Mouth Of The Riviere Saint Pierre (Verdun)

This is where it meets the Saint Lawrence on it’s way down from Cote Saint Luc through Turcot and across Cote Saint Paul and Verdun. Well, at least it did once upon a time.

That is the Champlain Bridge system and the mouth is just around the bend.

This is about the best view you can get without being in a boat.

Now in this “creek” I noticed these strange circles that just keep coming up like bubbles. Anyone know what causes this?

And here is the view looking up river from there. Left is Nun’s Island, right is Verdun, and I won’t make any condos on the riverfront comments:P

Read Full Post »

Meadowfest Music Festival This Saturday August 23

First ever Meadowfest Music Festival to be held on Saturday, August 23

Côte Saint-Luc, August 13, 2008 – The first ever Meadowfest in support of the west-end greenspace will feature live bands, music, dancing and family fun at on Saturday, August 23 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Richard Schwartz Park (corner of Côte Saint-Luc Rd. and Westluke Ave.).

Admission is free. In the event of rain, the event will be held on Sunday, August 24.

Meadowfest is organized by Les Amis de Meadowbrook and supported by the municipalities of Côte Saint-Luc, Montreal West and Hampstead as well as corporate sponsors including the TD Canada Trust branches of Côte Saint-Luc.

“This is a first for Les Amis and we are very grateful for the support shown by these corporate and municipal sponsors,” said Jo Ann Goldwater, chair of the organizing committee and long standing member of the group.

For nearly 20 years, Les Amis de Meadowbrook has been defending successfully the preservation of the Meadowbrook Golf Course at the western end of Côte Saint-Luc Rd.

“The 18-hole golf course is an oasis of green in the middle of the island,” said Avrom Shtern, member of Les Amis, who has been advocating in support of making the golf course an eco-territory on the island of Montreal. “Like Angel Woods, Meadowbrook deserves to be recognized as it has been repeatedly recommended in the reports of the Office de Consultation Publique de Montreal.”

As one of the oldest and last surviving golf courses on the island, it is a green space on the map of Montreal “hot spots” right in the middle of the island along Highway 2/20.

Created in 1917 by CP Rail along the railway corridor, half of Meadowbrook is in Côte Saint-Luc and half in Lachine bordering the backyards of homes in Montreal West. In 2001, the City of Côte Saint-Luc rezoned its half to remain as a golf course, while the borough of Lachine maintains a zoning of 1,200 homes. This ambiguity was reflected in the Master Urban Plan adopted for the island in 2005 and Les Amis wants the cities and the island to protect this space forever.

Although it has changed hands several times since 1992, the various attempts to develop it have failed in the face of resistance and opposition of the local population and politicians. Since 2007, the golf course is again under threat from the developer, Groupe Pacific, who has presented a futuristic housing proposal with a green label of sustainable development.

“Les Amis de Meadowbrook is not fooled,” said Les Amis Director, Wendy Dodge. “Green housing is not green space.”

Les Amis wants everyone to come out and celebrate Meadowbrook with music, dancing and festivities. It has lined up a star-studded show, featuring Just for Laughs Montreal comedian Derek Seguin, and some of the best bands of the city who are graciously contributing their talents to the cause. The five-hour show will be headlined by the The Coloured Lights, with opening acts U b Over 40, The Mile End Village Band and First You Get the Sugar.

“These bands play music for the whole family and have huge local following,” said Dr. Rina Gupta, a local resident and child psychologist at McGill University. “We are doing this for the health and future of our children. If we don’t preserve the green space for them, it will be gone forever.”

- 30 -

For more info, please contact:

Jo Ann Goldwater, (514) 484-8668 or 924 0957, savemeadow@yahoo.ca
Wendy Dodge, (514) 488 3737 or 916 7549, wendyldodge@videotron.ca
Dr. Rina Gupta, (514) 484-4544, rina.gupta@mcgill.ca

www.lesamisdemeadowbrook.org

Read Full Post »

The Doney Spur (5)

Continuing the journey with Avrom Shtern and Andrew Dawson.  We started at rue Douglas -B- Floreani and went to Toupin. Not a real long walk but we did a lot of side trips, particularly  around the area where the Doney was rerouted by Autoroute 13.

We found this old trailer near the start.

Here you can see the road where the Doney originally went before Autoroute 13 was built.

Looking around south of above. You can still see where the rail came up along this old loading dock.

Nature slowly reclaiming.

On the north side there is a horticultural company.

Bois de Liesse Park is just over to the right.

Hydro towers looking towards the 13.

The 13 just doesn’t look too imposing from ground level here.

It is also at this point that the Doney and the Lake Of Two Mountains line converge.

Getting closer to “civilization”.

The final straight stretch.

Mile zero for the Doney Spur.

I wonder if they can tap in?

Westbound right on schedule.

Red thing is a cyclist.

We went up this last spur.

To end up in someone’s back yard.

And then it was on to Noel Parc Nord and  Toupin boulevard (and also where I changed rolls, the final shots to be developed:P).

