TRANSFORMATION OF THE TURCOT YARDS 10 things to know about the new nature-park project

August 2018

10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS

NEW NATURE-PARK IN THE TURCOT YARDS

Ville de Montréal. (2018). Design vision for a new nature-park in the Saint-Jacques Escarpment Ecoterritory.

1 INTRODUCTION THE MUNICIPAL A NEW NATURE-PARK DEVELOPMENT VISION ON THE SITE OF THE 1 FORMER TURCOT RAIL YARDS The transfer of the autoroute northward, to the site of the former Turcot yard, will free up The Ville de Montréal will develop a completely Since this major park is to belong to citizens, a vast space between rue Notre-Dame and the new nature-park in the heart of the city, in the the municipal administration seeks to learn new highway. space freed up by reconstruction of the Turcot their aspirations with regard to the project. interchange. Located in the Saint-Jacques The Office de consultation publique de This newly vacant space offers a rare Escarpment Ecoterritory, this major park will Montréal will start the consultative process well opportunity to create a new green space. cover almost 30 hectares along 2 km. This ahead of the project’s realization. Subsequently, The major park project will provide numerous unique ecosystem offers a variety of landscapes various participatory activities will be deployed social, economic and environmental benefits — woods, wetland, prairie — and will allow for throughout the project development process. and will significantly improve quality of life the creation of a new green gateway to the city, for Montrealers. It will fulfill the following one which will be iconic for the metropolis. The Ville de Montréal would like to take strong objectives: Alexandre Cv. (2016). Vista point of the Île-de-la-Visitation nature-park. action for the environment and the quality of • Increase the extent of protected areas in This green space will help improve the life of its citizens, by creating a park that is truly the urban setting, in compliance with the biodiversity of the Saint-Jacques Escarpment theirs and that responds to their needs. municipal policy on the protection and sector and will offer users special contact enhancement of natural spaces (Politique de with nature. protection et de mise en valeur des milieux naturels) A north-south link (also known as the • Improve Montréal’s park and green space dalle-parc) is proposed to extend the park network, essential for citizen well-being above Autoroute 20 and the railways, opening • Establish infrastructure to provide safe and an additional corridor for pedestrians and enjoyable active transportation opportunities, cyclists between the new park and the Lachine which will improve access to the Saint-Jacques Canal. This outstanding facility will restore links Escarpment and the Lachine Canal between the Sud-Ouest and Côte-des-Neiges– • Create a distinctive entranceway to the city Notre-Dame-de-Grâce boroughs and encourage • Encourage revitalization of the districts active transportation. around the new park, in a sector targeted James Ewing. (2014). Long Dock Park, Beacon, NY, United States. [On-line image]. by an economic development strategy

This new major park will embody Montréal’s innovative spirit and will represent its concrete commitment to the quality of life of its citizens, protection of natural sites and the development Air Imex Ltée. (2018). Turcot projet work status, May 2018. of its neighbourhoods.

2 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS 3 A NEW GREEN SPACE THE SAINT-JACQUES FOR BETTER QUALITY ESCARPMENT ECOTERRITORY: OF LIFE 2 AN AREA TO PROTECT The Saint-Jacques Escarpment Ecoterritory is The Saint-Jacques Escarpment is a significant 3 located in the heart of a sector with a great landscape on the island of Montréal. Located deal of asphalt and is currently inaccessible between Mount Royal and the Lachine Rapids, to the public. it covers more than 20 hectares and is a strategic The creation of a nature-park, complete with stopover for migratory birds and a habitat for walking trails and a bicycle path, will provide the brown snake. opportunities for socializing and physical activity, and offer numerous other benefits. The Escarpment is one of ten natural spaces of interest–or ecoterritories–identified in the Improve the quality of the environment 2004 Politique de protection et de mise en With the new park, a natural ecosystem valeur des milieux naturels de l’agglomération will be born. Benefits will include: de Montréal. The objective of this Policy is to Alexandre Cv. (2016). Cyclists at the Pointe-aux-Prairies nature-park. • Increasing biodiversity protect natural areas in an urban setting. • Improving air quality • Improving rain water management Ecoterritories include existing protected • Creating new tree canopy areas and natural spaces to be protected and • Reducing the heat island effect enhanced. These extensive spaces contribute to biodiversity: they are home to a variety of animal and plant species, some of whose status Develop the bicycle network The bicycle path proposed in the new park is precarious. will improve the municipal bicycle network. In addition, it will help meet the growing needs They offer the potential for conservation of Montréal cyclists, whose number jumped projects and invite citizens to become closer 57% between 2008 and 2015 (source: Vélo- to nature. For these reasons, the Saint-Jacques Québec). The proposed dalle-parc will add Escarpment Ecoterritory will be the site of conservation and design initiatives in order to: to other municipal initiatives to improve the Ville de Montréal. (2018). Boundaries of the Saint-Jacques Escarpment Ecoterritory and the new nature-park. quality of active transportation and allocate • Protect ground cover to prevent erosion Alexandre Cv. (2016). Île-de-la-Visitation nature-park. more space to this mode, which helps public problems health and the environment. • Diversify animal habitats, especially for the brown snake These actions will protect the Saint-Jacques Escarpment ecosystems, while also helping to Enhance the sector • Revegetate the base of the Escarpment and A neighbour to the Lachine Canal, this new offer vista points of the park integrate this green space into adjacent sectors. major park will become an attractive space for • Connect the site to surrounding districts with Montrealers and a feature of the sector, which walking trails and bicycle paths is currently undergoing transformation. • Develop and implement a protection and enhancement plan for the Escarpment, in collaboration with the boroughs involved

