Some Pointe-Claire residents are upset after a large swath of forest was cut down because it got in the way of REM construction.
“This will have an immediate impact on the local residents’ quality of life,” Pointe-Claire resident Genevieve Lussier told Global News. “They should have looked at how much this forest absorbed rainwater, how many species of flora and fauna live here.”
The 3,000-square-metre green space near the corner of Highway 40 and Fairview Avenue has been removed to make room for an eventual train station on the new electric network being constructed by the Caisse de Depot.
WATCH: West Island residents are upset after a large swath of forest was cut down because it was in the way of REM construction. As Global’s Dan Spector reports, a new train station will move next to Fairview in a few years.
READ MORE: Environmentalists back in court, trying to halt REM construction
“It’s our first step in the West Island. We want to build this new mass transit system we’ve been waiting for for a long time,” said Jean-Vincent Lacroix, a spokesman for the REM.
The lot is right across from the Fairview shopping mall, and is expected to be a key station for the network.
Watch above: West Island residents are upset after a large swath of forest was cut down because it was in the way of REM construction. As Global’s Dan Spector reports, a new train station will move next to Fairview in a few years.
By 2023, the elevated train will run alongside Highway 40 and eventually stop right where the forest once was. For some, it’s hard to look past its current state of devastation.
“When they started to cut it, I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” said a woman who works in the area, and who preferred not to be named. “I was crying like the trees were crying.”
Crews are analyzing the soil, preparing to break ground.
READ MORE: New barrier keeps snakes away from site of future REM station in Pointe-Claire
“We’re going to build the foundation, and to build the foundation, we have to ground it to the rock,” Lacroix explained.
The same thing is happening in a number of other places the REM is being built. Two hundred thousand square meters worth of trees, bushes and other greenery will fall to make room for the REM. To compensate, the Caisse has promised to plant 250,000 trees.
“Instead of using their cars, people will use collective transport. This is our vision. But for the work to be done, we have to cut some branches and some trees,” Lacroix said.
Authorities promise they will put the wood to good use, though Lacroix couldn’t explain how.
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