More to come.

Read Full Post »

Woods # 3 Or Riviere a L’Orme

Crazy kind of situation on the West Island in Sainte Anne de Bellevue where a developer actually owns one of the islands 10 “ecoterritories”. And would like to develop it, of course. There is however a movement afoot to buy the land in order to preserve it which should be the only option worth talking about and the only right thing to do.

Story here.

The Ten Ecoterritories.

The sad part of all this is that we even have to discuss these matters. The city said a few years ago that it was going to integrate ecoterritory, along with “green” strategies into it’s “Master Plan”. But we have seen that plan become nothing more than a vague reference package for good ideas come election time. The Tremblay administration had floundered, hemmed, and hawed on environmental and citizen issues, while giving developers unusually vast powers. The good news is that there is strong citizen support to save and protect Woods # 3, um, well, maybe that is not good news if one looks around at projects approved in recent times.

Stay tuned.

Rivière à l’Orme and its principal tributaries. The forest corridor bordering Riv-

ière à l’Orme serves a strategic link for the fauna and flora of the three neigh-

bouring nature parks (Anse-à-l’Orme, Bois-de-la-Roche and Cap-Saint-Jacques).

Read Full Post »

Meadowbrook (2)

Last week I had the pleasure of touring the south side of Meadowbrook with a few of Les Amis de Meadowbrook. Here is a shot of the Little Saint Pierre River, the only open, still active, probably very polluted, part of this river that once flowed to the Falaise Saint Jacques and ran through Turcot Yards before making its’ way to the Saint Lawrence via Ville Emard and Verdun.

The southern corner, some golf and some housing.

South end of the passenger train yard.

Down at the extreme southern corner lies this obstacle, at least it would be an obstacle in connecting with the Falaise Saint Jacques via a bike/hike route. It would require the cooperation of the railroad to put a separate bridge somewhere through there but it is very doable.

And looking to the left of the bottom track we see a bridge that crosses Westminster street.

Read Full Post »

Meadowbrook

Golf course/green corridor in the west end of the city, actually Cote Saint Luc, Montreal West, and Lachine, that is being lusted upon by developers. They would like, don’t hold your breath, to build houses there. Also of concern is that Trudeau airport is considering altering existing flight paths that could result in planes flying directly over Meadowbrook. Les Amis de Meadowbrook is a group that wants to preserve this wonderful green corridor and there is tons of good information on their site.

Here are some images from a walk I took in the north end of Meadowbrook two weeks ago.

This map shows the relationship between Meadowbrook and the Falaise Saint Jacques, one of the 10 Ecoterritories on the Island Of Montreal, even if that is meaningless to the Tremblay administration. A = the south end of Meadowbrook and B = the west end of the Falaise Saint Jacques. As the crow flies this is no more than a twenty minute walk.

Some groups such as Les Amis de Meadowbrook, Green Coalition, and Heritage Laurentien, have suggested that a green link be made here as part of a larger network or green corridor that could surround the city. It would be particularly useful for cyclists. Heritage Laurentien, led by Patrick Asch, is, in fact, working on the idea of a green belt that connects the Lachine Canal (C), Lachine Rapids, Angrignon Park (D), Douglas Hospital, the Falaise Saint Jacques and Meadowbrook on the same network.

The site features, among other things, the only still open/active section of the Little Saint Pierre river that flowed down and through Turcot Yards before emptying in the Saint Lawrence in Verdun. So there is a strong historical precedent for following this natural path.

Developing Meadowbrook is only about greed. You are talking building housing beside a very busy railyard where the sounds of shunting activities are already quite noisy for some residents of the east side of the golf course and uncertainty about the airport would make it a place for would-be homeowners to avoid. Still, developers seem to work on the principle that if you build it someone will buy it and actually move in.

Read Full Post »

St. Ann’s Park – Griffintown

Perhaps my favorite little green space in the whole city.

It’s such a great concept.

Slightly obscured view of Five Roses sign.

This is part of the magic of Griffintown and it’s possibilities. The Devimco project will completely wipe out sight lines like this.

Montreal seems to have a thing for architectural history as evidenced by the ruins at Champs de Mars (just outside City Hall).

Or even symbolic ruins like besides this museum on Old Montreal.

Send me your photos of preserved ruins in Montreal and I will post them here.

The Mass In The Park

Griffintown Wiki

History Under Demolition

Read Full Post »

Information Evening On Falaise Saint Jacques & Meadowbrook

Information Town Hall, Thursday April 24th, 2008 Green right of way
 will be holding its founding meeting the 24th of April at 7PM at the St.
 Raymond Community Centre located at 5600 Upper Lachine Road. 

Several grass roots community groups have come out in support of this
 effort. The main focus of discussion will be the future conservation of
 the St. Jacques Escarpment, Meadowbrook Golf Course and their
 integration into a greater greenbelt in Southwestern Montreal.

