Water sports enthusiasts demand easy access to water in Mauricie

The difficult access to the Saint-Maurice River, in Trois-Rivières, is denounced by several water sports enthusiasts who would like the City to develop new places for launching.

Water sports enthusiasts demand easy access to water in Mauricie

The difficult access to the Saint-Maurice River, in Trois-Rivières, is denounced by several water sports enthusiasts who would like the City to develop new places for launching.

In recent months, many have discovered the Parc des Berges, located in the heart of a residential street. The increase in the flow of traffic, the increase in noise and the breakage of vegetation worry residents. They have also marked out the trails and added hand-written posters on the land owned by the City of Trois-Rivières.

“In the early years, there were fishermen. Now, there are a large number of people who come with boards, kayaks, but there we also see motor boats. When they try to access the river, they can break trees”, explained Jean-Claude Leprohon, a citizen of the sector.

The protection of the banks is also a central concern. “Vegetation must be maintained to prevent erosion. This is what holds back the climb and, by extension, our houses,” added Mr. Leprohon.

The municipal councilor of the sector has, herself, written a poster. "I don't know in what sense it can be an abuse of power. What I wanted was to make visitors aware of the importance of respecting the banks,” said Councilor Pascale Albernhe-Lahaie.

This situation also raises questions of accessibility to lakes and rivers. “The launches upstream of the St-Mauricie are very difficult. We are told to go to Vivian-Dober Park, further south, but over there, there is a lot of motor boat traffic, it is more dangerous,” mentioned Éric Boivin, a water sports enthusiast. .

Trois-Rivières will soon entrust an external firm with the mandate to assess the accessibility to bodies of water. The objective is to implement the recommendations of the study during the next summer seasons.

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