A vision put into action

Adding garbage cans, multiplying access points to the banks of the Rivière des Prairies, revitalizing the Gouin corridor, and renewing the Green Fund were among the 80 different points included in the document.

From now to 2009, the Beaudoin administration also hopes to develop an alternative transport network in the borough, offering pedestrians and cyclists paths that are more secure, as well as better coordinate garbage collection and street cleaning, use the commercial hubs to their full potential, and watch out for high-caliber businesses looking to set up their main offices.

The borough’s interim director general, Réjean Durocher, pointed out the “objective is to offer residents an excellent quality of life and work for the future.” According to the mayor, “the sustainable development approach does not only respect this mission, but it also has plenty of room to grow, as it integrates social, environmental, and economical dimensions as well.”

The first concrete actions of the plan have been applied to the activities and services of the borough. Beaudoin reminded that the first step was to create the Office of sustainable development in January “in order to assure the fundamental principles of sustainable development become, more and more, a part of daily life and to create a spirit of cooperation and a real synergy between the administration, community partners, and institutions.” Two months later, the Committee of Partners saw the light of day. Soon, it will be the Citizens’ Forum’s turn.

According to Beaudoin, all these strategies register with “the sustainable development strategic plan adopted by the City of Montreal in 2005.”

The action plan stems from a promise made on April 22, 2007, when the Plan Ahuntsic-Cartierville 7-27 was launched, to put into place concrete measures to make Ahuntsic-Cartierville an innovative borough in sustainable development. Ahuntsic-Cartierville is the first of 19 Montreal boroughs to make the commitment to manage all of its activities and services according to its principles.