St. Laurent

St. Laurent council passes bylaw to reduce light pollution

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

St. Laurent council passed a bylaw — a first for Montreal —at its Oct. 1 council meeting to reduce light pollution on some categories of private property, to enable residents to see a “starrier sky” at night.

A borough statement points out that the measure is aimed at “industrial, commercial and institutional establishments” and the goal is to “better protect the territory’s ecosystems and biodiversity, increase road safety, promote public health and improve energy efficiency.”

Mayor Alan DeSousa said, with some humour, that “this is an initiative that goes to the heart of sustainable development, since it not only protects biodiversity, but also increases road safety and improves the health and quality of life of St. Laurent residents and workers on our territory. I dare say that our administration is very bright and that council is making enlightened decisions!”

The borough statement explains that light pollution “refers to the excessive or inappropriate use of artificial light. Light pollution is particularly prevalent in St. Laurent, since 70 percent of its territory is devoted to industrial and commercial activities and it is situated next to the Montréal-Trudeau international airport and several highways, including the CN rail yard.”

The explanation adds that light pollution can affect quality of life and the environment.

“Already known for its impact on the night sky, it also has harmful effects on biodiversity and ecosystems, by altering the interactions between plants and pollinators or between prey and predators, hindering foraging, reproduction or migration. The glare it generates also has a negative impact on the safety of pedestrians and motorists. In addition, light pollution wastes energy and therefore increases the production of greenhouse gases. Last but not least, it poses a risk to human health by upsetting the body’s biological clock.”

The new bylaw “aims to control and limit light pollution on private property, without compromising the safety and comfort provided by lighting and taking into account the specific characteristics of the territory.

“It covers four areas of intervention: colour, orientation, period and quantity of light, according to the following principles: Define situations that allow the use of bluish light. Direct light flows towards the ground. Reduce certain lighting devices after 11 p.m. Set maximum light levels according to land use.”

The categories of buildings affected are “industrial, commercial and service buildings; multi-family dwellings, multi-family service dwellings and multi-bedroom dwellings, “with provisions applicable to building lighting, outdoor parking spaces, signs and billboards.

“Light flows must be directed towards the ground and the colour of light sources must be limited. In addition, aside from certain exceptions, lighting intensity must be reduced between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Similarly, curtains are required for greenhouses on industrial roofs with lighting systems.”

There are exemptions to the bylaw, including single-family and two-family homes and multiplexes “and certain types of equipment, such as light fixtures with motion detectors, or temporary outdoor lighting for special activities: outdoor shows, festivities organized by the borough, construction areas or other temporary work projects. Other exemptions are established for outdoor lighting related to public safety or for enhancing a heritage building.” n

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St. Laurent wants retention basin project brought back

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

St. Laurent mayor Alan DeSousa is calling on the City of Montreal to reinstate a retention basin project for his borough that was cancelled in 2022.

St. Laurent was especially hard hit from the downpours that took place in quick succession this past July 10 and Aug. 9, particularly in the areas of Thimens, Côte Vertu, and Autoroutes 40 and 13. During a recent borough council meeting answering complaints about the July 10 flood, DeSousa said affected residents live near the Leduc collector, which goes from Thimens eastward.

“What we’ve noticed is that the collector’s full, if the pipe is full, your water has no place to go and it goes back into the neighbourhood,” he told a resident.

During that meeting, DeSousa also said the borough would see if there is anything the City of Montreal could do.

At the Aug. 20 Montreal city council meeting, DeSousa pointed out that the Aug. 9 flooding caused serious damage to basements, businesses and cars. He pointed out that a Montreal study in 2006 and 2007 recommended the creation of four retention basins to prevent such flooding, and that, ultimately, only the Leduc basin was cancelled. The others, Rockfield in Lachine, William in the South-West borough and Lavigne in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, were built.

“What is the justification of the Montreal administration for abandoning the project?” the St. Laurent Mayor asked. “This infrastructure is essential.”

DeSousa’s microphone was then cut off as the administration was asked for a response.

Maja Vodanovic, the city executive committee member responsible for the water dossier, responded that the requested government funding had already been spent on the other three retention basins, and that the Leduc retention basin did not meet the funding requirement of preventing the discharge of storm water and waste water into a river.

DeSousa countered that the Montreal water service “clearly indicated” that the Leduc retention basin qualified in terms of reducing discharges into a river. n

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St. Laurent, Montreal devote $1.5 million for school safety

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The borough of St. Laurent and the City of Montreal have invested $1.5 million to ensure safety around local schools for students, school staff and motorists as the new school year begins.

The work includes eight curb extensions — similar work was done this and last year in Côte des Neiges-NDG and other locales near schools; the raising of three pedestrian crossings and two intersections, the installation of 30 speed bumps, work on 1.6 km of sidewalks and a safety awareness campaign.

The latter includes traffic signs on residential streets around schools, including those “taking the shape of a student holding a placard that reads “Attention à nos enfants!” (“Watch out for our children!”).

“These signs represent an awareness measure that has proved effective for the last two years,” says a borough statement.

The awareness campaign around schools also involves an already existing collaboration between St. Laurent, the SPVM, the City of Montreal, the Centre de services scolaires Marguerite-Bourgeoys and the English Montreal School Board.

