I’ve heard it called the falaise St. Jacques, the St. Jacques escarpement and even the St. Jacques cliff. Just to confuse things, the group behind the proposal to turn the former Turcot Yards into Parc Lac à la loutre (Otter Lake Park) has taken to calling it the “Falaises Saint-Pierre,” a name La Presse repeated on the weekend.
The group has a map here that shows what it would like to see done with Turcot. The proposal would plow over parts of the falaise and cut it off from the planned park.
It proposes moving Highway 20 and remaining Canadian National train tracks to the foot of the falaise, leaving more room for the park and other developments. It also suggests cutting into the falaise to make way for roads, including one that would link Cavendish to the 20.
It s a pretty darn good plan! Not sure that bringing the 20 to the foot of the Falaise is such a good thing, could kill it in many ways. But a much better plan than the brainless thing that is being officially offered by Transport Quebec.
I like the Falaise Saint Pierre name as it s more in tune with the history of the place. Clearing the railroad out is not good.
As an NDG’er I’m not so thrilled about putting the 20 (and CN tracks) between me and the park. On the other hand it sure does allow for linking the park with the Lachine Canal…
Thanks for keeping us posted.
Cheers,
A.
[...] 16th, 2007 by andyriga The Westmount Examiner ran a story about the Otter Lake project last [...]
Me, I’m more of the opinion that the 20 should stay where it is, and a park created where the Turcot Yards were.
Not only would this create a great noise buffer for St. Pierre, Montreal West and NDG, it would allow for the bike path people keep talking about
Ever since the post world war 2 expansion of the suburbs based on car commute, we’ve had a problem of land contamination, enormous emmissions and the creation of vast dead zones next to highways such as in the Turcot. Please read the Montreal Public Health Department 2006 Annual Report focused on Highway proximity and emmissions health impacts.
When First Nations were driven from Montreal island by the Sulpician Apartheid, in the same way that Montreal’s indigenous heritage at Lac a la loutre (possible site of Hochelaga), 45 rivers and 10 lakes were buried because of ignorance of traditional orchard management methods to hold runoff. DeMaisonneuve saw an Iroquois behind every orchard tree and had them felled. The superproductive oaks, butternuts, hazelnuts, peach, cherry etc. that held the precipitation and soil, were replaced by the poverty of cereal and field mono-crops.
Starting with this unaddressed crime against humanity against ‘indigenous’ (derived from the Latin meaning ’self-generating’) peoples, our feudal economy is ever centralising and our communities desaggregated. What we really need are ways of working with each other locally, recognising each other as assets, investing and exchanging together. The Rotinosaunee (Iroquois) Great Law of Peace tells us how according to the economic principles of the Longhouse and the String Shell (Wampum, Kayoni, Esnoguay etc.).
Please note the official website for the Otter lake development project.
http://www.lacalaloutre.org