Plans for Pointe Claire Village

The Pointe Claire Historical Society presented a detailed document during a public consultation process by the McGill School of Urban Planning for the revitalization of Pointe Claire Village last Wednesday evening.

"What's needed is a vision of all of Pointe Claire," said the society's president Claude Arsenault, adding the memo in question requires the full political will of the City of Pointe Claire as well as merchants who operate in the historic village to move ahead.

"For example," Arsenault told The Chronicle, "the merchants want signage (on Highway 20) that says come see the historical village," he said.

However, it would be impossible to convince the provincial government, which governs signage on provincial highways, to put such signs if the village were not given a historical status first. "That's done provincially or municipally," said Arsenault.

For parking, his group is suggesting the installation of an underground parking lot at the intersection of Ste. Anne and Lakeshore Roads.

Pointe Claire mayor Bill McMurchie said it is a challenging task to balance the needs for parking with respecting some of the historical buildings of the village. However, he reminded the city had created two parking lots in the area by buying up unused property and converting it.

McMurchie added council is waiting on an urban plan for all of Pointe Claire that it should receive "in the coming three to four months."

Once Council has taken a look at it, he said, it will be presented to the public for consultation, likely in 2009.