Process: Green Ribbons

Went to a photo exhibition by André Denis entitled L’échangeur Turcot – Entre ciel et terre at la Maison de la culture Marie-Uguay. In an accompanying text, Jean Décarie described how the intertwining structure of the Turcot was seen as a work of art when it was inaugurated in the 60s — in time for Expo 67. He recalled how this autoroute was once seen as a symbol of progress in the “automobile age”, but had since become a symbol of pollution by today’s environmental standards. Despite its crumbling structure, this exaustive photo series of the Turcot clearly reveals a majestic sort of beauty and grandeur; what Décarie terms the “cathedral effect”.

In the artist statement, Denis writes:

“C’est une immense sculpture en béton dont le seul but est de maintenir en hauteur, comme s’il devait enjamber un lac invisible, le point de joinction de ces grands axes routiers montréalais.”

Indeed this “invisible lake” was called Lac aux Loutres, situated at a point where the Rivière Saint-Pierre once widened into wetlands. It made me think of an interesting article by André Desroches that I had read recently in La Voix Pop (Projet de création d'une trame verte, 25 mars 2010). He interviewed Patrick Asch, the director of Héritage Laurentien. Founded in the mid-nineties, this organization works at protecting and promoting natural areas in the Saint-Laurent valley, the South-West of Montreal in particular.

The article focused on the “Trame verte” project, which would help create green corridors in the South-West. For example, a green corridor could potentially link parc Angrigon to parc des Rapides, a migrating bird sanctuary. Another corridor could link to the “falaise Saint-Jacques” or to Meadowbrook at the junction of Saint-Pierre, Lachine and Montreal-West. Not only would these green “ribbons” allow migratory birds and fauna to move freely, the public could use alternative modes of transport with cycling, walking and snowshoeing trails.

Asch promoted the numerous benefits of a green corridor: the improvement in air quality; the reduction of the effect of urban heat islands; the absorption of greenhouse gases; and the creation of recreational and tourist attractions for South-West communities.

 

View larger map of the Trame verte du Grand Sud-Ouest

 

In Facebook (Une trame verte pour le grand sud-ouest de Montréal), there is a link to an article about the Bronx River Greenway. An inspiring success story in that community: there are plans underway in the South Bronx to build a recreational trail connecting a series of parks on the East River waterfront.

Closer to home, there is the Greenbelt: a 20,000-hectare expanse of land in Ottawa-Gatineau with an extensive trail system passing through wetlands, farmlands and forests. Having worked in Ottawa off and on for the last five years, I can appreciate the benefits of this unique green corridor. One summer when living in Westboro, I cycled 40 km a day using the Greenbelt to commute to Kanata. On an almost daily basis, I would see Canada geese, deer and other small animals near the cycling paths and adjoining fields. Though that daily commute obviously increased my fitness level, it also provided me with emotional well being — the needed time and space to unwind after a long day. As an asthma sufferer, it was also a relief to breathe in clean air, as the trail system diverted me from the stress and fumes of heavy traffic.

From this first hand experience, I do not need to be sold on the importance of the “Trame verte” project for Montrealers. The ongoing plans to replace the Turcot Interchange could benefit from projects such as the one put forward by Héritage Laurentien. Instead of focusing solely on the replacement of the Turcot structure itself, which would simply promulgate the car culture of the 60s, a more holistic approach is needed to take in consideration the wider implications of this new autoroute for the people living in the area and determine the ecological footprint. With a little bit of vision, this could prove to be a success story for Montreal “down the road”.