Crowley area planning

Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (CDN-NDG) has been working for several months to come up with a development vision for the Crowley/Décarie area, together with solutions that are best adapted to meeting a range of urban issues.

The borough’s Direction de l'aménagement urbain et des services aux entreprises (DAUSE) worked in collaboration with the community to determine the facilities, the building heights and identify the uses likely to promote the development of neighbourhood life. The work achieved under this initiative led to a proposal to amend the Urban Plan.

The proposed development guidelines target greening, the inclusion of social and affordable housing, and a continued concern with improving the quality of the borough’s living environments.

The amendment of the Urban Plan calls for a logical densification of approach noses, where the highest constructions are likely to have the smallest impact on the built environment. More specifically, the following changes have been proposed:

• The creation of a high-density area north of Avenue Crowley, along Boulevard Décarie. In this area, building heights would range from four to 20 storeys.

• The creation of a second high-density area north of Avenue Crowley, along Avenue Prud'homme. In part of this area, heights of four to eight storeys would provide a transition between the existing built environment on Avenue Prud'homme – which would be maintained as is – and the other projected area.

• The creation of third high-density area on the southwest corner at the intersection of Avenue Crowley and Boulevard Décarie. In this area, building heights would range from four to eight storeys.

• The creation of a fourth high-density area along Boulevard Décarie. In this area, building heights would range from four to six storeys.

• The creation of a fifth high-density area along Rue Saint-Jacques and Boulevard Décarie. In this area, building heights would range from four to 16 storeys.

• The creation of a sixth high-density area along Rue Saint-Jacques and the access ramp to the autoroute. In this area, building heights would range from four to six stories.

Montréal’s Urban Plan calls for additional affordable housing requirements to be applied based on new opportunities for residential densification.

A public consultation meeting will be held on January 25, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. at 5160 Décarie Boulevard (first floor).

We would like to thank you for attending the public event organized on Tuesday, April 12. It was a pleasure to meet you and to hear from you about the future of the area.

This is a summary of the main points of view that were expressed. Some points of view may conflict with others. It will be up to the borough to recommend more final guidelines.

• Can the lighting on Avenue Prud’homme be changed? The height of the lampposts is the same as the leaves of the trees, which substantially reduces the lighting of the sidewalks.
• Several people showed an interest in a short-term closure of the alley to cut off vehicle traffic. Access to the rear parking lots must be maintained. However, there is no consensus on whether access should be by Décarie or Prud’homme.
• Some expressed concern about the height of future buildings and questioned the need to allow any height greater than that of the existing building. The notion of loss of privacy in existing yards and direct views from the new high-rise buildings was also mentioned by several. However, they were open to meeting the promoters to discuss it.
• One of the concerns seems to be the impact on parking on Prud’homme. New residents could add vehicles that would hog the little space available on Prud’homme.

• The majority seemed to be in favour of the buildings planned in the alley being moved towards Décarie, even if it means having a height greater than the 4 floors proposed. This would allow for vegetated backyards. This option also favours increasing the distance between the buildings on Avenue Prud’homme and the future buildings located on Décarie.

• Several people also expressed concern about the redesign of the Décarie/Upper Lachine/Maisonneuve West intersection. We will try to provide you with more information on the schedule of the studies and work. Note, however, that this is the responsibility of the Direction de la mobilité du Service de l’urbanisme et de mobilité (central administration).

• Some people are asking for grass cutting in the central part of Boulevard Décarie, especially at intersections. We will see if this request is compatible with the type of landscaping chosen. (Remember that it is a natural garden designed to collect rainwater.)

• Several people asked if it would be possible to demolish the vacant buildings on Décarie right away.

• Some asked that the passageways under overpasses (especially the Upper Lachine one) be cleaned up and that graffiti be removed.

• Mention was also made of the danger to pedestrians of crossing the access road to highway 15 on Boulevard Saint-Jacques.

• There seems to be a marked interest in the landscaping of the grassy strip of land where we had set up our kiosk. Recall that this land belongs to the Ministère des Transports (MTQ) for the moment. Among the ideas received:

  • Creation of a small garden

  • Unobstructed space for children to play

  • Tree planting to serve as a filter and barrier for nuisances (noise, dust, gas)

  • Space for dogs

  • Addition of a table for eating
    
    

We will soon invite you to draw up a development plan that we hope will include all of your requests. In the meantime, we fully respect the need for local residents to feel at home at that site.

