Comments for exploring the falaise st. jacques

Comment on mulling over the falaise on blog action day by Floroskop

Floroskop — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:33:37 +0000

Hello!
I think this try.

Comment on a mountain bike trail? by Simon D

Simon D — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:08:28 +0000

A sustainable MTB trail build by professional is less damageable to the environments than a hiker trail. Some city like New york and Seattle has the same problem with the same kind of land Like the Falaise. So they’ve build sustainable trail and now the population can enjoy it. In majority, the average land used is 1500 acres for a average of 10 miles of trail.

http://www.imba.com/canada
http://www.adsvmq.org

Comment on turcot plan endangers falaise: green coalition by neath

neath — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:23:28 +0000

Get thee to a snow pile! There is a great story happening in Turcot Yards!

Comment on a falaise by any other name by Allen F Mackenzie

Allen F Mackenzie — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:27:04 +0000

Please note the official website for the Otter lake development project.
http://www.lacalaloutre.org

Comment on a falaise by any other name by Douglas Jack

Douglas Jack — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:22:13 +0000

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.).

Comment on Turcot by Bob Turcott

Bob Turcott — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:25:42 +0000

It nice to see such a place that has the same name as me!!!
Someday I will visit my ancestral home in canada!!!

Comment on a falaise by any other name by Christopher

Christopher — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:24:01 +0000

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

Comment on mysterious pipes by David T

David T — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:17:59 +0000

thats because in the 70s garbage trucks would dump thier contents over the falaisse. this went on for years. Very contaminated land, in my opinion

Comment on turcot plan endangers falaise: green coalition by neath

neath — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:25:09 +0000

Add to it that the construction will probably kill the Falaise. I agree that it is worth protecting and becoming part of something a little more creative than an organic noise barrier.

Comment on turcot plan endangers falaise: green coalition by dream listener

dream listener — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:08:32 +0000

why…oh why? i wonder why wo/man (us) kind feels the need to domesticate every single square inch of the earth? the falaise as it is, for those of us who have discovered it, still retains a certain semblance of freedom from…you can still feel alone, as if you are the discoverer of an abandoned gem that others think of as useless, but that you can see its inherent beauty.

thanks for the site…neaths blogroll lead me here!
d.l.

Comment on a mountain bike trail? by Desmond Bliek

Desmond Bliek — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 21:03:29 +0000

Andy- nice research… thanks for sharing the good feel you’re getting for the place. As for mountain bike trails, if they’re properly designed, with reasonably gradual grades (<10%) and features designed to divert water drainage, they can be inserted into a falaise-type landscape without too much trouble. After all, who wants to ride on the flat?

Comment on a falaise by any other name by the sound of spinning « exploring the falaise st. jacques

the sound of spinning « exploring the falaise st. jacques — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 20:04:09 +0000

[...] 16th, 2007 by andyriga The Westmount Examiner ran a story about the Otter Lake project last [...]

Comment on of trails and wars in the 1940s and 1950s by Ron

Ron — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 22:21:24 +0000

I lived on Regent Street below the tracks between 1949 and 1959. As kids, we spent our summers playing in the Falaise. We used it for our BB/pellet gun wars; raced soapbox carts down the paved road that led to the rail yards; stole track bombs from the rail yards and then put them on the street car tracks on Western Avenue; raided the many vegetable gardens tended to by Italian immigrants; and, swam in the creek at the bottom of the embankment during the summer months.
When I was 8 years old, I started delivering the Montreal Star. I delivered newspapers on every route between Decarie and Grand Blvds substituting for delivery boys away on vacation. I was eventually given my own route between Clifton and Grand Blvd because it was too small and no one wanted it. However, in 1958/59 construction started on the apartment buildings on Beaconsfield Avenue. Within a year, I had the largest route with over 100 customers.
I presently own my own real estate company. I got my start in life as an entrepreneur by knocking on doors prospecting for new customers for my newspaper route; competing with the Italian kids for business delivering groceries with our wagons at Steinberg’s on Sherbrooke Street; knocking on doors and looking for empty pop bottles we could trade in for cash; and, by shoveling sidewalks in the winter. Not one of my friends received an allowance from their parents; we got our spending money the old-fashioned way—by working for it.

