Welcome to Imagine Westmount 2040! If you want to learn about the Westmount Urban Master Plan project, learn about the latest news or share your ideas and comments, you’ve come to the right place!
The Imagine Westmount 2040 project aims to conduct a complete revision of the City’s Urban Planning Programme through a broad public participation process over a two-year period. Want to learn more?
Historic places have made headlines in recent years in Quebec for the wrong reason: their destruction. However, the City of Westmount has been working hard to protect, enhance and conserve its exceptional built heritage and its many landscapes of heritage interest. Indeed, Westmount is an
“To face the new challenges, but also to protect the community’s assets”
Westmount and the Imagine Westmount 2040 team are proud to have hosted, last week, a free webinar on Building Sustainable Cities by world-renowned urban planner Larry Beasley. Concerning the City, Larry Beasley had this to say: “Westmount is intimate, it is gracious, it has a
The Urban Master Plan is a planning document that establishes, for a period of about 20 years, the main orientations of the physical framework for the city’s urban development.
It presents an global vision of the development of the living environment and ensures consistency between and within areas such as: housing, commerce and the economy, municipal facilities and recreation, environmental protection, heritage, transportation and mobility, etc.
The current Urban Master Plan dates from 2001 needs to be modernized. Its content and form have aged, which explains why it is scarcely used as a reference or decision-making tool. Since its adoption almost 20 years ago, new issues and challenges have emerged that have impacted on the way we develop our territory, for example:
- The climate crisis
- The aging population
- The impact of e-commerce on commercial streets
- The new modes of transport
The revision of the Urban Master Plan is therefore an opportunity to collectively reflect on the future of Westmount.
steps of the process
To achieve the revision of the Urban Master Plan, the City of Westmount is proposing a flexible and transparent public participation process in a few steps.
11 Comments
Sophie
autos électriques, recyclage dans ruelle et non devant les maisons, toits verts
imagine2040
Merci pour votre commentaire! En octobre, nous tiendrons une activité en ligne ayant pour objectif d’enrichir le portrait actuel du territoire en identifiant ses forces et faiblesses liées aux 6 thèmes suivants :
Habitation et tissu social
Transport et mobilité
Commerces et services de proximité
Environnement
Identité et patrimoine
Équipements et espaces publics
Nous espérons que vous pourrez y participer!
Alfred
I would like to see SAFE bicycle paths! For starters, how about making them so there is no risk of dooring. Also, the one down Lansdowne avenue is great for those that want to live DANGEROUSLY – from Cote St. Antoine to Sherbrooke there are a lot of driveways with cars backing out on to the path, space is extremely limited for all, plus to add to the pleasure we have a steep downhill giving the bicyclist an extra adrenalin jump.
imagine2040
Thank you for your comment. Mobility is indeed a very important topic to be discussed throughout the process. In October, the Land Diagnosis Online Activity will aim to enrich the current understanding of Westmount’s territory by identifying its strengths and weaknesses related to the following 6 topics:
Housing & Social Fabric
Transportation & Mobility
Local shops and services
Environment
Identity & Heritage
Public amenities and Public Spaces
We really hope you can participate!
apthorp79
You ask: “Why does Westmount need a new urban Master Plan?” The answer reads as if Westmount is the result of a 20 year-old plan, and ignores the fact that it is based in part on a concept since its beginnings over a hundred years ago. A lot can be learned by studying the historical genesis and development of the plan since its inception. Westmount as it is today is the result of careful adherence to zoning & planning guidelines and It is recognized a National Historic Site according to the Register of Historic Places in Canada (https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=19610). What were the original guidelines? Which physical/architectural aspects that survive today contribute to and detract from Westmount’s character? Were previous formative rules thrown out in times when they were deemed unnecessary? If so, would they be re-considered? The desire for “New” isn’t always the way. “Progress” can also be the recognition that what we have discarded in the past may be appropriate for now. New tools often become responsible for the urge to fix something, which ends up breaking things that worked perfectly well.
A vital aspect missing in the “Steps of the Process” is Historical Research.
A thorough understanding of Westmount’s urban development over time, vis-a-vis zoning/planing guidelines can serve as a basis for sensitive decision making for the future.
[Andrew Zelmer | Brooklyn, NY – former Westmount resident, Melville Ave.]
imagine2040
Thank you for your comment, Mr. Zelmer. The City is indeed the result of a long tradition of important municipal measures promoting architectural quality and site conservation. Although historical research is not a distinct step of Westmount’s Master Plan Review Process, it will come into play throughout the whole process, specifically during the Land Diagnosis (Step 2) and Thematic Consultations (Step 4). In the coming weeks, a typo-morphological study of the territory retracing Westmount’s urban evolution will be published on this site. The topic of Heritage will be a particular focus during Step 4 of the process. Articles will also be published to explain Westmount’s particular context in regard to historical guidelines. Of course, if citizens have relevant historical information to share concerning the City’s past urban guidelines, our team would be more than happy to include them in the process!
Lea Girard Nadeau
Much more trees (we need to start planting them as soon as possible since they take many years to grow to good size and the city is constantly cutting down old trees), more ponds & more green areas (less giant empty parking areas), many more green roofs, more recycling bins in the street, and communal gardens. In term of renovation permit and new constructions ; building codes and zoning regulations that favor more energy efficiency. Fighting climate change should be the central point of this project since it’s the biggest threat to ours and future generations.
Brian
My current pet peeve is the retail desert on Sherbrooke near Victoria village.
So many stores empty. This has been going on for a couple of years (or more).
There is something wrong.
Richard
Graffiti is vandalism and visual pollution. I report graffiti regularly on the City’s website, but removal of the defending tags takes much too long. That is why I propose that Westmounters be given the opportunity to volunteer to help facilitate immediate removal of any graffiti in their city and neighbourood, to help keep them beautiful and unmarred by ugliness and mindless defacement. This too, like many suggestions given here, will improve our quality of life! Let’s work together!
seanlewkiw
I think the city needs to think about our electric car infrastructure, and begin to explore ways to allow charging of electric cars on city streets with an aparatus that is compatible with the heritage environment and harsh winters. I would like to see every single street (without significant off-street parking) that is renovated from now on have in place the necessary conduits (for future installation) and/or aparatus (for immediate use) for residents to charge their cars.
Oh, and can we replace all of the stumps on Sherbrooke and Victoria with trees?
Heather Martin
Hello and thank you for opening this discussion!
Two comments re. Murray Hill park:
1) the pond hasn’t been operational in a few years. Is there a reason why?
2) the green space directly behind the permanent ping pong table has loads of potential. It’s officially for bocce ball, but in my 12 years of living on the park, I have yet to see it used. This would be a beautiful placement for a communal garden. The harvest could go directly to local meals on wheels or the NDG Food Bank.
On a separate note, further down the hill at the foot of Victoria, the old train station is similarly under-utilized (in reality, not utilized at all!). What about making this space available to a seasonal farmers’ market?
Thank you,
Heather Martin