Montreal election: Plante promises 15 new sports sites, Coderre promises revamped viaduct
Parks and spaces to play and were top of mind for Montreal’s municipal parties Thursday as they continued their election campaigns.
If re-elected, Valerie Plante's Projet Montreal says it plans to turn a minimum of 15 vacant lots into sports fields over the next four years.
The party said it will invest $3.3 million during its next mandate to transform underused spaces, mainly owned by the city, into playgrounds where hundreds of children, teens and adults can do physical activity.
"Sport is a powerful tool for inclusion and promotes physical and psychological health,” said Plante.
“These transitional facilities will improve the quality of life in the neighbourhoods where they will be built. They will also allow quickly provide Montrealers with places to exercise and meet each other.”
The lots will be developed into basketball courts, soccer fields and floor-hockey spaces, among others. Three sports sites will be built in the first year, followed by four in the following three years.
“Every time I go to doors, young families, they tell me that we don't have enough space for the youth to play basketball, soccer,” said Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce mayoral candidate Gracia Kasoki Katahwa.
“I hear that every day in the borough. So I'm going to be able to meet that demand.”
Ensemble Montreal plans for Notre-Dame Viaduct
Meanwhile, Ensemble Montreal leader Denis Coderre and his team presented a $10-million development plan for the Notre-Dame Viaduct on Thursday. The project would be completed by 2025, they promised.
The party is proposing to transform the structure into a linear park, calling it “a space for sharing where culture will coexist with innovation.”
The re-imagined greenspace from Berri to Montcalm Street would comprise half a kilometre with a view of downtown, the Old Port and the St. Lawrence River.
“The viaduct, which is currently a block of asphalt, will become an emblematic gateway to Old Montreal," said Coderre.
"This brand new linear park will highlight the history and beauty of the city, improve the urban fabric, provide better access to nature for citizens and open up the area."
The western portion of the viaduct would also include six new commercial spaces.
This is a developing story and will be updated. With files from CTV News Montreal's Iman Kassam.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women in Winnipeg, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.