Canada/$4 million for Quebec City's first Urban Outdoors Master Plan
Starting next year, Ville de Québec will invest $4 million to improve the range of outdoor activities available on its territory. On the menu: hiking trails and mountain bike paths in Cap-Rouge, where the end of La Marmota left a bitter taste.
This plein air plan will enable us to consolidate our offer and target the investments we'll be making over the next few years," said Jean-François Gosselin, responsible for recreation, sports and community life on the executive committee of the Ville de Québec, at a press conference on Thursday.
The city plans to invest $200,000 to build new pedestrian trails in the Parc naturel du marais Isabelle, in the Cap-Rouge sector.
This was the site of the La Marmotta mountain bike facilities, set up unofficially by citizens over time, which the City ordered dismantled last spring.
Jean-François Gosselin announced that a piece of land owned by the city could be used as early as next year to fill the mountain bike gap in the area.
The land is located near the intersection of Route Jean-Gauvin and Promenade des Sœurs. A consultation with the community is planned over the next few months to determine the best way to develop it.
900,000 for Chauveau Park
This first Outdoor Master Plan also includes a $900,000 budget for Chauveau Park. This will enable the construction of 3 km offat bike trails, 3 km of cross-country ski trails and 4 km of hiking trails.
The 7 km of informal mountain bike trails, created through repeated use by cyclists, will be formalized. This means that the town intends to develop them officially, and mark them out to limit disturbance to the natural environment.
A formalized citizen trail project
The city also intends to invest $300,000 in Parc de Montchâtel. Since 2016, citizen volunteers have been maintaining the 25 kilometers of trails shared by mountain bikers and pedestrians. These trails will be formalized and marked by the city.
We've had a superb collaboration with these people for several years now," says Marie-Josée Asselin, Councillor for the Loretteville Les Châtels district and Vice-Chair of the Town's Executive Committee.
The volunteers have been exceptionally rigorous in terms of environmental protection," she adds.
François Auclair is part of the team that maintains the trails. He is delighted with the announcement. It's mostly satisfaction. Since 2016, we've been doing this for the fun of it, for the users of the area. [It's] nice to see that we haven't worked for nothing," he exclaims.
We haven't created any new trails, we've just upgraded them, made them safe, then made them interesting for walkers, people in winter sledding with the kids, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing," he adds.
The Outdoors Master Plan also calls for investments of $2.4 million in Parc naturel du Mont-Bélair. The development of a stopover site in the summit sector is in the works.
Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/
