Village Des Tanneries

CCVT

Wednesday Nights in the Bikers' Garden

Potluck Dinners with onsite BBQ will take place every Wednesday evening from 5pm to 8pm in the Bikers' Garden of the Village des Tanneries, corner Cazelais and Walnut.   Bring some hot dogs or your favorite dish to share with friends and neighbours and catch up on what's going on in the neighbohood ! Sign the petition regarding the Turcot project and expropriations; lend a hand in the flower gardens on the MTQ space (now in it's 2nd year); give your input on making this ans other communal space more attractive and inviting... Amazing things can happen when we get together!

Mobilizing re MTQ Highway Reconstruction Project

What you should know about the Turcot reconstruction project

Residents of St Henri (and specifically the Village des Tanneries) have been living in close proximity to the highway for decades. Since it's construction in the 60s, the highway structure has become so much a part of our urban landscape, that we barely notice it anymore, and certainly don’t question it or consider its full repercussions. After all, there are always more immediate, more pressing issues to deal with in our lives like  affordable daycare or housing. It is easy to become complacent or even resign ourselves when faced with issues that seem so completely beyond our control. 

Recently however, the Ministry of Transport has presented us, the citizens of South West Montreal, with a proposal  to replace the elevated highway with a new, lower highway that will be theoretically, safer, more efficient and cheaper to maintain. But will the long term benefits to the community and to the city really outweigh the short and long term hardships (traffic congestion, road closures, heavy dust and noise pollution, not to mention the expropriation of several hundred people) inflicted upon the community during the three or four years it will take to build ?

A coalition of community groups, urban planners, and researchers are working to understand the full ramifications of the proposed project: How will it affect our quality of life?...  Our environment?... Our access to services?...  Our property values? ... Our access to affordable housing? 
It seems increasingly clear that there will be very few long term benefits to the South West: Whether from an environmental, public health or socio-economic perspective, a new, lower highway will only serve to further isolate a neighborhood already fragmented  by the CN train tracks, the Ville Marie expressway and scarred by it's industrial past.

While safety and maintenance costs are unquestionably issues of great concern, the MTQ plan must find a solution that better integrates the values and objectives outlined in Montreal's revised urban master plan. Changing the direction of such a mega project might seem like an impossible, insurmountable battle...  and yet, can we really afford not to take a stand? If the health and well being of our children, our neighbors and the quality of life within our community is not worth fighting for, what is? 

We each have a voice, and a vote. Let's use it! In the coming weeks and months, local residents will be called upon to help create a vision of the kind of community in which they wish to live and to take a stand in regards to the current  MTQ highway reconstruction project. 

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The neighborhood lies in the shadow of the Ville Marie Expressway. Dozens of homes and gardens along St Jacques street were torn down in the 1960s to allow for the construction of the elevated expressway. Thirty years later, reconstruction plans for the Turcot Interchange  threaten to displace hundreds more in the area . The Fattal building at 780 St Remi, as well as most of the homes on the north side of Cazelais are at risk of being torn down to build the new highway.

Check out the Community Bulletin Board, the Forum page and the Links page for information on what's being done by the CCVT and other groups to lobby for an alternative solution to the current plan (and protect the rights of local area residents).

 

2007 Summer Projects in the Village des Tanneries

Village Gardens Project
The building of  10 more raised garden beds (making 16 in all); horticultural activities and workshops; creation of a gardening committee. http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc274/CCVT2007/?action=view&current=1544640f.pbw

Phytoremediation Community Education Project  
Series of workshops for children and adults; Learning Path on the Allée des Tanneries will inform the public as to how plants can be used to decontaminate the soil.Coordinator: Isabelle Tétrault of Pro-Vert Sud-Ouest.http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc274/CCVT2007/Summer%20Activities%202007/?action=view&current=IMG_0406_2.jpg

MTQ Land Revitalization Project
Greening of an abandoned lot next to the highway, between St Remi and Desnoyers streets; Art Installation; Spring Clean Up of  the site, and a complete transformation of this space as Daniel Roy plants self seeding annuals, perennials and shrubs. Volunteers to help water and other odd jobs are always welcome. http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc274/CCVT2007/?action=view&current=3692317d.pbw

Portfolio Project
Images of neighbourhood activities and of life, in the shadow of the highway and train tracks, are being collected in view of an eventual exhibit.

Neighborhood Block Party
BBQ, rally, games, distribution and planting of flowers around trees on the street. http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc274/CCVT2007/Summer%20Activities%202007/?action=view&current=IMG_0183_2.jpg

Wednesday eve Causerie
Every Wednesday evening, neighbors congregate in the Bikers' Garden to chat, share some ice tea and get to know each other. This is a great opportunity to catch up on what's going on in the community and what needs doing.

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