Montreal Is Getting A Giant New Park That Will Be 5x Bigger Than Laurier Park (Video)

The city is getting yet another new park. On Thursday, Mayor Valérie Plante and Robert Beaudry, the executive committee member responsible for housing, real estate strategy, major parks, and Parc Jean-Drapeau "[announced] the official boundaries of the Parc de l'écoterritoire de la falaise," in a press release. The new Montreal park, which will extend from the Saint-Jacques Escarpment south of rue St-Jacques to rue Notre-Dame between the boroughs of CDN-NDG and the Sud-Ouest, "will total nearly 60 hectares" — roughly five times the size of the 10.8-hectare Laurier Park in the Plateau.

The press release promises "wooded areas, wetlands, and grassland areas to promote biodiversity."

"More than ever, we see the importance of being able to offer Montrealers green spaces as places to escape and be in contact with nature," the mayor said.

"This new milestone that we are setting today brings us closer to the creation of another great park in Montreal."

Part of the park will convert a former rail yard into public space, "[improving] air quality and stormwater management in the city, as well as [creating] a new canopy and reduce heat islands."

"The creation of this new park is part of the City of Montreal's efforts to protect the natural environments on its territory."

The City's website page for the Escarpment explains that a number of species, including migratory birds and the threatened brown snake, already make use of the area.

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The Turcot Interchange project first presented opportunities for the redevelopment of the area.

"The new challenge represented by the Parc de l'écoterritoire de la falaise will allow us to innovate by renaturalizing an area that was previously inaccessible and highly mineralized," Robert Beaudry stated.

The other major ongoing park project on the Island of Montreal is the creation of the Grand Parc de l'Ouest, which will combine a number of existing natural spaces, flood land, and areas previously slated for development.

[rebelmouse-image 26885182 photo_credit="Ville de Montr\u00e9al " expand=1 original_size="1271x846"] Ville de Montréal

"With more than 3,000 hectares of land," the park would be eight times larger than New York City's Central Park and have "the potential to become the largest municipal park in Canada."

[rebelmouse-image 26885183 photo_credit="Ville de Montr\u00e9al" expand=1 original_size="940x417"] Ville de Montréal

Stay tuned for more news.

This article's cover image is used for illustrative purposes only.