For more information please contact: Green right of way at 514-484-1471

It IS possible to recreate natural environments that increase the quality of
life in your community. Come to the meeting and discover how this can be done.

The Saint Jacques Escarpment and Meadowbrook will be discussed in light of 
construction projects that threaten to destroy or compromise them, and a plan
of action will be presented to protect and develop sustainable green spaces within
the cities and boroughs of the South West

Read Full Post »

Griffintown- Saint Ann Park

Photo courtesy Saruchyan

It seems that the proposed development for Griffintown includes building over this park. That is really a shame because this is one heck of an interesting location. The ruins of Saint Ann’s church make this site worthy of designation in the categories of art, heritage, Irish history, and spirituality. Even the park benches are placed in pew like procession. It is unique, and would probably be a worthy tourist site if the city even knew it existed.

Here are some images from winter1963 over at ImageStation.

Row houses on Mountain street.

Griffintown Wiki

Sounding Griffintown

Flickr Griffintown Pages

Ghosts of Griffintown

Read Full Post »

Sunrise (Dorval Golf)

Read Full Post »

The Writer

Title of this sculpture of a very large table and chair in Hampstead Heath, London.

Now that would look real good in the middle of some abandoned rail yard.

Story here.

Read Full Post »

Get Together

Just a reminder that some of us will meet tomorrow at The Green Spot, 3401 Notre Dame Ouest, in Saint Henri at 2pm.

All are welcome.

Read Full Post »

Blog Action Day – The Environment

Today is Blog Action Day and the theme is the environment. So today we will urge our readers to think of the Falaise Saint Jacques, that sturdy little escarpment that runs the northern border of Turcot Yards. Transport Quebec has a plan to rebuild the yards and place train tracks and a freeway at the foot of the Falaise. The Green Coalition has suggested that this is not a good thing and you can read about it in this blog. Under the plan the Falaise will be reduced to being a kind of organic noise barrier wall, at least those parts that survive the construction.

Here is an overview about the Falaise Saint Jacques.




Read Full Post »

Back At The Piles

A year ago I wrote this post about some suspicious dumping at Turcot Yards. In that time there has been a fair amount of growth on those piles.

This loader sits in the location of the drain seen a year ago. Waiting for when needed I guess.

Just over beyond the loader I discovered these things which look like they may have supported a building but they weren’t there a year ago.

Some patterns.

I apologize for the high contrast of these images which were shot on Kodak Portra which is clearly not a good film on very bright days. Wow, do I ever feel like a dinasour talking about film (smile).

Read Full Post »

And 4 Metro Stations Nearby!

At the public consultation last night (there was close to 200 there) the panel mentioned on a few occasions that the Projet Turcot had 4 metro stations nearby. Um, Vendome, ok, Place Saint Henri, ok, Angrignon? Well, it is about a 15 minute walk from the Angrignon interchange. Joliquer? A bit of a stretch but it is about a 10 minute walk from the Laverendrye “interchange” – as they like to call it. It’s an off ramp, is going to be an off ramp, but I guess being able to say, “the Projet Turcot involves rebuilding 4 interchanges” just feels real good!

So why are these Metro (subway) stations even mentioned as an important part of the deal? Best I can figure is that during the construction cars will be held up so long that it will be good for motorists to always know where the nearest Metro station is.

We got a good look at how projects today get presented in all their green glory. We flip from a shot of a run down, sparse, sickly, Turcot Interchange to a new sprawling interchange that is practically chocking on the lush assortment of trees, shrubs, and otherwise filled in with the colour green areas. It’s beautiful, but there is one very wrong thing with that picture. There are only about 6 cars using it.

With the 20 and the railroad pulled way over to flow along the bottom of the Falaise Saint Jacques there is going to be a huge available space roughly in the middle of Turcot Yards. On the chart this is your basic green fill with little swirls here and there to indicate it may become a green space. Nice thought, but there are those ominous words, “To Be Developed”. The Falaise Saint Jacques is an official “Ecoterritory” of the City Of Montreal. Let’s not let anyone get any crazy idea about a park being developed there and ruining the “organic noise barrier” aspect of the Falaise. Nope, a few rail lines and a freeway will take care of that madness. We would rather kill the Falaise with our construction than let those econuts have their way.

Some housing in Saint Henri is going to be demolished, Businesses will be closing in Saint Henri and Cote Saint Paul. That is the unfortunate side effect of progress known as the couldn’t come up with any other way approach. Will Saint Henri become a heavily populated ghost town as no one in their right mind is going to think of driving there between 2009-2015 (think of la rue Saint Laurent 2007). It’s a good thing people are so conscious of sustainability issues in NDG because once this project starts they might as well all sell their cars (NDG is great because it has access to 2.5 Metro stations).

And on it goes. They did say that this plan was chosen from a list of 5 closely looked at by experts, including some without a vested interest in Transport Quebec. That is reassuring, but they do not seem willing to share with the public what some of those alternatives could be. Good thing we all know where the Metro Stations are.

Read Full Post »