Photo: Anja Karadeglija
	Borough mayor Michael Applebaum announced some new initiatives and gave an update on the progress of the borough’s Green Plan on June 10.

As the borough’s Green Plan enters its fourth year, residents can expect to see new greenspace on Queen-Mary, new water fountains in two parks, and a new heating system at the Trenholme Sports Centre.

Borough mayor Michael Applebaum announced the initiatives at a June 10 press conference, where he also gave an update on the progress of the plan.

A small concrete lot at the corner of Queen Mary and Coolbrook will be turned into greenspace, a project that is expected to cost $60,000. It’s the first in a program that aims to reduce heat islands by increasing the number of small greenspaces in CDN NDG.

“It’s asphalt, sometimes not very clean,” said Applebaum, adding that the borough will put bushes, plants and benches in the space.

“We’re looking to find areas that we own, that are owned by other people also, hopefully acquiring or making agreements with them in order to turn areas that are asphalted into greenspace,” he said.

“The big challenge is finding spaces that are available for us to green,” Applebaum added.

The new heating system at the Trenholme Sports Centre is going to be more energy-efficient, he said. In the next few weeks, the borough will also put water fountains in Confederation and Darlington Parks.

This “will encourage people to not have to use bottled water. They’ll be able to drink our water from our parks and be able to stay refreshed,” he said.

Applebaum also detailed some of the green initiatives the borough put in place over the past year.

It distributed recycling bins to residents, bars, restaurants, hotels, and stores, and the department of public works has also replaced some vehicles with more environmentally friendly options, he said.

The parks department put in solar lighting in three parks.

“During the day the solar energy is captured, and then at night these parks are lit up, saving energy and providing more lighting and security for park users,” said Applebaum.

He also pointed to the expansion of Bixi to the borough, and the adoption of an urban forestry plan, which sets out a strategy to manage the borough’s trees.

Applebaum also mentioned activities held by the borough’s two Éco Quartiers, the collection of green waste, as well as the green features of the new NDG Sports Centre.

In CDN the borough installed four solar garbage compactors, which have five times the capacity of regular garbage cans.

“Because of the number of people walking on Côte-des-Neiges, it’s kept the area clean, but it also reduces the amount of times our public works vehicles have to drive up and down the street to remove the garbage,” he said.

Applebaum also urged citizens to get involved and make recommendations to the borough.

Citizens can also take green actions of their own, including not watering grass, leaving grass cuttings on the lawn, drinking tap water instead of bottled, and shopping locally, he said.

[ Anja Karadeglija ]