Promenade Bellerive |
Promenade Bellerive is an east-end linear waterfront park of 22 hectares which borders the Port of Montreal and faces the Grandes battures Tailhandier (river sandbars, a bird sanctuary) and the Îles de Boucherville across the St. Lawrence.
The area has not always been a park. During the dig for the nearby Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine tunnel in the early 1960s some of the earth and rocks removed from the excavation were brought to the area and subsequently it was used as a road salt depot and a place for snow to be dumped into the river. It wasn't until the mid-1990s that citizen pressure for a green space resulted in landscaping as a park and the addition of a chalet. Now the park serves as a pleasure ground for a neighbourhood otherwise short of green space, and in wintertime is used for cross-country skiing. Because of its proximity to the port, the park is an excellent place to watch big ships coming and going. In summer from June 24 to September 7 Croisières Navark runs a ferry service from Promenade Bellerive pier over to the Îles de Boucherville provincial park. This is the only way to get to the islands from Montreal without a car, and the Navark boats allow you to bring a bicycle across. It's only a ten-minute crossing and it gives a cyclst access to 23 km of bike paths over on the islands. Promenade Bellerive is just east of the Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine tunnel and thus it's past the easternmost metro station, Honoré-Beaugrand. The best way to get there by public transit is to take the 22 bus from l'Assomption metro station.
|
View Larger Map | |