appointment for it.
Target questioned
Acknowledging that the number of children and teens who’ve already received their first dose of vaccine is still far below the 75 per cent target, Arruda pointed out that many potential recipients of the vaccine have made appointments and are expected to raise the numbers.
“I think it’s possible that we attain that level and more,” he said. “And it’s why we’re going to follow up everything. There’s going to be different communications strategies adapted to youth for this, and I think we should not be afraid.”
In addition to being able to attend classes as usual without the encumbrance of face coverings, students will be allowed to follow extra-curricular programs, including sports and elective courses.
Sanitation still necessary
However, some protocols will still be in place, including regular sanitizing of surfaces, and students as well as staff will be obliged to continue washing their hands regularly with sanitizers. Should all go well, the students have a 90 per cent chance of starting the school year off on the right foot, Dr. Arruda estimated.
‘It’s important that the younger students can see the face of their teachers,’ said Education Minister Jean-François Roberge
However, if COVID-19 surges again in Quebec, the government would re-impose the same sanitary measures as were in place for long periods since the beginning of last year when the pandemic started, although it would probably be on a more targeted and temporary basis.
Uncertainty over proms
Regarding the upcoming student graduation and prom season, Dr. Arruda said previous directives issued by the government that effectively cancelled proms are being re-evaluated.
As of last week, Arruda said he was not prepared to state firmly what course the public health department will follow in its policy for proms.
“The issue is the bal de finissants [proms] or I would say the parties with the dresses, and that is important for kids and girls and boys and the parents.
However, on June 8 Premier François Legault stated that as of July 8, once most teenagers in the province are expected to have had a first dose of the vaccine for at least two weeks, proms will be allowed outdoors and with tents.
(Note: This online version of an article published in our paper edition on June 9 was updated with new information.)
The City of Laval says that the deadline for submitting memorandums during an ongoing public consultation on the city’s master urban plan has been extended by two weeks, until June 28.
More time for memos
In a statement, a spokesperson for the executive-committee says the committee’s members decided, following requests from residents, to offer more time for the submission of memorandums. It is the city’s hope that a greater number of views and opinions can be added to the decision-making process.
In the meantime, residents and stakeholding organizations can, after registering, also make oral submissions of views and comments during virtual public hearings that will be taking place during the week of June 14.
Following the public consultations, the city will proceed with an analysis of the residents’ contributions.
Other steps in process
Following the recommendation of several committees overseeing the urban plan revision project and in conjunction with city council, comments and other information from the consultation will be included in the final version of the revised by-law.
A report on the consultation will also be issued. The coming into force of the new urban planning code will take place over the months following its adoption by city council.
Council served with notice of Laval region’s vanishing golf courses
Nearly a dozen residents of Webb Ave. and other streets in western Chomedey questioned Mayor Marc Demers during Laval city council’s June 2 webcast meeting on the major infrastructure work being conducted outside their homes, as protesters for the cause tried as best they could to stir up attention on the plaza outside Laval city hall.
The questions, which were submitted by e-mail and read out by a staff member, raised doubts about the wisdom of narrowing the width of the streets, widening the sidewalks and adding greened over border areas containing shrubs and plants.
Impact on seniors
“There are many owners here who are older people,” said Angie Patsios, a Webb Ave. resident, maintaining that some of the changes will cause hardship for senior citizens by complicating snow removal during the winter. She also claimed that most residents of the area don’t want the green border areas installed.
“Does the city not have a moral obligation to consult the owners affected by these changes when the vast majority are strongly opposed and have made complaints?” she added.
Weeds, leaves, etc.
Another resident wrote, “Why hasn’t anyone replied to our request to the director-general, to the mayor’s office? Why does the City of Laval want to have strip grass and trees on the west side of Webb Avenue? No one wants to have the problem of weeds, leaves, debris etcetera on their own lawn coming from the addition and the extra maintenance.”
The Islemere Golf Club in Sainte-Dorothée is one of five golf courses in Laval whose future is a concern to green space activists.
Other residents also suggested there could be complications created by the new infrastructure for the pick-up of waste and recycling bins by city workers, as they maintained that the city never bothered to formally consult them on the changes.
‘We consulted,’ says Demers
Mayor Marc Demers defended the city’s position. “When it is said that the citizens were not consulted, on the contrary we created a vision for across the City of Laval and we consulted across the city,” he maintained. “Some might say, ‘Yes, but the citizens across the City of Laval aren’t necessarily concerned with what is going on our street.’”
He said “the reason the work is taking place on your street is mainly due to a problem involving sewers that are at the end of their usefulness. So, if we don’t do it within a reasonable timeframe, we risk having major problems and you also risk having major problems.”
Regarding the widening of the sidewalks, he read out a letter received at city hall from a man who is confined to a wheelchair.
Wheelchair mobility
The letter writer recounted that while backing his wheelchair on du Couvent St. in Chomedey, he accidentally slipped off the sidewalk because it was narrow and couldn’t get back up. Demers cited the incident as something the city hoped to avoid in the future by building wider sidewalks that are friendlier to persons with reduced mobility.
As for consulting residents, Demers acknowledged the city didn’t consult people on every street, but noted that “all the people paying for the repairs that will be made on your street, which will cost quite a few million dollars, should be consulted too. So, that’s why we consulted the people around the city to see what our policy should be.”
While saying that most other residents in Laval had no objections to similar changes being made on their streets, Demers added, “We will see if there is something particular on your street for you and we will answer all your questions.”
Future of golf courses
Also during question period, Jonathan Tremblay said the Laval-based organization Parc Sentiers des Bois had become concerned lately about the future of the golf courses that are still operating in Laval.
