Parc Lac-Hélène is officially open!

The inauguration of Parc Lac-Hélène took place on September 29. Over a hundred people turned out to celebrate the completion of this revitalization project and enjoy the festivities. Members of the Wasamac Task Force and representatives of the City of Rouyn-Noranda were also on hand for the event.

This project is the fruit of a long-term effort by the Task Force, in collaboration with the Ville de Rouyn-Noranda. It was developed through a series of consultations with local residents.

The idea of revitalizing Parc Lac-Hélène was brought up at the 7th meeting of the Wasamac Task Force in December 2021. The discussion on neighborhood projects continued on Facebook, thanks to a member of the Task Force who was also involved in the COC-Wasamac Citizen Group. The exchanges were then made anonymous and served as a basis for the steps that followed.

The Neighborhood Projects Committee, a sub-committee of the Task Force, was created in April 2022 to select the first projects to work on. The objective was to select a collective project that would be achievable in the short term and that would command the consensus of the neighborhood.

The committee then conducted a participatory exercise at the June 2022 neighborhood meeting, during which the idea of revitalizing Parc Lac-Hélène generated a great deal of enthusiasm. Suggestions, such as the development of a covered picnic area, emerged, with a particular focus on keeping the project neighborhood centric.

These elements were reiterated at the November 2022 Task Force meeting. The City of Rouyn-Noranda's parks and facilities manager was invited to provide information on the park's layout and a few types of facilities to be considered.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss issues relating to overall layout, lighting, safety and equipment maintenance. The ideas gathered were then validated during a phone consultation with the neighborhood in January 2023.

The development of a covered picnic area and the removal of the ball stop were supported by the majority of respondents, and the addition of tables was suggested. Accessibility for families, safety and access for dogs were considerations to be taken into account according to those contacted.

The results of the phone consultation were presented at a Task Force meeting in January 2023, at which more specific decisions on the type of equipment were made.

Work on the park began in 2023 and was completed in summer 2024. The Wasamac mining project team is delighted to see the Parc Lac-Hélène redevelopment project come to fruition. Future activities will be able to be organized in the park, and we hope the neighborhood will be able to take full advantage of this space.