The City of Quebec is considering acquiring the orphan alleys on its territory, which are currently under the supervision of Revenu Quebec, to facilitate their greening and development.
The administration of Bruno Marchand expects within “a few weeks” the conclusions of a committee of experts set up in April 2022 and mandated to trace the future of the alleys considered as ownerless property on the territory of the city.
In the national capital, several alleys built by promoters at the beginning of the XXe century, then abandoned after the departure of their owners, belong by default to the Quebec government. It does not want to keep them in its fold: “Revenu Québec is willing to cede the alleys to anyone who shows their intention to acquire them, whether it is the City of Québec or citizens […] for the symbolic sum of $1,” wrote the Duty an organizational relationist.
The number of alleys considered as ownerless property in the capital remains unclear. Revenu Québec confirms that it is responsible for 12 of them, a figure that is probably undervalued since “before being able to confirm that a lane is subject to the provisional administration of Revenu Québec, a verification of the title deeds must be carried out “says the agency.
The City of Quebec does not have their exact number on hand either and explains that the information, available by request for access, concerns “different units”.
A debate that dates
The idea of integrating orphan alleys into public roads has been living for 10 years at the Hôtel de Ville de Québec. During Régis Labeaume’s second term, the national capital had refused to acquire the lanes belonging to the provincial government, even though the latter still offered them at a symbolic price. Snow removal, insurance, maintenance and development represented at the time too heavy a cross to bear for the finances of Quebec. In 2013, The Journal of Quebec reported that between 60 and 100 orphan alleys existed in the Quebec capital.
A decade later, the debate is now occupying the Marchand administration — and a denouement seems to be on the horizon. The mandate of the committee of experts expires in a month, the tabling of its report is approaching and the adviser in charge of the file, Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc, is waiting to read it before deciding on their fate.
The conversion of orphan alleys into friendly living environments suffers from the legal ambivalence that surrounds their ownership. Stuck in this gray area, dreams of green alleys often end up in a dead end. “It completely short-circuits the projects, deplores Cyril Frazao, executive director of Nature Québec. The few green alleys of Quebec remain very mineralized because as soon as it is a question of desalphalting them, Revenue Quebec systematically refuses for insurance reasons. »
“There are certain citizens’ committees that have taken the steps and obtained $25,000 to carry out the work needed to develop their alley,” explains Limoilou councilor Jackie Smith. After all these steps, they arrive before Revenu Québec and are refused because the alleys represent important places of passage and their situation raises important issues of snow removal and civil liability. »
It currently costs “between $10,000 and $15,000 per winter” to residents of green alleys, only in snow removal costs, continues the one who is also leader of the environmental party Transition Quebec. “If we have to include civil liability insurance in there, that’s huge too. »
According to her, Quebec should imitate Montreal and place the orphan alleys in the lap of the public road. “The City must take its responsibilities,” says Jackie Smith. It doesn’t have to rest on the shoulders of the public all the time. »
If the City municipalizes its alleys, “it will be able to impose standards in terms of speed, layout and signage,” adds Jackie Smith. “It would be expensive, but it could improve the management of these complicated situations. Otherwise, these alleys represent nurseries to conflicts. »
The Montreal example
In the metropolis, the alleys belong to the City and their conversion into community spaces is decided by the borough councils. Montréal finances from the sums granted to the boroughs the greening and development of its green alleys and its white alleys, ie those used in winter. “Snow removal is assumed by the citizens, it is not the City that pays,” explains Eve Lortie-Fournier, director general of the Regroupement des éco-quartiers.
“If the City of Quebec wants to municipalize its alleys, it would be the simplest solution, estimates the united deputy of Jean-Lesage, Sol Zanetti. There would be many, many people happy to see the process of creating green alleys being simplified in Quebec. »
Two weeks ago, the elected representative of Québec solidaire wrote to the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, to ask him to put an end to the obstruction of Revenu Québec in the greening of the alleys under his responsibility. “The minimum he must do, adds Mr. Zanetti, is to remove the blockages. Through inertia, Revenu Québec and the Minister are holding back citizen projects that would add greenery to an area where the canopy is less important than elsewhere in the capital. »
Even if the municipalization of the orphan alleys entailed additional costs for the City, Jackie Smith believes that it is her duty to provide these services. Several alleys are currently abandoned and turn into cesspools at the first rain, in the absence of adequate drainage. “They are in a sorry state, there are holes where the children play, underlines Sol Zanetti, himself a resident of Limoilou. They need to be made safer. »
These neglected alleys could become “a real green fabric” in the lower town of Quebec, believe the two elected officials of Limoilou. “It’s a new way of developing the city,” concludes the head of Transition Québec. Transform concrete spaces and green them: where we are, it is necessary and urgent to do so. »