4 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS 5 THE SAINT-JACQUES A DEVELOPMENT PLAN ESCARPMENT: A UNIQUE SITE 4 FOR CONCRETE INITIATIVES The Saint-Jacques Escarpment is one of the most In 2014, the Service des grands parcs, du 5 New gateway to the city prominent geographic elements in the city, verdissement et du Mont-Royal created a • Create a new, green entrance to the city, as distinctive as Mont-Royal. While the name development plan for the Saint-Jacques which will cross the Saint-Jacques Escarpment “falaise Saint-Jacques”, is not official, Escarpment, which contained the following Ecoterritory, and mark this entrance by an it has been used for decades. It probably initiatives: impressive work of art or design became common in the 1960s, when chemin • Use excess soil generated by the Turcot project Upper Lachine became rue Saint-Jacques and The district north of the Escarpment work to create, adjacent to the autoroute, the Décarie autoroute was constructed. • Create an attractive entrance on rue Saint- land art, i.e., large pieces created by shaping The district along the ridge of the Escarpment Jacques and a pedestrian trail to lead down the landscape and nature presents a varied building profile, comprised of to the green corridor at the bottom of the • Develop vista points and panoramas offered large-scale retail buildings, vast parking lots, as Escarpment by the autoroute well as smaller stores and residential buildings. • Create new vista points or new entranceways Air Imex Ltée. (2018). Turcot projet work status, May 2018. at the top of the Escarpment Turcot yards and adjacent industrial sectors The current topography of the Escarpment • Revegetate the top of the Escarpment • Enhance the newly opened up land is the result of a long history of unregulated • Create a landscape design that evokes the lac dumping. The accumulation of this construction Saint-Jacques Escarpment and lower greenway à la Loutre and rivière Saint-Pierre previously debris and other rocky material, thrown from • Landscape the Escarpment to stabilize the soil, located there the top of the Escarpment, gradually changed improve biodiversity and protect fauna • Transform rue Notre-Dame to make it more its natural appearance, enlarging its base from • Open up certain areas to offer vista points on attractive and add active transportation and 20 to 100 metres in certain places. Today, the the park transit Escarpment rises 30 metres and has a very • Create a north-south passageway to cross the • Create an attractive park accessway from the abrupt slope, its incline about 40 degrees. autoroute and railway tracks and provide Lachine Canal access to the old railway yard and the Lachine During the 1980s, Montréal planted trees and Canal National Historic Site bushes to consolidate the ground, naturalize the • Create a greenway below the Escarpment, Escarpment and limit soil erosion; currently the as provided for in the Turcot project by the ground is more stable. Nowadays, Escarpment ministère des Transports, de la Mobilité vegetation offers a refuge for migratory birds Ville de Montréal. (n.d.). Boisé de la falaise Saint-Jacques. durable et de l’Électrification des transports and is the habitat of the brown snake, a species that is likely to be designated threatened or vulnerable by the gouvernement du Québec.

Maxim Larivée. (2008). Brown snake.

