The most exciting and innovative park in a generation took a step closer to realization this week as City Council awarded over $600,000 for the construction of the first new park to be built in the 21st century in Cote Saint-Luc.
Known as “Imagination Park“, it will be built beside the new Aquatic and Community Centre and will serve local residents as well as patrons of the centre, the gym and the outdoor pool.
Imagination Park will be extraordinary, unlike anything seen in Cote Saint-Luc before, featuring interactive light and sound equipment that can be played alone, or in groups, and all year-long.
A fire pit will provide year round warmth – another first in CSL parks.
I will keep residents updated on the progress of this exciting addition to District 6.
I didn’t have very high expectations heading in to the preview night of the Cote Saint-Luc Dramatic Society’s presentation of Grease the musical. It’s not like I was headed to Places des Arts for a night on the town. Boy, was I wrong.
Renowned local director Anisa Cameron assembled a talented group of actors and singers that burned up the quarter-mile right through the Harold Greenspon Auditorium of the Cote Saint-Luc City Hall. A west end who’s who of politicos, sponsors, media and VIPs filled the cosy theatre and were quickly crooning with Sandy D. and Danny. Mayor Anthony Housefather and members of Council were joined by Hampstead Mayor William Steinberg and his wife Doris, along with Councillors Bonnie Feigenbaum and Michael Goldwax, City of Montreal Executive member and CDN-NDG Borough Mayor Michael Applebaum, D’Arcy McGee MNA Lawrence Bergman and many more.
Councillor Mitchell “Vince Fontaine” Brownstein, credited with launching the Dramatic Society, belted out tunes including Handjive and Beauty School Dropout, and was joined on stage by his son Matthew “Charlie, T-Bird” and CSL Public Works Manager Bebe “Principal Lynch” Newman. Mitch has had a life long passion with performing arts and his efforts are well appreciated.
A surprise birthday cake was presented during the intermission to Mayor Housefather. The entire audience joining in singing Happy Birthday.
Ben Warner did a brilliant job of performing the role of Danny Zuko. Ben was energetic, singing and dancing like a star. This guy has talent!
Octavia Dumas played Sandy D. As cute as Olivia Newton John and able to sing delicately with grace and charm, she has a future in the arts as well.
The cast of young, and some less young were totally on fire – funny, well choreographed and in sync. The six piece live band added immensely to the feeling of a major stage production yet the tiny theatre gave everyone a front row centre seat.
My friends, Sandie Sparkman and Davina Shapiro, couldn’t stop tapping along and singing to the music. The audience erupted in a standing ovation as the curtains dropped.
The show runs from January 26 to 29 at the Harold Greenspon Auditorium at 5801 Cavendish Blvd.
This is first major production of the new community theatre group, which performed Dining Out last fall to a packed house. Tickets are available at the CSL Public Library (5851 Cavendish Blvd.), the Aquatic and Community Centre (5794 Parkhaven Ave.), or by telephone at 514-485-6806. Tickets cost $22 for general admission, or $18 for students (with valid student identification) or seniors (age 60 and older). Showtimes are 8 pm on January 26, 27, 28 and 29. There are also 2 pm matinees on January 28 and 29.
Who needs Places Des Arts when you’ve got such a fun musical playing in your own backyard? Run to get tickets as it will surely sell out.
I recall the excitement I had when its predecessor, the Cavendish Club, opened in the 70s. I was lucky to obtain one of the first membership cards (mine was around #10) since my friend’s father had put up the building. I was an avid user of the facility in its heyday.
Nautilus Plus took over some years later but the place slowly slipped into disrepair. Upkeep was not a priority, the pool was often cold and closed, the paint was chipping. I recall how the daycare door locked with the keys inside, along with my young daughter’s winter jacket. The staff refused to call a locksmith and told me to come back Monday for her jacket (it was minus 20 something that day)! Finally, when my monthly bill rose without any notice I tried in vain to reach someone who could care less to take a call from a customer. My calls were ignored right up to the president’s office.
Bye bye Nautilus. No tears from this former racquetball player. I hope a new fitness facility opens in its place with more dynamic and engaged proprietors.
Meanwhile, ex-Nautilus CSL residents will be even more enthused about the new Aquatic and Community Centre just two minutes away where they’ll find a decent fitness room and an amazing swim facility.
CBC News reports surprising findings on helmet safety: CBC.ca Player.
Bottom line? Ensure you and your kids wear a helmet for tobogganing, skating and skiing.
As we mark 20 years since I proposed helmet legislation in Cote Saint-Luc leading to the first municipal bylaw in Canada, once again, I call upon the Quebec government to require helmets for all cyclists and skiers.
Our dynamic and engaged MNA, Lawrence Bergman, could be a key advocate to influence the government to take action.
Despite my usual opposition to more stop signs the City of Cote Saint-Luc will be adding a stop sign and crosswalk on Mackle Road today just meters away from the intersection of Centennial Avenue.
