Clearcutting motivates public

Workshops about city’s urban planning process, January 18

The people of Gatineau were recently up in arms about the tree cutting in preparation for the expansion of the Destination Vanier shopping centre at the corner of Vanier Road and des Allumettières Boul. 

Old fears for the preservation of the Boucher Forest were then rekindled. A petition was quickly put online and many are questioning their role as citizens. Who to ask? How can they make their opinions heard? How to become an actor in their community? To deal with these questions,  a workshop will be held in the Aylmer district on Saturday, January 18, at the Ernest-Lattion Centre (30 Court Street) from 10 am to noon, and then in the Plateau district at the community centre (125 Atmosphere Street) from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm.

This workshop is entitled “ABC’s of urban planning” and aims to demystify municipal urban planning by-laws. It will begin with a presentation by the speakers and will be followed by a question and answer period with citizens.

The objectives are to explain Gatineau’s urban planning by-laws in order to better understand the changes taking place in neighbourhoods; to show what citizens can do before and after projects are undertaken; and also to propose areas for reflection on Gatineau’s land use planning in the context of climate change.  

This workshop is offered by Vivre en Ville, an organization initiated by the district councillors Audrey Bureau for Aylmer and Maude Marquis-Bissonnette for the Plateau. It’s free and open to all! (Trans.)