Joel Ceausu – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The first edition of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce’s $500,000 participatory budget launched on March 15 wrapped up last week, with five winning projects co-created by borough residents.

1,600 voting residents selected the winning projects: Secure our bike paths ($30,000); Secure pedestrian walkways ($40,000); Collective urban agriculture ($200,000); Community refrigerators ($45,000); and accessible public washrooms ($150,000).

“When it comes to neighbourhood life and our day-to-day experience in the city, residents are well-placed to tell us what they need,” said Borough Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa. “These projects reflect what we all want for CDN–NDG: a greener, more inclusive borough, and above all a borough where residents enjoy a good quality of life.”

The first step was to gauge the needs of the population. Solutions then emerged in response to the needs expressed which were then transformed into projects, which various experts at the borough analyzed and costed out. The projects that needed improvement were sent back to the drawing board as part of a final citizen workshop exercise. A total of seven in-person workshops were held to gather ideas and merge or improve them.

The final vote was held between November 1 and December 3, online and on paper, and at borough facilities. Two committees were formed to ensure a transparent process, with experts from the borough, and external partners (Université de Montréal, Concordia and the Conseil jeunesse de CDN–NDG).

Residents turned out in force to make this first participatory budget a success: 3,200 visits to the Réalisons Montréal web platform; 140 ideas from residents transformed into 53 projects; 305 in-person workshop visits and 15 finalist projects.

The winning projects will be implemented over the next 24 months. The list of projects that made the final selection can be viewed online at makingmtl.ca