Comment on a couple of photos from my walk by gilles

gilles — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:49:19 +0000

i have started commuting from NDG to centre-ville, using the fenced street near cavendish. it’s a fun shortcut, away from the traffic.

this morning, i saw a) a racoon as i was going down the cliff and b) a fox on pullman street as i was biking.

a guy at work who used to live in NDG a long time ago (say, the 50s) told me a lot of Italian people were growing tomatoes and other vegs in gardens that were set up on the falaise.

G!lles

Comment on a falaise by any other name by andrew

andrew — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 22:14:35 +0000

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.

Comment on a falaise by any other name by neath

neath — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 05:19:41 +0000

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.

Comment on a falaise by any other name by neath

neath — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 02:30:55 +0000

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.

Comment on a mountain bike trail? by platypusmtl

platypusmtl — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:03:39 +0000

The BITA architectural firm in Montreal has a project called Lac à la outre (en perspective). They have an image of an (unreferenced) historical map showing Otter lake. Their weblink is: http://www.blta.ca/Projets04.htm#

Comment on the falaise in 3d, sort of by controleman

controleman — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:17:42 +0000

What’s the difference with google earth?

Comment on My walk by a walk in the falaise jungle « exploring the falaise st. jacques

a walk in the falaise jungle « exploring the falaise st. jacques — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:22:13 +0000

[...] My walk [...]

Comment on My walk by andyriga

andyriga — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:04:18 +0000

The property isn’t for sale. The city owns most of the falaise; a few bits and pieces of it are still owned by businesses along St. Jacques St. It’s not open to the public but it’s not hard to get in and it’s not regularly patrolled. I’ve seen people walking their dogs in the Turcot Yard and have been told that some people walk their dogs on the falaise. I wouldn’t do it alone.

Comment on My walk by Susan Horan

Susan Horan — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 02:40:19 +0000

Glad you survived.
Is that property for sale?
Is it really for the public to enjoy or were you actually trespassing.

I live in NDG and am always looking for places to walk my dog.

Sue.

Comment on My photos by andyriga

andyriga — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 01:57:42 +0000

Which photo are you referring to?

Comment on mysterious pipes by neath

neath — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 03:05:33 +0000

There are a couple of spots in the Yards that have similar pipes and I believe they are for soil testing as well.

Comment on researching the falaise st. jacques by Andy Rotili

Andy Rotili — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 22:30:39 +0000

I like the picture

Comment on the champlain sea, otter lake, foxes and coyotes by andyriga

andyriga — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:50:05 +0000

Try the HTML version. It doesn’t include the maps and graphics but you can read the paper.

Comment on My walk by the champlain sea, otter lake, foxes and coyotes « exploring the falaise st. jacques

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 23:06:45 +0000

[...] My walk [...]

Comment on some photos of my walk by neath

neath — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 06:19:53 +0000

Amazing story, Norm!

Comment on researching the falaise st. jacques by neath

neath — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 06:18:30 +0000

The “Montreal Melon” was known to be an NDG delight. I never did find out if it ever graced the Falaise. Maybe you will find out!

Comment on the champlain sea, otter lake, foxes and coyotes by neath

neath — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 06:15:32 +0000

Here is an article that got me started - and believing that Otter Lake was located more near the interchange, and perhaps a huge part of Turcot yards, rather than being a little thing deeper east into Saint Henri.

cbed.geog.mcgill.ca/AtlasPDFs/SustainabilityRootedInHeritage.pdf

Hope the link works it was timing out for me tonight.

Comment on the first review is in… by Le Flâneur

Le Flâneur — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:25:33 +0000

I find this fascinating, actually. The way nature and human neglect intersect in the midst of urban density. There must be other, albeit probably smaller, such areas around the island. Keep blogging!

Comment on My photos by Cameron

Cameron — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:13:17 +0000

In the photo with the wooden walkway do the trees run perpendicular to the hill?

