Some Terrasse-Vaudreuil residents are upset that a small lot of land that was once a green space has been sold and is in the process of being turned into a building to store machinery.

Awni Migali has lived beside the lot at the corner of 1e Ave. and 4e Blvd. since 2005. For the past 15 years, the trees have served as a buffer between his home and the Pincourt-Terrasse-Vaudreuil railway station and train tracks. Now all that is left are the stumps, roots and stacks of fallen trees waiting to be removed.

"I feel like I’m in a dump. It’s a lot noisier now, a lot of dust. I’ve filled my pool three times already this year," Migali says.

Terrasse-Vaudreuil Mayor Michel Bourdeau says the land had a municipal value of $66,000 and sold for $76,000. He says the space was re-zoned for "light industry" and that the developer intends to build a garage to store machinery.

He adds that once the garage is built it may actually benefit the residents by blocking the noise pollution from the offending railroads.

Migali says about 20 trains pass by his home every day. He adds that since the trees have been cut down he has been woken up every night by the noise from the passing trains.

Isabelle Poirier is a resident that lives a few blocks away from the former green space. She takes the train into Montreal every day and used to love walking by the wooded area on her way to the station.

"It takes 100 years to have trees like that," she says. "I cried when I saw (what happened)."

"I love nature and I care about the environment. It’s just really sad that in 2019 when we’re all trying to make an impact on the environment... I’m really disappointed in my city," she adds.

Poirier says a few neighbours wanted to team together to buy the land to keep it as a green space but one day they "just woke up and everything was being cut down. We had no warning."

Mayor Bourdeau says this was not the case. He says both the potential sale and land re-zoning were announced at city council and no one objected to either. He adds that it is now too late to have a petition and block construction.

Migali says the green space was an important part of the community. He says the local children have lost a favourite recreation area.

"I feel really sad. I would like to cry. My son used to play in the woods and now he doesn’t even want to go out and look at it. This is a massacre."