6 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS 7 THE TURCOT PROJECT: A NATURAL LINK ACTIONS INTEGRATED IN WITH THE LACHINE THE ECOTERRITORY 6 CANAL 7 At the time it opened, the Turcot interchange A greenway at the foot of the Escarpment The new greenspace will connect the Saint- was considered one of the most complex Creation of a greenway, with a minimum Jacques Escarpment to the Lachine Canal. engineering projects in North America. surface area of 9.7 hectares, will enhance the Having declined after the opening of the Saint After more than 50 years, the ministère des natural environment of the Escarpment and Lawrence Seaway in the 1960s, the districts Transports, de la Mobilité durable et de will encourage biodiversity, by creating new around the Canal have more recently gained a animal habitats. This greenway will include: l’Électrification des transports has begun its second life, through real estate development reconstruction, as part of the Turcot project. • Different types of natural settings projects which have attracted residents, • A multipurpose trail for walking running, companies and workers. The banks of the Canal Following the definitive pre-project, tabled in cycling, etc. have been transformed and are now veritable 2012, the autoroute and railways have been • Two small plazas at the ends of the greenway neighbourhoods. will welcome visitors and mark the entrances moved to the north In 1997, Parks Canada announced creation of The designs proposed by the Ministry will Jonathan Lapalme. (n.d.). Lachine Canal Canada National Historic Site bicycle path. Greening the autoroute corridor create a visual distinction between the park and the Lachine Canal National Historic Site, an In the Ministry’s vision, the Saint-Jacques the autoroute zones, enhance the significant ambitious revitalization project to enhance Escarpment is at the heart of the main entrance landscape elements, and encourage quality of the historical and recreational potential of the Constructed between 1914 and 1916, the crane way to the city. Consequently, its actions are life, safety and the visual interest of the routes. Canal. Since then, the Canal has been open to was used to unload coal to supply the Montreal designed to enhance the spaces crossed, by recreational boating and has become a major Light and Power Company plant. highlighting those elements that define their Once the Turcot project is finished, the Ville de tourist attraction that stimulates economic identity and which have shaped the history of Montréal will complete the work and transform activity. The Canal multipurpose trail is part of It represents one of the last industrial the city. rue Notre-Dame Ouest into an urban boulevard, this national park. Created in 1977, it is one of monuments from the period of commercial with the financial support of the gouvernement the oldest and most popular in the Montréal navigation along the Lachine Canal, and is one du Québec. The redesign of rue Notre-Dame, The very linear corridor of Autoroute 20 offers region. of the world’s last remaining cranes of this kind. through elements that will improve the urban little of interest. To improve the landscape, the quality of the setting and encourage active Ministry will plant vegetation to reduce the transportation and transit will provide structure The area around the Canal played a key role Due to the linkages that the Escarpment park visibility of the railway lines to the north and to the transformation of the sector. in Montréal’s development. Many historical will create with the Canal, citizens will be able to form a buffer zone between the expressway industrial elements remain, including the to reclaim these historic sites. and the future nature-park. LaSalle Coke crane, located in the Saint-Jacques Escarpment Ecoterritory sector.

Ville de Montréal. (n.d.). Design illustrating the Turcot Project, before and after the work.

Parks Canada. (n.d.). The LaSalle-Coke crane: remnant of Montréal’s industrialization.

8 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS 9 NATURE-PARK AND THE A SYMBOLIC LANDSCAPE, DALLE-PARC, AT THE HEART GATEWAY TO THE CITY OF THE METROPOLIS 8 The Saint-Jacques Escarpment Nature-Park will The Saint-Jacques Escarpment Ecoterritory is A dozen universities worldwide participated 9in create a completely new natural space in the part of the western entrance path for the city, the project, building their vision around three city. The design of the nature-park will include connecting Montréal’s airport to its downtown. avenues of reflection: a woods, a wetland and a prairie. It will support • An evolving, iconic landscape project for different natural ecosystems which will In 2011, le ministère des Transports, de la the metropolis encompass almost 75% of its area. Mobilité durable et de l’Électrification des 1.0 CHALLENGES • A scenario of unfolding experiences 7 transports mandated the Université de • A co-operative sustainable development A network of paths will invite pedestrians, Montréal’s Chaire en paysage et environnement process runners, cyclists and skiers to immerse to create an international ideas competition, themselves in nature. An interpretive tour to one of whose goals was to develop different The competition’s award-winning projects present the site’s natural, industrial and historic visions for this entrance path to Montréal. highlighted the importance of the Saint-Jacques heritage may also be added to the paths, (n.d.). Pedestrian bridge, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg. [Image en ligne] Escarpment and the Lachine Canal, two strong highlighting, for example, the former rivière features of the landscape of the city entrance Saint-Pierre, the former Lac à la Loutre and way. They also underlined the impressive the Lachine Canal. 1.3 limits of the competition area The limits of the competition area are delineated by a 17 km corridor on autoroute It is expected that the submitted proposals lay within the urban and infrastructural 20, from its junction with autoroute 520, to its entrance point into the Ville­Marie projects potentialthat are presently for transforming under development. the In formerparticular, Turcot contestants should railway yard. At the centre of the nature-park, the proposed tunnel in downtown Montreal. A section of autoroute 15, from the Atwater exit up take into account the planning context and progress of the Dorval Interchange, the dalle-parc will straddle the autoroute and to its junction with autoroute 20, is also included in the limits. Apart from the Saint­Pierre Interchange and the Turcot projects, which are included within the railways, and create a link between the top of autoroute’s right­of­way, the contiguous neighbourhoods are also to be considered, limits of the competition area. Description sheets on these projects as well as in order to integrate the connections between the autoroute and its environment. other opportunity sites will be transmitted to contestants upon registration. the Escarpment, the lower green corridor, the park, the municipal bicycle network and the De la Montagne and University Exits multipurpose trail of the Lachine Canal National Ville-Marie tunnel entrance Historic Site. This iconic infrastructure will St-Marc and St-Mathieu streets Glen Tunnel restore links between the Sud-Ouest and Côte- Saint-Henri neighbourhood Ville-Marie section A-720) des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce boroughs Tupper Area and will provide a north-south connector for Richelieu Neighbourhood Overpass Gadbois Recreational Centre Containers Business Centre Skyline pedestrians and cyclists. It will respond to Lachine MHUC Section (wall) GreenTunnel Residual Vegetation Mont Royal (views and panoramas) growing travel needs of residents and workers. Jones & Jones. (2012). Vancouver Land Bridge, Vancouver, WA, United States. [On-line image]. Montreal-West Interchange CN shop Autoroute15 Atwater Sector Tunnel and 55th Avenue Exit (Lachine Borough) Saint-Pierre Neighbourhood Industrial area (Dorval) Junction of Autoroutes 20 and 13 Canadian National's right-of-way T.O.D. Dorval Hydro-Quebec's right-of-way Patrimonial crane Navigation lock This major facility will become an iconic symbol Old Northern Saint-Jacques Escarpment Water treatment plant Dorval Interchange Norman street Upper-Lachine – of the entrance to the city; it will be a highlight Aqueduct Trudeau-Airport Meadowbrook Saint-Jacques road of the landscape of the metropolis. These Golf Lachine Roofs (lower part of the city) Canal Cabot Area elements will offer a unique and memorable Galt Area experience for all citizens and visitors. Section of Autoroute 20 Turcot Interchange Industrial plant Former Turcot Yard

