Point to have first blue-green alley
A blue-green alley is being constructed in Point St Charles, this being both a rain retention pond and a green park. CBC says that a second project in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, described here in a hopeful 2017 piece in Metro, has stalled for lack of support.
Spi 09:37 on 2023-04-30 Permalink
I hope more thought was put into this than the awning on the plaza, someone should make sure that the designers/engineers know that stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
hank 10:06 on 2023-04-30 Permalink
Probably where https://modernfarmer.com/2023/04/meet-the-dumpster-diving-chef/ finds his produce
Kate 11:12 on 2023-04-30 Permalink
Not likely. It’s not completed and I don’t think they’re planning to put food plants in, but rather native plants that would naturally be found in wetlands. Essentially this project is about creating artificial wetlands that will soak up rainwater like real ones do.
I don’t know what the plan is about mosquitoes, but that’s a good question. I think that if the plants and terrain are looked after properly, the water will not be stagnant but circulating to some extent, so maybe that’s been thought of.
Uatu 15:00 on 2023-04-30 Permalink
There’s no standing water. There’s a drain in the middle of each garden patch that drains overflow into the sewers.
Spi 15:56 on 2023-04-30 Permalink
You’re right, the metro article that I read characterizes the diversion of gutter water as more permanent than transitory.
nau 15:57 on 2023-04-30 Permalink
Looking at the plans, it’s clear that if there’s a serious excess of rain, there are overflow drains to limit the amount of water that stays in the retention basins. So the water should be kept to an amount that can be absorbed into the soil or taken up by the plants over a certain period, much like what happens in yards all over the city after heavy rainfall, though perhaps in a manner that permits the planting of less commonly found water-loving plants.
Batiment 7, where this is happening, does have an urban agriculture aspect, which will be diverting some of the water from this set up. It being a forward-thinking kind of place, I don’t see why they wouldn’t share their produce with the chef if they had a surplus, but that article makes it pretty clear he has arrangements with grocery stores to take edible products they don’t think they can sell, with, to quote the article, “no dumpster diving required.”
shawn 17:55 on 2023-04-30 Permalink
I love this water stuff. Remember there’s also Parc Pierre-Dansereau at the Campus MIL: https://repertoireouq.com/projet/parc-pierre-dansereau-un-parc-de-quartier-resilient-pour-une-gestion-ecologique-des-eaux-pluviales/
Kate 18:53 on 2023-04-30 Permalink
Also, don’t forget the water square at the Place de Fleurs de Macadam, which we discussed last fall.
Where my sister lived in the northeastern Netherlands, there was a “canal” outside her place, but it didn’t go anywhere, it was more or less a linear pond, and I saw a lot like that in the area. I doubt it was ever navigable. Seems to not be dissimilar. I was there at Christmastime, though, so I don’t know what the mosquito situation is like. mare?