THE BAPE WILL INFORM THE PUBLIC ON MARCH
20, 2007 AT 7:30 P.M.
Québec,
February 20, 2007
– The Bureau d’audiences publiques
sur l’environnement (BAPE) will hold an information
session on the Project to improve the
road network in Vaudreuil-Dorion by the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion.
This session, in which the proponent and the ministère
du Développement durable, de l’Environnement
et des Parcs will participate, will be hosted by a
representative of the BAPE and will be held on Tuesday,
March 20 th, starting
at 7:30 p.m., at Salle Très-Sainte-Trinité
(church basement) located at 145, boulevard Saint-Charles
in Vaudreuil-Dorion. The purpose of the information
session is to allow citizens to obtain information
about the project, the environmental impact assessment
and review procedure, the public consultation process,
as well as the role of the BAPE. This information
session falls under the mandate that Claude Béchard,
Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and
Parks, has entrusted to the BAPE. The latter must
make available to the public the impact study and
the entire file pertaining to the project. The public
information and consultation period begins today,
February 20 th, and will end on Friday, April 6, 2007
.
It is during this 45-day period
that any citizen, group, municipality or organization
can submit an application for a public hearing to
the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment
and Parks. As the case may be, a commission of the
BAPE could be put in charge of examining the project
and consulting the public on this subject.
Where can the project documentation
be consulted?
Citizens can learn more about the
project by consulting the impact study prepared by
the proponent and the other documents describing the
project and, among other things, its repercussions
on the environment. Starting today and until Friday,
April 6, 2007 , these documents may be consulted at
the BAPE office in Québec City , at the Central
Library of Université du Québec à
Montréal as well as on the website of the BAPE
at the following address: www.bape.gouv.qc.ca under
the heading “Mandats en cours”. The entire
file is also available at the Vaudreuil-Dorion
municipal library located at 51, avenue Jeannotte
in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
What is the role of citizens?
Citizens are invited to examine
the file, to act as experts in their community by
underscoring the issues related to the project, to
ask questions during the information session and to
record their comments in the registers opened for
this purpose at the consultation centres.
What rights do citizens
have?
Any person, group, organization
or municipality wishing to receive additional information
or clarifications, to obtain the opinion of experts
on the project or to make known their opinion and
their position regarding the project can apply for
a public hearing during the public information and
consultation period. This application must be submitted
in writing not later than
Friday, April 6, 2007 , to Claude Béchard,
Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and
Parks , 675, boulevard René-Lévesque
Est, 30 e étage, Québec (Québec)
G1R 5V7. Applicants must indicate the reasons for
their application and their interest in the environment
affected by the project.
The project
The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion is
planning to build three separate road infrastructures
within the city’s perimeter. The project would
consist of broadening to four lanes Rue Félix-Leclerc,
over a distance of about 2 km, as well as Boulevard
de la Cité des Jeunes, over a distance of about
1.5 km, between Autoroute 540 and the Canadian
Pacific railway line. In addition, Avenue André-Chartrand
would be extended in a new four-lane north-south axis
over a length of about 2 km between Boulevard de la
Cité des Jeunes and Route Harwood. This infrastructure
would have three main structures, namely a bridge
just over 20 m in length to cross Quinchien River
and two railway bridges to cross the Canadian Pacific
and Canadian National railway corridors. The project
also provides for the laying out of two bicycle paths
on the sides of Boulevard de la Cité des Jeunes
and of Avenue André-Chartrand.
The City estimates the project’s
construction cost to be about $32 million and anticipates
the entry into service of Rue Félix-Leclerc
for 2007-2008, that of Boulevard de la Cité
des Jeunes for 2012, and that of Avenue André-Chartrand
for 2016.
The repercussions anticipated
by the proponent and the mitigation measures proposed
in the impact study
During the construction period,
the work could adversely affect noise levels, the
quality of the ambient air as well as traffic conditions.
Common mitigation measures would be implemented by
the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion to reduce the repercussions
of the work on the quality of life of residents. The
carrying out of the project would also lead to the
acquisition or relocation of approximately four buildings
and of a surface area of about 7.4 ha of land, affecting
some fifteen properties. In this regard, the City
would pay financial compensation to the owners of
the buildings and the lands affected. As for the natural
environment, the course of Dorion Stream would be
altered and Quinchien River would be crossed by Avenue
André-Chartrand. The planned bridge would not
encroach on the fish habitat. However, the effect
of the work would be to temporarily increase the quantity
of suspended particulates in the surface water and
to accentuate the erosion process in riparian zones.
Soil stabilization work would be carried out in the
most sensitive sectors as the construction work unfolds.
During the operating period, an
increase in noise levels is expected, particularly
near Avenue André-Chartrand. Noise control
structures would be set up inside the central road
island in the Jardins Dorion sector. The winter upkeep
of roads using ice melters would lead to an increase
in suspended particulates in wetlands and aquatic
environments. To help mitigate this increase, the
City would give priority, among other things, to a
fast drainage system to the storm sewer network. As
for air quality, exhaust gases and the raising of
dust attributable to the passage of vehicles would
lead to an increase in concentrations of air pollutants.
Finally, according to the impact
study, the project would make it possible to improve
traffic and the safety of the users of the municipal
road network, to ensure a more fluid service at the
Vaudreuil regional station, to provide better access
to the city’s commercial hubs, and to promote
interaction between them.
Persons wishing to obtain more information
can consult the documents submitted or get in touch
with Catherine Roberge, at the following number: 418 643-7447
or, toll-free, at 1 800 463-4732 extension
531 or by e-mail at the following address: vaudreuil-dorion@bape.gouv.qc.ca.
– 30 –
Source: Catherine Roberge
Communications Advisor