“The aim of this campaign is to encourage all those who travel in school zones – children and their parents, motorists, pedestrians and cyclists – to adopt safe behaviours when doing so,” says the borough statement. “To achieve this goal, the partners have created various tools to raise awareness, including brochures that are handed out by the police teams from the SPVM’s Station 7 in front of approximately 15 schools in St. Laurent.” n

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St. Laurent inundated with flooding complaints

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The borough of St. Laurent received numerous complaints about flooding during the July 10 downpour, and that topic dominated the August council meeting question period, which went on for nearly two hours, during which residents called for action.

The borough was exceptionally affected by the rain, which originated with Hurricane Beryl. Videos and photos emerged of massive flooding in the area of Thimens and Place Vertu — at the time, The Suburban spoke to the owner of a 130-unit building on Thimens whose garage was flooded and where power was lost for a time. Mayor Alan DeSousa said he saw videos and photos of the area near Autoroute 40, and compared it to the Black Sea.

One of those speaking at the council meeting was Norman Street resident Harry Babaroutsis. “I got flooded with three feet of water,” he told The Suburban. “I have to change my heating system. I cut my walls downstairs, I lost a lot of stuff. I’m a photographer and I lost some cameras. My snowblower got flooded.” Babaroutsis estimates his losses at about $55,000.

DeSousa told residents climate change has prompted more heavy rains over the years, and that solutions are being sought, in terns of what the borough and the City of Montreal can do, and what residents can do as well. He was out of town July 10, and has visited residents in recent days.

The Mayor told The Suburban that “the city was not spared July 10. There were streets that had been redone with new infrastructure, like my street, Saint-Germain 10 years ago, and I even had water in my basement.

Flooding also took place in 2005 and 2006.DeSousa said inspectors visited industries in 2007 to inspect their water retention systems, “and we found they had been disconnected. I have no clue why [that happened].”

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St. Laurent passes Montreal’s first bird protection bylaw

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

St. Laurent council passed a bylaw amendment at its recent council meeting – a first for Montreal – to help reduce the risk of birds flying into the glass surfaces of new buildings, as part of the borough’s effort to protect biodiversity.

The bylaw amendment was passed amidst a great deal of new construction that is an ongoing phenomenon in the Greater Montreal area.

The bylaw prohibits transparent glass on exterior railings. As well, “new evaluation criteria have been introduced in order to design buildings and landscaping in such a way as to protect birds in the vicinity of the borough’s natural environments.”

The borough will also soon be launching an information campaign “focusing on single-family, two-family and multiplex residential buildings, which are not covered by the bylaw amendment,” says a St. Laurent statement. “The campaign will be followed, in 2025, by a public awareness campaign. The objective will be to encourage the public to act responsibly, not only to minimize the risks of collisions for birds, but also to promote their well-being.”

“By amending zoning bylaw RCA08-08-0001, St. Laurent is aiming to reduce collision risks and ensure the protection of birds. Some types of buildings with more than 50 percent glass surfaces or windows on the exterior walls will require special treatment for new construction, extensions or exterior modifications. This is the case for multi-family dwellings, multi-family service dwellings, multi-bedroom dwellings; industrial, retail or service buildings, and buildings in a park or green space.”

The borough says that, as a result, “90 percent of the glass panes on these buildings, including greenhouses and railings, located less than 16 m from the ground or less than 4 m from the green roof level, must now be subject to the special treatment detailed in the bylaw. Such measures help reduce the reflectivity of the glass surface, and, consequently, the risk of bird collisions.”

As well, “only opaque, frosted or fritted glass or glass incorporating visual markers may now be used as railings on buildings or structures throughout St. Laurent territory.”

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St. Laurent resident asks for 30km speed limit

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

A St. Laurent resident has asked the borough council to set the speed limit at 30 km/hr on all residential streets throughout the borough. The resident said the speed limit is 30 km/hr in areas around schools and parks.

“Why should we accept less safety in the places kids live?” the email read at the May council meeting says. “Considering the ever increasing size and power of cars today, shouldn’t we be reducing speed limits to compensate for this?” The resident also called for appropriate enforcement and traffic calming measures on the residential streets.

Speed limits have been reduced on numerous streets in Montreal, including to as little as 20 km/hr in the Lajoie area of Outremont. Also, pretty much all of Bertrand in St. Laurent, between Côte Vertu and St. Louis, is 30 km/hr.

Mayor Alan DeSousa responded that the borough is always “questioning ourselves, what is the right speed limit in terms of ensuring safety.”Just reducing the speed limit, we have already done that once for arterial, neighbourhoods and school zoning, so we’ve gone through that experience and an awful lot of work to put that through,” the Mayor added. “But we’ve noticed that just lowering the speed limit as a measure, in and of itself, is pretty limited, and so that’s why what we’re doing is focusing our efforts on traffic calming measures in different communities and other measures to make sure pedestrian and cyclist safety, and your kids’ safety, is enhanced.”

DeSousa also said that “if we get to the point that we think, after those measures, there’s a need again to lower limits, council is open to consider it.” n

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