There are currently at least five golf courses on the island: The Islemere Golf Club in Sainte-Dorothée, the Club de Club Laval-sur-le-Lac in Laval-sur-le-Lac, the Club de Golf Le Cardinal and Golf UFO in Laval-Ouest, and Club de Golf Saint-François in Saint-François. (Le Cardinal recently closed part of its course and sold it for housing development.)
“In the event of the sale or end of their commercial activity, it would be important that golf courses not be re-dedicated entirely to real estate development,” Tremblay said in an e-mailed question. He asked whether the City of Laval would be willing to develop a strategy for the future of the golf courses while doing so before changing the zoning for golf courses.
Demers pledges to consult
Responding to Tremblay, Mayor Demers maintained that the zoning status of the golf courses will never change without residents being consulted first. “Not a single golf course will change zoning without the population having their say,” he said, while also giving his assurances that part of the golf courses will always be reserved for future green spaces.
Action Laval opposition councillor David De Cotis noted that he would be tabling a resolution later in the council meeting that called upon the city to explore the feasibility of forming a common front with Terrebonne, Mascouche, Candiac and Beloeil to ask Quebec to change municipal law so it becomes easier for towns and cities to expropriate old golf courses and turn them into green spaces and parks.
The Laval Police Department says a search warrant executed by LPD officers last week as part of an operation called Project Duel resulted in the seizure of firearms and other weapons, contraband tobacco, tens of thousands of dollars in cash, and illegal narcotics with an estimated value of nearly $60,000.
The LPD says it received a tip from the Longueuil Police that a suspect would be making a major delivery in the Laval area. In all, warrants were served at five addresses and one person was arrested.
Here is a list of the items seized during the raid:
Five firearms, including a 12-gauge shotgun, and four handguns
Two brass knuckle sets
An assortment of ammunition
An electric stun device
Two bulletproof vests
3,200 contraband cigarettes
$24,000 in cash Cdn.
$58,954.62 worth of narcotics
513.21 grams of cocaine
39.42 grams of cannabis “wax”
397 tablets of methamphetamine
1.46 grams of amphetamine powder
475 tablets of generic Viagra
35.09 grams of an unidentified powder substance
(According to an online source of information on illicit drugs, cannabis wax is a relatively new substance being offered by dealers. Made from the oils of marijuana plants, it has a high level of THC – the chemical that makes a user intoxicated.)
According to the LPD, Project Duel brought together forces from the LPD, the Montreal Police and the Longueuil Police in a concerted effort.
The police officers were assisted by the canine squadron and crime scene technicians.
Anyone with information they feel might be useful to the police in this dossier or any other regarding narcotics trafficking is urged to call the Laval Police Department’s special Info-Line at 450 662 INFO. The file number is LVL 201125 023.
The current issue of the Laval News volume 29-17 published June 9th, 2021. Covering Laval local news, politics, sports and our new section Mature Life. (Click on the image to read the paper.)
The Laval Police Department is investigating fires that destroyed pricey cars last week in Chomedey and Sainte-Dorothée.
The first incident, around 11:30 pm, was on Devonshire St. in Chomedey.
A witness contacted 9-1-1 to report hearing an explosion, after which the vehicle, parked on the street, was consumed in flames.
A few hours later, another expensive car parked on des Roseaux St. in Sainte-Dorothée was also destroyed by fire.
Again, a witness called 9-1-1 after hearing an explosion followed by intense fire. Although the LPD do not believe the two incidents are related, they have opened an investigation all the same.
Car chase with stolen vehicle from Laval ends in Montreal
Two people driving a stolen vehicle led the officers of the Service de police de Laval (SPL) in a chase that finally ended in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, in Montreal, on Sunday evening.
The theft of the Subaru brand vehicle, in the Saint-Vincentde-Paul sector, was reported to the police a few hours earlier.
He had been seen in the neighborhood originally, but the driver had greatly accelerated and was difficult to catch up, according to Lieutenant Jean-François Gignac, of the SPL.
It was finally at the intersection of Boulevard Henri-Bourassa and Rue Saint-Hubert that the vehicle was abandoned, in very poor condition, after it lost control.
The two suspects fled, and after police raided the area, one of them, a man in his twenties, was found and arrested. The investigation is still ongoing to find the other fugitive.
Retired singer is being billed as opposition party’s ‘star’ candidate
For decades now, Quebec’s television viewers and music-buying public have purchased her records and watched her on reality TV.
However, voters in Laval’s Vimont district will decide in November whether Jacynthe Millette-Bilodeau – better known professionally simply as Jacynthe – also scores a Top 10 with them when they go to the polls during the city’s municipal elections.
The Action Laval party announced last week that Jacynthe Millette-Bilodeau would be the party’s “star” candidate in the Nov. 7 vote.
Galati connection
Incumbent Action Laval city councillor for St-Vincent-de-Paul Paolo Galati, who built a career as a showbiz agent prior to entering politics, is credited for having used his connections to recruit her as a city council candidate for the party.
The 41-year-old native of Quebec City has recorded five albums since 1996, when she launched her career while still in her teens. She had two Top 10 hits with Seize the Day and Look Who’s Crying Now, a series of No. 1 hits on Quebec radio stations, and a significant base of fans in Japan.
Works as an ESL teacher
In 2004, she was part of the cast of the French-language reality TV series La Vie Rurale, which was produced by Quebec vocalist and businesswoman Anne-Marie Losique. In more recent years, she’s been a teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL) atÉcole du Bois-Joli in Duvernay/Laval.
‘During my career as an entertainer, I always tried to establish a close connection with people,’ says 41-year-old entertainer and aspiring politician
“During my career as an entertainer, I always tried to establish a close connection with people and to give back by participating in telethons while working with a number of foundations,” she said during a press conference. “Now, as a teacher and as a mom, I continue to be involved as a parent and a volunteer.”