We hope that this is a faithful summary of the comments you made. There is still time to send us your opinions. As you can see, it is not always easy to combine your requests with those of others. Our role as an urban planning team is to make recommendations to the borough’s elected officials that benefit the entire community.

Thank you once more for your collaboration and we look forward to seeing you again.

Dear resident,

It’s time to take a moment to discuss the upcoming changes to your neighbourhood, and in particular for us to hear your opinions on them. You are invited to an information and consultation kiosk.

Tuesday, April 12, on Avenue Prud'homme

From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. (In case of rain, the kiosk will be postponed to April 20)

Our team would like to hear from you on the following topics:

• Your view on the planned residential projects
• Your vision of the alley and the actions to be taken in the short term
• Your first thoughts on the layout of the green space adjacent to Avenue Prud'homme

We will confirm that the information kiosk is going forward by means of door hangers the day before the event.

Summary of public consultations

In the fall of 2020, the borough of Côte-des-Neiges─Notre-Dame-de-Grâce held public consultations with residents in the Decarie-Crowley area. We also spoke with institutions in the neighbourhood, in particular the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and the Direction de la santé publique. These meetings took place in late fall 2020 and in winter 2021.

During the fall consultations, you told us about certain issues that are important to you:

• Pedestrian safety
• Connecting the neighbourhood to other nearby area of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (Saint-Raymond, the Saint-Jacques Escarpment, Vendôme and Sherbrooke St. W.)
• Increasing available services for neighbourhood residents in terms of groceries, restaurants and a variety of shops
• Improving the green space adjacent to Avenue Prud’homme

We also discussed with you the idea of authorizing new high-rise buildings, with the condition that it be accompanied by concrete actions to improve the neighbourhood while limiting the number of solo motorists in the area as much as possible.

Over the next few months, we will continue our discussions with our various partners. Any new project in the neighbourhood will depend on our ability to keep traffic at an acceptable level and ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. Studies will have to examine the integration of the Décarie-Crowley area within the rest of the neighbourhood, and experts from various municipal departments will participate in them.

At the beginning of 2022, we will present the conclusions of these analyses. Until then, the area will not undergo any major changes.

A survey on the Crowley area was launched on the Making MTL website and conducted between September 24 and November 27, 2020. In total, 40 people responded to the survey. Almost all of the respondents were residents of the area.

Although the main recognized characteristics of this sector are the Vendôme intermodal station and the MUHC, community belonging stands out to residents, with 50% in the choice of answers.

The issue of making active transportation safe, the limited offering of shops and local services, and parking problems were mentioned by residents. The improvements that should be made are an increase in the variety of shops and services, more safety in getting around the area, and the addition of greenery.

Regarding innovative parking solutions, the implementation of a policy of on-street parking reserved for residents was widely favoured, followed by the pooling of indoor parking spaces and an increase in the number of parking spaces for car-sharing.

Regarding the acceptability of social, family and affordable housing developments, residents were mostly in favour, with more than 50% of respondents agreeing or somewhat agreeing.

Finally, the development of a shared street, the establishment of biodiversity corridors, and the enhancement of the Saint-Jacques Escarpment are ideas that were well received.

On May 21, 2020, the Ville de Montréal announced the creation of a major new park that will extend from the Saint-Jacques Escarpment to Rue Notre-Dame. This green space measuring close to 60 hectares will include wooded areas, wetlands and prairie zones to encourage biodiversity.

The park, which will border the Crowley, Westhaven, Saint-Raymond and Upper Lachine neighbourhoods, will be shared between the Sud-Ouest borough and the borough of CDN-NDG.

On Thursday, November 26, the Ministère des Transports (MTQ) held an information session to present the final design of the “bande verte” (green strip) to be located at the foot of the Saint-Jacques Escarpment.

This plan will add more than 12 hectares to the escarpment’s conservation area while providing the population with a green space complete with a multi-functional path, rest areas and a small parking lot with charging stations.

Its opening is scheduled for spring 2022.

View the project presentation (French only)

As the borough is working on the planning and implementation of new residential construction and public land development projects in the area, we want to understand the needs and the issues of the area’s residents.

Share your knowledge of the Crowley area with us by completing the survey. The survey is over.