Residents of Les Habitations Mackle apartment at 6655 Mackle Road have ignored the repeated advice of police and district City Councillor, Ruth Kovac, and have been hit in increasing numbers by oncoming vehicles as they jaywalk in front of their building to get to the mall.
Despite having a crosswalk a few steps away at Centennial Ave, residents can regularly be seen crossing the road without a care despite the congestion from the mall entrance, turning vehicles, buses and traffic along Mackle Road. Some residents can be seen jaywalking using canes and even walkers.
I am typically against the proliferation of stop signs. They are environmentally unfriendly (since cars need to burn more fuel, noise from brakes, etc…) and frustrating to motorists. They inherently give a false sense of security to pedestrians who assume that all cars will come to a stop. However this is not always the case and pedestrians still have to be alert and mindful of oncoming traffic.
I suppose we have little choice at this spot and in the interest of public safety this crosswalk/stop sign is necessary as all other efforts by police and city hall have failed to prevent errant and very dangerous jaywalking. Of course police could have issued tickets to the jaywalkers rather than penalizing the motorists but I suspect this would have had a temporary effect.
We’ll see how this all works out. Once the mall is redesigned, and once Cavendish is extended (yes, it will happen) we will have to take another look at the surrounding area for traffic flow and safety issues. Meanwhile, look both ways before you cross the street!
The Montreal Police Department has posted a very good public education piece on safety during snow clearing operations. This publicity is available in English and French. Click this link for a quick read for your own safety: Road Safety Campaigns.
This evening, EMSB commissioner Dr. Syd Wise proposed to keep Royal Vale High School in NDG and for the school board to open a new high school in Cote Saint-Luc at the former Wagar High School on Parkhaven Road.
While some commissioners immediately viewed the proposal as a win-win, commissioners Feldman and Barbieri challenged the proposal and asked for it to be deferred to a later meeting. However, the proposal was ultimately accepted by Chairman Angela Mancini with the modification that the proposed high school would be studied by a task force until May 2012 for final decision by the EMSB. All commissioners voted in favour with the exception of Liz Leaman.
The task force will be struck with EMSB commissioners and representatives from Cote Saint-Luc City Council to iron out details to potentially establish a new high school for September 2013.
This is good news indeed for Cote Saint-Luc, NDG, RVHS parents and all West End residents as well as the English-speaking community at large.
A mainstream English public high school has long been sought after by Cote Saint-Luc City Council. Mayor Anthony Housefather made an impassioned and eloquent presentation to the EMSB last month which surely helped to convince the commissioners of the merits of the Cote Saint-Luc position.
Thank you Dr. Wise and EMSB commissioners for your consideration. Thank you Mayor Housefather for your leadership and vision.
While the final decision is now a few months away, prospects have not looked better in several years.
In Côte St. Luc, Mayor Anthony Housefather said he still hopes the EMSB will open an English public high school in his city. Côte St. Luc never asked for Royal Vale high school to be moved, Housefather said.
“Côte St. Luc is simply asking for a mainstream English high school in the former Wagar building,” he said. “We’re confident that the presentation we made to the EMSB will hopefully yield us one.”
Excitement is building over buildings at this 11th hour. Media reports indicate that the EMSB committee looking into relocations and closings has reversed its recommendation to move Royal Vale High School to Cote Saint-Luc.
Ultimately the decision will be made by the EMSB commissioners at a meeting scheduled for this Wednesday. Cote Saint-Luc has made an impassioned pitch for a public high school and we hope that the commissioners will agree. Many parents and the communities involved will be anxious for this news.
Another brilliant column by the Gazette’s Henry Aubin (link below) who has been on the case of municipal mergers and other government blunders affecting our cities. Aubin wrote about the mergers well before they took place 10 years ago and predicted what a colossal mistake this would be. He cited examples from across North America and Europe.
This week marks 10 years since this ill-advised event took effect. Since then we have seen Montreal costs run amuck and the sucking of local/suburban city taxes to feed the insatiable centre city.
We lost our local Fire Department that served our community well in two languages, conducted hundreds of inspections every year, attended every local event and cooperated with our Public Security department and EMS.
With mergers we have experienced a Montreal Fire department with years of labour strife and disinterest in communicating in English on their website despite numerous requests from our Council, unwillingness to cooperate with our Public Security, refusing to advise them of fire calls in CSL, preventing our city from providing maximum services to our residents not to mention a firefighter union that worked hard yet failed to terminate CSL’s all-star volunteer EMS.
We have had almost no fire inspections at all despite pleas by our Council to improve on this dismal and dangerous record.
These are just a few examples of our city’s experience with a single service since merger. There are so many more examples as oft cited at our Council meetings.
While we are lucky to have broken free from much of the merger disadvantages several continue to haunt us as revealed by Henry Aubin in this Gazette column: Henry Aubin: Loud silence on merger milestone.
RSS
Recent Comments