Will the city of Lévis have its Central Park? Some dream of creating a green promenade inspired by London or New York where the administration in place plans to extend a boulevard. The opposition to Mayor Gilles Lehouillier intends to make it the question of the ballot box during a by-election on February 19.
To the left, to the right, in front, behind: no matter where you look, a sea of concrete parking lots spreads out in view of the person who ventures to the corner of boulevard Étienne-Dallaire and route du Président-Kennedy . Here is the heart of Lévis, territory of supermarkets and bitumen that a row of trees, planted along the boulevard without sidewalk, tries somehow to green.
Boulevard Étienne-Dallaire and its four lanes end where a long, still fallow corridor begins. It is this strip of land 820 meters long, flanked on either side by single-family homes, that the Repensons Lévis party wishes to convert into a park the size of nine football fields. The political formation had defended this idea during the general election in 2021. Its candidate had bitten the dust by collecting 28% of the votes, far behind the candidate of the ruling party and her 70% support.
Mayor Gilles Lehouillier’s administration is considering other projects for these lands located in the center of Lévis. His party, Lévis Force 10, promises to roll out the asphalt to extend boulevard Étienne-Dallaire to rue Charles-Rodrigue, a site included in the municipality’s three-year investment plan and endowed with an envelope of 5, $5 million. The mayor swore to carry out the extension during the partial. Construction should start in 2024, cars will be able to drive there the following year.
“People I meet door-to-door tell me that they’ve been waiting for the boulevard for 30 years! It is even a condition to obtain their vote, explains Pascal Brulotte, the candidate of Lévis Force 10 for this partial which takes place in the Christ-Roi district. They tell me, ‘we will vote for you if you agree to do so.’”
He specifies that the extension envisaged, which would grow near the swimming pools of the district, would leave room for other modes of transport than the automobile. “It would be two lanes, not four, with a cycle path and a space reserved for pedestrians, specifies the candidate from the community sector. It will be well laid out so that motorists can find their account, but so that walkers and cyclists can also enjoy it. »
The candidate admits that, to his knowledge, no study confirms the need to extend the boulevard to ease car traffic. On the other hand, maintains Mr. Brulotte, the people they meet are calling for it, hoping to see traffic relief on the residential streets of the area. In his opinion, this “direct” citizen consultation with the population, which is largely in favor of the extension, according to him, demonstrates the relevance of the project.
A project supported by the population?
Repensons Lévis castigates this lack of analysis. “There is no study that demonstrates the relevance of this project, deplores Elhadji Mamadou Diarra, the party leader. This project has been back on the drawing board for more than 40 years, depending on the moods of the various administrations. If it was so necessary, it would have been realized a long time ago. The neighborhood does not need a new boulevard that will add heat islands. On the contrary, these are islands of freshness that must be created! »
Mr. Diarra adds that it is false to claim that the population supports the extension of the boulevard. His party collected nearly 400 signatures in favor of the creation of the green promenade. He insists: 80 people who live near the section promised by the City do not want it.
The candidate of Repensons Lévis in Christ-Roi, Alexandre Fallu, grew up in the Lamartine district that the extended boulevard would cross. “It’s a very mixed sector. There are plenty of single-family homes, but there are also blocks and co-ops. It is a complete living environment, inhabited by people of all ages and from all walks of life. »
There are also many families in the area, adds Mr. Diarra. “The other day, during a door-to-door evening, a boy told me that he didn’t want a running track in his yard. Yet this is what the administration offers him! »
According to Repensons Lévis, the extension of the boulevard would not change the traffic problem it seeks to solve, except to push it back to the heart of another residential district, located 820 meters further west.
“Initially, the administration wanted to stretch the boulevard to Chemin des Îles, an artery bordered by industries,” explains Mr. Fallu. It finally gave up this initial version in the face of popular pressure, which was indignant at the destruction of wetlands that this project would have caused. If the boulevard no longer goes as far as the industrial sector, that means that it ends up in the middle of an inhabited district. It just moves traffic. »
In his opinion, the by-election is intended to be a referendum on the conception of mobility in Lévis, traditionally turned towards the automobile. “People walk a lot within their neighborhood, but they don’t walk to work or to go shopping. The car is part of the culture in Lévis, but it is not entirely the fault of the people, concludes Mr. Fallu. The city’s infrastructure and amenities do not encourage active transportation at all. »
His opponent, Pascal Brulotte, maintains that the administration in place believes in all ways of getting around. “I am for the third link, he underlines, but on condition that there is a place for public transport. This is why we want to create incentive parking lots at the end. »