Turcot Yard Snows 2008 - Preliminary Reportage by Kirk Bennett

by Cinematographer Kirk Bennett - Special reportage to VoiceofDorval.ca - Montreal - 3.27.08, 4.23.08

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The entire 3.5 kilometre long Turcot Yard, from Montreal West to the bottom of the Decarie Autoroute, seen here in summer is currently filled with snow and all the accompanying dirt/pollution. Once a proud contributor to the Montreal and Canadian economy this highly valuable piece of land has been all but abandoned for the past several years. Many of the pictures here were taken from the Angrignon Blvd. overpass which can be seen traversing the highway and yard in the left of the satellite image. The long roadway at the top of the frame is de Maisonneve Blvd.; below (and across the center of the frame) the Falaise Saint Jacques (NDG Escarpment) is seen as a long string of treeline; at the bottom of the frame we see a portion of historic Lachine Canal. Map by Google

GROUND ZERO An idea of scale and distance.

A high wide-angle shot of the west half of the Turcot Yard snow dumps, Mounts Bruno and Sainte Hilaire in the distance and to the east. To the right (south, and just below the Lachine Canal) is the Ciment St-Laurent silo, a landmark in itself. In the distance to the left (north) is the elevated expressway coming from Decarie Boulevard.

The precise amount of pollution at this one dump site can only be estimated for now but observations made during my initial visit into the dump, combined with a clear-day bus ride (4.7.08) along Hwy. 20, indicate a vast amount of toxic and non-toxic materials are building-up such as railway ties, oil cans, grease, motor oil, plastics of all sorts, windshield-washer fluid, abrasives, and garbage from household pickup. Most ridiculous item = a sofa.

The red pickup-truck gives a good sense of scale. The snow is well over 25 feet high. Downtown Montreal looms in the background.

The governments appear unconcerned about the runoff from the mountains. Others' concerns are only beginning as Spring arrives and the melting process begins. Citzens' complaints and concerns in numerous snow-dump locations are now showing up in the media; one family is concerned that the snow, right to the back of their yard and almost 30 feet high, is going to flood the street they live on and so are their neighbors upset about possible flooding. Playing fields may have been used for snow dumping. There are many concerns directly related to the toxic content of the snow piles, rubber worn from tires, waste motor-oil, gasoline, and windshield-washer to be precise, and living or working near them.

While this long-shot does not in itself give a good idea of the length of the snow piles, look at the lighting standards which are a good distance apart. One drives on the highway for a solid minute and a half at 100 km/hr. to go from one end of the snow piles to the other.

Notice how black the mountains are already. See the video (below - "Toxic Threat at Turcot Yard") for a close-up view of what is happening on the snow piles.

La Petite riviere Saint-Pierre
an important place!

Left: This map indicates the path of the Petite riviere Saint-Pierre (through the Turcot Yard) which was the highway of the day, non-polluting, noiseless, no maintenance (beavers saw to that,) and accessible to all. In addition the river, its banks and wetlands were a valuable source of animal, grain and vegetable foodstuffs.

Right: A plaque on the exterior wall of the Pointe-à-Callière Museum at Place Royale in Old Montreal indicates clearly the importance of the junction of the Petite riviere Saint-Pierre & Saint Lawrence River which evidently had great meaning to the inhabitants of the time. Even de Maisonneuve recognized its importance and chose precisely this site for the establishment of Montreal.

Reportage - Montreal's Turcot Yard Snow Dump

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GROUND ZERO An idea of scale and distance.

WindowsMedia files - click to view.