Now, three Montrealers hope to change this unpleasant view for a park with a lake in the centre.

Allen F. Mackenzie, Jean Fortier, and Jacques Beique are the creators of the Otter Lake Society, an association that intends to bring nature back to Montreal.

“We noticed this ugly area, full of containers, right next to the Lachine Canal, which is a national park. It’s a disgrace,” said Mackenzie. “We also noticed that there’s a natural park regenerating itself in the Falaise St. Jacques.”

Since the Quebec Transport Ministry recently announced that the aging Turcot Interchange will be rebuilt, these nature enthusiasts decided to propose the creation of a giant park with a lake in the middle, “a la Central Park.”

“This lake would recreate one that existed there 200 years ago as a result of the St. Laurence overflow,” said Mackenzie.

Although the old lake stretched from the Atwater Market to Ville St. Pierre, the proposed new lake would be smaller, feeding off the Lachine Canal.

But for the project to be feasible, Highway 20 needs to be moved.

“Our proposal requires the highway runs next to the falaise. This is very positive because the cliff creates a natural sound barrier for NDG residents,” Mackenzie said.

The Otter Lake Society is also proposing green alternatives for public transportation:

“We are proposing a ground-level tramway that would run through the park all the way into Old Montreal,” he added.

The park would also have walking and bike paths.

They are also proposing that CN runs a maximum of two train tracks instead of the eight that CN wants once the new Turcot Interchange is finished.

“For at least two years they will be running on two tracks, why do they want to go back to eight?” Fortier said.

Fortier said that the trains can take an alternate route, and that they could just move further east.

“Trains are noisy, dusty, and they represent a security problem, such as terrorism,” he said. “They do not need eight lanes. There should be an arbitrage to diminish their impact on the population”.

At the same time, Mackenzie argues that the economic impact that the project would have would be enormous: “Real estate value in the area would witness a five-fold increase. This would translate into more taxes,” he said.

Francis Boisvert of Consultaxe Ltee and Cyprien Zapareniuc of Beique Legault Thout Inc. are the companies that studied the economic impact on real state values. This increase would affect neighbouring areas such as NDG and Westmount.

“At the same time, we are also proposing the creation of a biotech centre, which would be beneficial both for McGill University and pharmaceutical companies,” he said.

The promoters are also suggesting the creation of a transportation museum to boost tourism in the area.

“This is where Canada began from an economic standpoint. There is a natural theme of transportation and history in this area,” he said.

The promoters want to show the public that green spaces are much needed in Montreal:

"Montreal is one of the most industrialized cities in North America, and we want to increase green spaces,” Mackenzie said.

Ken McLaughlin has been walking around this area and the Turcot yards for years, and he loves the project:

“I would love to see the Otter Lake reclaimed. There is an enormous opportunity at Turcot Yards and it is really a shame to see it totally squandered by a lack of vision,” he said.

“We want the public to like this project first,” Mackenzie said. “We welcome ideas from the public”.