A citizen’s coalition trying to fight plans by airport authorities to develop a green space in Dorval suffered a hit Friday when trees on the former site of the Dorval municipal golf club were cut down.
Tree-cutting crews worked to clear the land, which is owned by Aeroports de Montreal (ADM), in order to start making way for extended airport operations. The group has been fighting to keep it all green or to get the golf club's lease renewed.
“If you look at the island of Montreal there's very, very little green space left on it and we've got to preserve everything that's left,” said coalition spokesperson Donald Hobus of the Sierra Club Quebec.
Last fall, the group filed an injunction to stay the development, along with a petition with more than 18,000 signatures. Late Friday afternoon, the injunction request was rejected so the ADM will continue development without delay.
In a letter to residents, the airport outlined their plan, saying work had to start as soon as possible in order to meet requirements from Transport Canada for security checkpoints. They promised to protect 25 metres of green space, but they're also going to build a parking lot for airplanes.
In the plan, there is a 185-metre buffer between Thorncrest Ave.'s residential zone and the aircraft parking area but the coalition is still hoping development can be stopped.
“I think the ADM is doing a great job managing the airport and I think it could be a win-win situation if we were able to sit down at the same table and talk,” said Gary Spiller of Sierra Club Quebec
The ADM says the trees that have already been cut down will be donated to a local group that will build outdoor furniture for the city's green spaces.
