It is on Thursday, November 3, 2022 that the firm BC2 unveiled, in the presence of the municipal team, elected officials and about thirty people, the 2 concepts selected for the Youth Hub following the survey intended for teens aged 12 to 17 that collected nearly 650 responses.

An essential and decisive step, the evening of November 3rd enabled the teens present to express their views in order to tangibly influence the decision-making process of members of Council for the continuation of the project.

Let us recall that the hub’s project took off in September of 2018 when teens from our community directly appealed to elected officials for the construction of a new skate park.

Back then, several teens courageously pleaded their case after having collected 120 signatures requesting that the worn-out modules be replaced. Although Saint-Lazare’s skateboard modules were trendsetting back in the 1990s, several modules have since had to be removed for safety reasons, especially after 20 years of use. It was therefore time to establish a master plan.

While the final conceptual design has yet to be unveiled, the preliminary estimate for the project called for a sum of more or less $2,000,000. "The cost estimate will be clarified with the presentation of the final conceptual plan," explains Marc Tremblay, Director of Recreation and Community Life in Saint-Lazare.

To date, no timeline has been established, but the municipal administration hopes to see the project completed in 2023-2024. "The availability of grants to complete the work is being considered. Once the final conceptual plan is presented to City Council, they will need to decide on funding conditions. It is possible that implementation could be contingent on the receipt of a grant. Once this decision is made, the preparation of plans and specifications for the project will begin," concludes Marc Tremblay.

The survey results will be available on the website in the coming weeks. An invitation to view them will also be issued through the city’s weekly newsletter when the time comes. If you have not already subscribed, I invite you to do so by simply typing the word “newsletter” in the site search tool available on the home page.