Angrignon Section

Industrial Area East of 32nd (Lasalle) 55th Avenue Avenue in Lachine Dorval Avenue Industrial plant Residual Vegetation 32nd Avenue Saint-Pierre Overpass Illustration: Limits of the competition area Interchange

(n.d.). Millennium-Park pedestrian bridge, Chicago, United States. [On-line image] (2011) Excerpted from YUL-MTL by-law: Landscapes in movement, International design competition _ Design Montréal

10 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS 11 ANOTHER STEP TOWARD REVITALIZATION OF THE TURCOT-LACHINE-EST SECTOR10 Redevelopment of the area around the FOUR NODES Saint-Jacques Escarpment will be the first gesture to revitalize the Turcot-Lachine-Est IN TRANSFORMATION sector, which will be the subject of several design and development projects in the The four nodes of the Turcot-Lachine-Est sector will soon be transformed due to major autoroute coming years. projects and current planning efforts. As designated by the Schéma • Saint-Henri Ouest-Émard-Côte-Saint-Paul d’aménagement et de développement Located in this Sud-Ouest borough, this node is de l’agglomération de Montréal, the the home of the Gadbois recreational complex. Turcot-Lachine-Est sector is bordered Its districts are greatly affected by the interchange by the Atwater Tunnel on the east, the reconstruction work. That is why the borough Lachine locks on the west, the Saint- adopted an urban, economic and social Jacques Escarpment on the north and development plan, following a public consultation the rue Saint-Patrick on the south. It held in 2016. overlaps areas in the Sud-Ouest, LaSalle and Lachine boroughs. Over the years the Implementation of this plan, which includes a sector has become a strategic location variety of actions, will be funded in part by the for industrial companies, given its ministère des Transports, de la Mobilité et de development around major transportation l’Électrification des transports. infrastructure. Construction of the Lachine • Former Turcot Yards and its surroundings Canal, expansion of the railway network The railway yard situated along Autoroute 20 has and opening of autoroutes A20 and been dismantled and the site will become available A-15 have shaped and divided the area. after completion of the Turcot project work and Transportation corridors became barriers the shifting of the highway and railway corridors. that were difficult for pedestrians and This is where the new major park project will be cyclists to cross. located. Nearby, rue Notre-Dame Ouest will be redesigned as an urban boulevard. The Saint-Jacques Escarpment is located where the Sud-Ouest borough, on the • Saint-Pierre Interchange south, meets the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre- In a few years, this node will be the scene of a Dame-de-Grâce borough to the north. major infrastructure project, namely the total or This means the new park will be at the partial reconstruction or repair of the interchange. crossroads of several districts, connecting These projects will have major repercussions on them together and inviting citizens to the neighbouring sectors. reclaim the sector. • Lachine-Est Once the site of flourishing industry, this node will soon change its use and become a new neighbourhood. Several underused or abandoned industrial complexes remain, presenting high risks of soil contamination.

12 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW NATURE-PARK PROJECT IN THE TURCOT YARDS ville.montreal.qc.ca/grandsparcs

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