What is the 'Grand parc de l'Est?' Montreal unveils large east-end park project

Montreal launches ‘sponge park’ plan At the climate change conference in Montreal, Mayor Valerie Plante talked sponge parks and streets.

A large swath of land in Montreal's east end will become a protected park space, the city announced Sunday.

The new park, officially called "le Grand parc de l'Est," will encompass just under 700 hectares, about three times the size of Mount Royal Park.

"By setting up this large park, we are giving ourselves the means to preserve and enhance natural environments for the benefit of east-end residents and the entire island," Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said in a press release originally published in French.

She said the park will protect biodiversity, provide accessible green space, and create "buffer zones" between businesses and residences.

With the park's boundaries established, the city could move to acquire the land inside of it, which is made up of public, private, and institutional property.

A CAMPAIGN PROMISE

Plante campaigned on creating an ample east-end green space leading up to her reelection in 2021.

"Distribution of green spaces in Montreal has never been equitable on the east side," Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Borough Mayor Pierre Lessard-Blais said at the time.

The east-end park is, in-part, a sister project to "le Grand parc de l'Ouest" -- another park plan in the West Island slated for 2030.

That project is significantly larger, encompassing 3,000 hectares, compared to the 700 reserved for the Grand parc de l'Est. If completed, it could be Canada's largest municipal park.