PHOTO COVERAGE

Walk in the Rockland sector

Détails: PHOTO COVERAGE; Publication : 17 mars 2021; Par Julie Turgeon

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A special urban planning program (PPU) aimed at the redevelopment of the four entry points to the Town of Mount Royal could see the light of day soon. The elected officials wish to have "a vision for the future" for the Beaumont, Lucerne, Jean-Talon Ouest (near Côte-des-Neiges road) and Rockland sectors. For now, the main lines of the PPU Rockland have already been drawn. The redevelopment plan covers an area of approximately 128,000 m², namely the Rockland Shopping Center and its surroundings. In particular, a few residential buildings of different heights should grow there, for a total addition of around 1,500 homes.

In the shadow of Highway 40, the Rockland sector is like a tarmac theater, which has nothing to do with the face of the garden city. While elected officials are working on their plan for the future, Station Mont-Royal has walked the streets of this part of the city, in search of a current neighborhood life, considering that a visit to the shopping center does not not part.

Destination Rockland Road
Our walk begins on the Rockland Road, so called because of the many rocks that once bordered the shoulders of this road. You can quickly find yourself near the two service stations, located on either side of Rockland Road, at the Côte-de-Liesse intersection. With so many gas pumps, there is no doubt: we are on familiar ground to truck drivers.

“Truck drivers, but also neighborhood residents,” says Hocine, manager of the Couche-Tard convenience store at Petro-Canada. However, “since Tim Hortons closed, people are really lost! », He drops. “The most lost are the elderly at the CHSLD [Vigi Mont-Royal, located a stone's throw from here on Brittany Avenue]. They were regulars at Tim. Now they don't know where to go. The closest McDonald's is on Jean-Talon Ouest. » Or a 38-minute walk from their place of residence. Hocine says that every day, a lady, who comes to the convenience store for her coffee now, claims every morning why the Tim Hortons is closed. “Once, a customer was so surprised and disappointed to know the restaurant was closed that she almost cried,” he continues. It really affects them, and me too. Since the closing, I have really less traffic for daily shopping. "

The end of the local cafe
The old fast food store attached to the convenience store looks like a ghost place. The chain's red ensign has been removed. Paper is affixed in the windows of the building. A poster addressed to customers thanked them for their loyalty for 35 years. “We will continue to serve you at 1000 Legendre Ouest (Marché Central) and at 10 avenue Ste-Croix (Esso)”, it is written. Three printed sheets are also displayed in the windows and indicate that the room is for rent with a telephone number to call. On the phone, says Stéphane, who handles real estate for Petro-Canada. Does the closure have a link with the pandemic or with the arrival of the PPU Rockland, we ask. " Absolutely not. It closed for commercial reasons, "he retorts, insisting that he is not in a position to tell us more. Neither Petro-Canada nor Tim Hortons public relations responded to our inquiries regarding the reasons for the restaurant's closure. The premises belong to the oil company Suncor Energy.

Winter gardens
We turn the corner of Rockland Road, Brittany Avenue. The place is deserted. Not a cat around. It must be said that on a Tuesday noon, in the middle of winter, it is quite normal. The community gardens are closed. Yet they are so vibrant during the summer months. “Gardens are our life here,” one local resident told us last summer. This gardener has been growing vegetables here for 20 years now, along with her septuagenarian mother. “The gardens are our only way out. We may have a balcony in our apartments, we are located next to the highway, and that’s hell! », She had underlined to us.