Promenade Bellerive Park
| Promenade Bellerive | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location of Promenade Bellerive in Montreal | |
| Location | Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Coordinates | 45°36′02″N 73°30′35″W / 45.600647°N 73.509779°W |
| Area | 22 hectares (54 acres) |
| Operated by | City of Montreal |
Promenade Bellerive is an urban park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located in between Notre Dame Street East and the Saint Lawrence River in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. It is 22 hectares (54 acres) large. Throughout its length, it faces the Boucherville Islands and Charron Island. A ferry service to Charron Island runs during the summer.
History
The City of Montreal obtained the land that would become Promenade Bellerive in 1893, following a land swap with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). As part of the deal, CPR obtained a piece of land in Old Montreal on which Place Viger would eventually be constructed. In the 1960s, the City of Montreal first announced its plans to convert its waterfront land into a park.[1] Earth from the digging of the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel was dumped on the site, and enlarged the piece of land by 800 feet (240 m) over more than a distance of over 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi).[1] The land was then used for the storage of road salt. During the winter the land was used by the city to dump snow into the river.[1]
Local citizens became frustrated at the slow pace it took for site to be transformed into a park. They worked with their local elected officials to facilitate the beginning of the work.[1] In 1995, a floating dock was installed, providing summer ferry service to the Boucherville Islands. In 1997, most of the landscaping work was done and the welcome centre was built.[1]