Residents of Sainte-Dorothée are concerned about blasting work which begins Monday as part of a huge real estate project, which also raises concerns about the future reserved for this district in the west of the island of Laval known for its tranquility and green spaces.
From January 24 to March 31, blasting work will take place on the former driving range of Le Cardinal golf course as part of the first stages of a huge construction site to come. The site could in fact accommodate up to 2,800 houses in the coming years when the METTA low-density real estate project is completed. It also provides for the extension of several existing streets, which will create a whole new neighborhood in the heart of Sainte-Dorothée, an area in full swing, which currently has approximately 36,000 residents.
In anticipation of this work, several residents have received in the last few days a carbon monoxide detector, an odorless gas that is potentially deadly. This is particularly the case for residents of rue Bonaventure, which includes two rows of residential buildings of a few floors a few meters from this golf course.
“They tell us that if it goes off [l’alarme], you have to call 911 and evacuate right away, so it’s a lot of stress for me, ”says Lucia, a middle-aged resident met on site last Thursday. A concern shared by her neighbor, Gracilda.
“It stresses me out because I have a dog. If I’m not home [quand l’alarme va sonner] , what will happen? she asks anxiously. Other residents joined by The duty also fear that these works will damage the structure of their homes. “I’m very worried about that,” says Isabelle Gagnon, who also lives on rue Bonaventure.
The president of the BMP real estate group, one of the three promoters behind this project, wants to be reassuring. In an interview, Jon Morrison specifies that these blasting works are “very minor” and are done at a shallow depth. As for the carbon monoxide alarms, they were only provided as a preventive measure, says a subcontractor of the general contractor responsible for this site, David Habib.
“There is a tiny risk that with the deflagration of the explosives, there is carbon monoxide which enters the residences. It can happen, but it remains extremely rare, ”explains Mr. Habib, who also rules out any risk of repercussions on the structures of housing neighboring the site.
A real estate boom
This real estate project echoes the arrival within a few years of the Metropolitan Express Network (REM), which will have a station in Sainte-Dorothée. The real estate developers of the METTA project are also betting in part on the proximity of this future light rail station to promote their real estate megaproject online. The REM thus stimulates real estate development in the west of Laval, as well as in several sectors of the Montreal region, where this new mode of public transport is attracting interest.
“This project is really an example of how we can make sustainable and innovative development” in order to meet “the needs of families of the future”, argues Jon Morrison.
This real estate project, like others that could see the light of day on other green spaces in the west of the island of Laval, however, raises several long-term concerns among citizens.
“It’s already an area that has traffic congestion during rush hours, and we haven’t done any analysis of the impact that major real estate projects” could have on it, mentions Jonathan Tremblay in particular. , who has lived in Sainte-Dorothée for more than 12 years
Many long-time residents also feel a certain nostalgia for the accelerated transformation that the neighborhood is undergoing. “West of Laval has always been recognized as a country sector” and quiet, recalls Mr. Tremblay. However, in a few years, “we will no longer recognize it”, he fears.
“There have been people here for a long time who are going to move,” foresees the resident of the sector and former leader of the Action Laval party, Sonia Baudelot. “It’s unfortunate, but it will happen here too,” adds the one who fears an “exodus to the northern suburbs” of several residents of the district.
Protect golf courses
The mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer, assures for his part that he wants to combine regional development and environmental protection. He also made an electoral commitment to protect a minimum of 50% of the green spaces on the golf courses that will be sold.
“If there are developments, we will want a large proportion of the green territory to be protected,” he says. A new urban planning regulation should also be adopted by elected officials next summer for this promise to be realized. “In the meantime, we have no choice but to apply the old by-law,” as was the case for certain contracts related to the first phase of the METTA project, which were approved by the City, indicated the mayor.
The City is also facing a sizeable challenge, since demographic growth is significant in Laval. “For sure the population growth has to go somewhere, so for sure [que les projets immobiliers]it meets a certain need,” he notes.
However, biologist and project manager at the Laval Regional Council for the Environment Alexandre Choquet expects the City to show firmness in protecting the wetlands found on several golf courses in western Isle.
“In fact, the main question is that we have to make sure we have spaces that are natural and protected, before deciding where to build,” underlines the biologist and spokesperson for the coalition Les terrains de golf in transition, Catherine Vallée, who calls on the City to safeguard green spaces ahead of future real estate developments.