A petition with more than 800 signatures has been filed with the Municipal Council of Trois-Rivières in order to protect the Boisé Masse in the Saint-Louis-de-France sector, threatened with being transformed into a residential area.
“The whole mass sector has been very developed over the last few years, rue Philippe-Pagé, the mass path, multi-unit housing that has appeared. There is the whole terrace district, of the capitals which is there. So I understand them, to see housing development, so to see that what remains and tends to disappear too. I understand that there is a citizen mobilization”, explained the municipal councilor of Saint-Louis-de-France, Geneviève Auclair.
During Tuesday’s council meeting, three citizens filed a petition with more than 800 signatures. People who oppose the project for all sorts of reasons: “The need to reduce heat islands, ensure the preservation of a natural wooded area, concern regarding the increase in traffic both for tranquility and for air quality, the concern for the management of drinking water used, as well as the flooding of rainwater”, explained Nadia Grondines, instigator of the petition, during the council.
The protesters are asking the City to buy three lots of the wooded area to keep it as a public space. Over the years, residents of the mass sector have appropriated the wooded area. They practice several leisure activities such as walking, running and snowshoeing.
Since last year, the owners have had all the authorizations to go ahead with their residential project. They first had to conduct a public consultation which took place in the midst of a pandemic and which few citizens had attended. The next steps should allow discussions with promoters.
Having a green space near your home has several psychological health benefits. “Several doctors are mobilizing to say how important it is. There are even natural prescriptions that currently exist. It lowers stress,” explained Sylvie Miaux, professor at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières, in the Department of Leisure, Culture and Tourism Studies.
