Redevelopment of Céline-Dion Boulevard

Distinctions

Discipline : Landscape & Territories

Categories : Landscape Architecture / Streetscape & shared street : Gold certification

The redevelopment of Céline-Dion Boulevard transforms an old artery designed for cars into a public space capable of supporting the transformation of Charlemagne. Located at the entrance of the city, this oversized roadway, inherited from a highway logic, was dominated by automobiles and offered little safety, comfort, and clarity for pedestrian and bicycle travel. In an area set to welcome significant residential and commercial densification, it no longer met the needs of a rapidly evolving living environment.

The project is based on a clear idea: redistribute space to make the boulevard a complete, structuring, and accessible street for all users. The existing right-of-way is reconfigured to better balance uses and reduce conflicts. Continuous sidewalks, a bidirectional cycling path, and simplified pedestrian crossings make active transportation safer, clearer, and more direct. Intersections are redesigned to shorten crossings, calm traffic, and improve the daily experience.

At the heart of the proposal, a signature linear park redefines the identity of the boulevard and serves as its guiding thread. This landscaped corridor acts simultaneously as a unifying public space, an ecological infrastructure, and a cohesive element of the project. It incorporates vegetated swales and retention basins that ensure sustainable stormwater management while contributing to the greening of the artery, reducing heat islands, and improving climate comfort.

The project also stands out for its sensitive and identity-driven dimension. Inspired by a narrative framework related to the journey, community, and artistic expression, the concept unfolds in its furniture, spatial sequences, and the staging of the boulevard. This approach creates places conducive to meeting, pausing, and contemplating. The enhancement of the existing viaduct and the treatment of city entries reinforce this interpretation and give the boulevard a strong presence in the urban landscape.

By supporting adjacent developments and structuring a coherent, active, and sustainable living environment, the Céline-Dion Boulevard project demonstrates that an artery designed for transit can become a true place of life. It makes this entrance to Charlemagne a safer, greener, and more inhabited space, where mobility, landscape, and collective identity mutually reinforce each other.

The project in images