Comment on researching the falaise st. jacques by Sesto Vespa

Sesto Vespa — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 05:09:06 +0000

Great article!! I was a boy of 8 when I came from Italy and we lived across the street from the falaise. It was a wonderful playground for us the young and a way of continuing a somewhat rural life for our parents who enjoyed farming small gardens within its hills. We explored the wonders of steam engines as we moved in and around them at the bottom of the falaise and did some sandboarding and body sliding on the hills of fine sand that was used by the railway. We built rafts and sailed them across tiny ponds which allowed us to challenge our imagination and tested our developing boyhood skills. We played among the gardens and tore the tomatoes from the vines when our parents weren’t looking and gleefully threw them at each other. We ate the fava beans and left our elders wondering who the nasty kids were that did this - who were often their own. We took our pets for walks and walked with our young girlfriends in a private world among its green wonders. My cat ‘Quicky’ loved to wonder among its scents, odours and surprises tied to my hands by a leash - as he played my trusty partner in jungle exploration. We tore apart old cars that had been dumped in secluded sections - and used them as a test bed for understanding technology and developing a wonder for all things mechanical. It helped us to survive a stark transition from rural green to urban grey - as a biosphere between two worlds. Ultimately, it gave us an opportunity to play and develop in a new foreign world through a narrow window on the nature from which we came.

Comment on it could have looked like this by T. Donlan

T. Donlan — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:19:33 +0000

Hi, really nice pictures of a unique area. Did anyone comment about when the immigrants (Italians) grew hanging tomatoes up the side of this cliff. Before my time, but I heard of it. I was under the impression that this embankment runs the length of the island. Did you ever check out the limestone cliffs behind the “water reservoir” between McGill & the Royal Vic?? thanks, Tom Donlan

Comment on researching the falaise st. jacques by Pat Patterson

Pat Patterson — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:49:38 +0000

I was a police officer for many years in the area of the falaise. In your photo of June 29th, what was the point of the fence?
Many years ago in the 60’s and 70’s the many people of the Italian neighborhood above St. Jacques kept vegetable gardens on parts of the cliff and surrounded their plots with fences as seen in your picture. The cliffs were dotted with these little gardens.
Another hobby of sorts was dumping stolen cars over the cliff from St. James sic.
Very enjoyable article
Thanks

Comment on some photos of my walk by Norm Spatz

Norm Spatz — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:14:24 +0000

We cut the reeds that grow in the stream running along the bottom of the falaise area for years each autumn. They formed the roof material for the small shelter or sukka used in the celebration of the Jewish holiday Sukkot. We told only a small number of friends about the area so as not to cause overuse, but to our knowledge no one ever followed our example. The reeds in the area have a small tuft which was extremely attractive lined up as the roof material of our sukka.

When my son was younger, the trip to harvest with scissors in hand and our car lined with plastic was one of the highlights of the holiday. We have pictures of our son growing each year and changing from an on-looker to a harvester in his own right. We would go to the bottom area near the road that you described leading up the cliff to Saint-Jacques. Near Pullman, the railway workers had placed a picnic table which seemed like the ideal place for lunch. Several years ago, the closure of Pullman Street ended our use of this area for our annual expedition for reeds.

Comment on it could have looked like this by Velibor Bozovic

Velibor Bozovic — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:23:20 +0000

Hopefully we can avoid having corporate logos and advertising as the solution. Is there any solution for any type of a problem any more that doesn’t need corporate world and it’s practices?
Enjoying this blog… Keep it alive.
Best,

Comment on the falaise and lachine by neath

neath — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:49:17 +0000

It does. If you picture it without Saint Jacques and a few other developments it easy to see the Falaise went way out there.

Comment on death race 3000 - the falaise connection by controleman

controleman — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:15:25 +0000

NOW I know where the idea of the game ”Carmageddon” comes from. I used to play a lot to this game as a kid! Fantastic!

Comment on the falaise dump by neath

neath — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 23:11:07 +0000

Wow, I never saw that page before, thanks!

Comment on the first review is in… by andyriga

andyriga — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:46:09 +0000

Just wait until I set up a falaise YouTube channel and start my weekly podcasts about the flora and fauna of the falaise.

Comment on the first review is in… by Fagstein

Fagstein — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 03:19:02 +0000

If you can find enough content to sustain this blog, you’ll be a prime candidate. I had similar doubts about Walking Turcot Yards, but it’s actually become pretty successful.

Of course, someone might take issue with a Gazette reporter’s blog being profiled in his paper. So I’ll do yours right after I do mine.

Comment on researching the falaise st. jacques by controleman

controleman — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:46:34 +0000

If you wish to know a bit of history about this place, go see the Centre Historique de Saint-Henri. It’s located next to the Saint-Henri Metro station, in the fire station. (total right door) It is open on wednesday from 7pm to 9pm. Ask to go see the document upstairs. There’s a lot of photograph, but you need to pay to get them, but you can..

-marc