Access road to the lot 3 389 956 in Wakefield, La Pêche

Surrounded by National Capital Commission (NCC) lands, at the junction of Highway 5 and McLaren Road; lot 3,389,956 is a private lot of 210,100 square metres without direct access to a road network. In order to gain access to the propriety, the owner proposes the construction of an access road, starting from McLaren Road, and, using an old forest road, crossing NCC lands - all with the objective of minimizing the environmental impact on the surrounding environment.

 

The proposed road would cross lands owned by the NCC and is subject to the federal approval of land use, design and real estate transaction, under the National Capital Law.

 

The access road would start on the West side of McLaren Road, between Highway 5 and Oakview Road. It would take an old forest road that is already partly deforested. The width of the path would be 2.4 metres, but with a total width of 6 metres if we include the ditches. At approximately every 100 meters, there would be a widening of the road to allow for the passage of oncoming vehicles. The total road distance to the land of the owner will be 616 metres. The road will be mostly gravel, but with two sections of asphalt, on the slope at the beginning of the road, and on the culvert towards the end of the road.

 

The proposed road crosses NCC lands which are not an integral part of Gatineau Park, therefore without public access, but which serve to enrich the biodiversity of the region while allowing an access path for animals between the park and outside of it. The first half of the proposed path passes through mixed forest of mostly hardwood on slightly hilly terrain. The second portion of the path crosses a field, near a wetland and crosses a small stream of about 10-20 cm in diameter towards the end of the path.

 

The deforestation of the future path should begin at the end of August 2022. The construction of the road will follow and will be done with heavy machinery while respecting the limits of the road so as not to impact the surrounding ecosystem. The completion date should be before the 2022 winter freeze, but could resume and be finalized in the spring 2023 depending on metrological conditions and construction contingencies.

 

There would be about 100 trees, including 10 dead or dying, which will have to be cut to allow the widening of the old forest road. In its second section, the road will pass near a wetland, which must be protected during the work phase to avoid it being impacted. A culvert will then be installed to cross the stream at the end of the road, which will measure 2 metres in diameter, to minimize the impact of the road on the aquatic ecosystem. Stormwater management measures are included in the design of the road. All necessary environmental studies have been completed for this project, and there are no animal or plant species at risk which would potentially be affected by this work. The anticipated environmental effects will be mitigated or even avoided by the implementation of standard and effective mitigation measures.

 

Once the road is finished, it will initially serve as an access road to the owner's land for the construction of a bi-generational house with the possible addition of a small organic farm. In a second phase, the project could expand, and build 2 to 3 rental chalets, still on the land of the owner, for a small-scale agrotourism vision. In any case, to preserve the surrounding ecosystem. the road will remain a private path with limited access.

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Latest update

June 1st, 2022 – The public comment period on the project is closed. The National Capital Commission is considering comments received to help inform its determination on whether the carrying out of the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

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Key documents

Key documents
Document Number Document Title File Date
2 Notice of Determination - October 26, 2022

Contacts

National Capital Commission
Environmental Assessment
40 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5A8
Email: IA-EI@ncc-ccn.ca


  • Location

    • lot 3,389,956 (Quebec)

  • Nature of Activity

    • Highways and Roads

  • Assessment Status

    Completed

  • Start Date

    2022-08-29

  • Proponent

    M. Barthelemy-Ducharme

  • Authorities

    • National Capital Commission

  • Assessment Type

    Project on federal lands

  • Reference Number

    83553
Disclaimer

This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.

 

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...within 200 kilometres
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