revitalization

Guillaume Laflamme, LJI Reporter

The Municipality of Pontiac held a series of community consultation sessions over the weekend to gather input from residents of all ages about how the parks in Quyon and Luskville should be improved.
This was one of the first steps in the municipality’s plan to revitalize its parks in both communities, a project which is anticipated to take several years.

“The purpose of the exercise was to survey the population regarding their current experience of the parks,” said Nathalie Larose, recreation coordinator for the municipality.
The municipality plans on gathering further public feedback by way of a survey, which will be available in May. Survey questions will aim to build on comments received during last weekend’s meetings.
The municipality hopes to apply for a grant for the revitalization project from Loisir sport Outaouais, representatives of which were also present at the meetings.
Despite the potential for additional funding, Larose said securing grants can take time, and that for now the project will be financed with public funds.
Long-time Quyon resident Laura Stewart has been bringing her kids to activities in the town’s park for years.

She attended the consultation event on Saturday because she believes that the Quyon park is a staple of the community, and desperately needs to be upgraded.
“The Quyon park is a diamond in the rough,” she said. “The potential for it is endless with proper management.”

Stewart said she thought improvements could be made to the softball field, which she believes has been a “backbone in the community forever”, as well as to the dugouts where the teams hang out when not up to bat, and to the bathroom facilities.
She noted that Saturday’s discussion also touched on the possibility of introducing a camping section along the Quyon waterfront, an idea that has been discussed since the area was damaged by a recent spring flood. The municipality has hired the firm A4 Architecture to develop a project based on community’s feedback.