Très bonne nouvelle pour les résident.e.s de l’est de Montréal : la Ville assurera l’accès aux berges au parc de la Promenade-Bellerive, à Tétreaultville! Il s’agit d’une belle avancée dans l’accès aux berges et à la baignade.
Une revendication qui ne date pas d’hier
This century-old park est le seul accès au fleuve pour l’arrondissement Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Ses pentes douces et la qualité actuelle de ses eaux en font un endroit privilégié pour la création d’un accès à la baignade.
It took decades for citizens to finally have an answer to their advocacy : le projet d’accès au fleuve, après avoir été mis sur pause pendant des années, a été enfin débloqué tout en conservant la plage naturelle du parc.
Ainsi, une aire de baignade délimitée avec sauveteurs et surveillance de la qualité de l’eau verra le jour d’ici l’été 2022. (Mise à jour : le projet de baignade au parc de la Promenade Bellerive est retardé à l’été 2024)
Water quality at Promenade-Bellerive Park
Two years of rigorous tests carried out on the water around the Promenade Bellerive park indicate that it is of perfectly adequate quality for swimming. As is too often the case elsewhere in Quebec, the river near the park has the reputation of being dangerously polluted, which is a myth. Indeed, many places are cleaner than we believe and condemning access to the river is a practice of the past.
It is obvious that surveillance will be required, especially in the event of a risk of sewage spills. It is also this type of surveillance that Fondation Rivières carried out in the summer of 2021 at the Verdun beach, using a rapid-results water analysis device, which makes it possible to determine in time contamination peaks which require a temporary closure of the beach.
The importance of access to water and swimming
Equitable access to water is essential for the protection of rivers; Knowing them well and appreciating them allows citizens to see their value and to mobilize to defend them. Furthermore, in a context where summers are becoming hotter and heatwaves are increasing, having access to swimming to cool off becomes a question of health, beyond leisure.
This is where mobilization takes on its full meaning! Indeed, events like the Grand Splash allow you to draw the eye to these places where swimming is possible, but which is currently prohibited. We also highlight the spontaneous participation which took place this summer at the Promenade-Bellerive park, in the spirit of these demands.
The Foundation will closely monitor developments!
