NEWSLETTER
ST. LAWRENCE VISION 2000
VOLUME 10 – ISSUE 4 – SEPTEMBER 1999
Preceding issues

The Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches ZIP Committee

Learning More about the Public's Expectations
To Better Respond to Them

This article reviews the highlights of a study conducted by the Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches ZIP Committee to identify public perceptions and expectations regarding activities practised and the planning of access points and facilities along the St Lawrence.

During public consultations held by the Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches ZIP Committee in March 1997, one of the priorities identified by participants was the need for a profile of the public’s current satisfaction with and expectations regarding access to the St Lawrence and activities carried out along the river. As a result, the ZIP Committee undertook a study on the public’s needs regarding uses of and access to the St Lawrence River, in co-operation with the Research, Investigation and Survey Department at Mérici College and several financial partners. One thousand one hundred and twenty-seven residents in riverside municipalities were surveyed between February 3 and 28, 1998; the study had a margin of error of 3% with a confidence coefficient of 95% (19 times out of 20).

"The respondents were asked about their knowledge and views of public access points to the river, the activities they carried out along the riverbanks, the facilities they would like and the role of public organizations in enhancing recreation and tourism along the St Lawrence," explained Ms Hamida Hassein-Bey, the Committee’s co-ordinator. The study’s conclusions were made public on June 1 at a press conference attended by 250 people (media representatives, citizens and socio-economic players in the region). The conference, held aboard the vessel Louis Jolliet, was followed by a cruise, courtesy of Croisières AML. Those who attended were given an opportunity to discover a portion of the Committee’s territory, which extends from the Côte de Beaupré Regional County Municipality (MRC) to the Portneuf MRC on the north shore, including the Île d’Orléans MRC, and from the Bellechasse MRC to the Lotbinière MRC on the south shore.

One of the study’s conclusions was that the individuals interviewed were dissatisfied with access points to the St Lawrence River. This question received the highest dissatisfaction rating in the study, with 36% of respondents saying they were somewhat or completely dissatisfied.

Fifteen per cent of the people interviewed were familiar with the Old Port in Quebec City, Beauport Bay and Jacques Cartier beach, but fewer than 5% of those questioned mentioned other points of access, such as Cap Rouge nautical park, Lévis wharf, the St Romuald marina, Gilmour beach and the Île d’Orléans marine park.

Respondents’ overall rate of satisfaction with existing points of access and the facilities provided for outdoor activities along the St Lawrence was 62%.

Even so, few of the people interviewed actually did anything along the banks of the St Lawrence on a regular basis. Close to 80% of them had visited the riverbanks fewer than five times during the previous year to carry out an activity, while 58% had not gone at all.

The most common activities of respondents who did visit the riverbanks were walking (49%) and cycling (10%). They did so mainly at Jacques Cartier beach (22%), the Old Port in Quebec City (15%) and on the Beauport flats (7%).

The activities that respondents were interested in carrying out if the riverbanks were developed and the water quality was sufficiently high were picnicking (91%), hiking (90%), cycling (82%), nature interpretation (81%), visiting interpretation centres and heritage sites (79%), swimming (70%), boating (66%) and fishing (50%). The facilities they wanted are consistent with these activities (bicycle paths, hiking trails, parks and beaches).

With regard to the roles of various players in recreational and tourism development, close to 90% of respondents agreed that municipalities, supported by other players, should enhance the potential of sites along the river more extensively.

Quite obviously, a number of the projects listed in the ERAP will help meet the public’s expectations. "We used the launch of this report to congratulate the City of Lévis and the Quebec Urban Community on their initiatives. They are planning to build multi-purpose paths along the shore," explained Ms Hassein-Bey.

"In light of the interest shown in swimming, the ZIP Committee is insisting on the need to build holding tanks to control sewer overflows during rainfall," continued Ms Hassein-Bey. "We know that this would require a $150 million investment, which could mean $10-12 million per year over 15 years—not a large amount when you consider that it represents less than 1% of the annual gross domestic product of the Quebec City region, which is $28 billion. Our study showed that 89% of the population would like us to continue to inject public funds to decrease sources of pollution in the St Lawrence. This support from the community, combined with the need to make the investments to date in public access points to the St Lawrence cost effective, should help to convince decision-makers of the urgency of taking action in this matter," she concluded, pointing out that this is the only way that people will once again be able to swim in the St Lawrence River.

Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches ZIP Committee
partners in this study:

Mérici College, Quebec Department of the Environment, Quebec Department of Transport, Quebec Regional Development Secretariat, the Quebec Port Corporation and Ultramar.

Information:

Hamida Hassein-Bey, Co-ordinator
Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches ZIP Committee
Telephone: (418) 522-8080
Fax: (418) 522-4664
E-mail: zipquebec@qbc.clic.net

Source:

COMITÉ ZIP DE QUÉBEC ET CHAUDI"RE-APPALACHES ET COLL"GE DE MÉRICI, 1999. Étude sur les besoins d’usages et d’accès au fleuve Saint-Laurent, Comité ZIP de Québec et Chaudière-Appalaches, Québec, 31 p. + annexes.

A copy of the report (available in French only), which contains a number of other relevant data for organizations in the region, can be obtained by contacting the Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches ZIP Committee. The cost is $12 for ZIP Committee members and $15 for non-members (plus $2 postage and handling).

Public access is so important that local people are taking part in shoreline clean-up. ZIP participation in shoreline clean-up on June 12, 1999 at Ultramar Park; organized by the St Laurent Street Citizens Committee.

Even children are keen enough on public access to take part in the South Shore clean-up on June 12, 1999; organized by the St Laurent Street Citizens Committee.

Educating the public is important. Stand run by the ZIP during the June 12, 1999 shoreline clean-up; organized on the South Shore by the St Laurent Street Citizens Committee.

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Cycling is one of the most popular activities among the general public. On the Île d’Orléans Bridge, where safety is at a premium.

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Water sports account for 66% of popular activities. The Quebec City ZIP takes part in the canoe descent of the St Charles River on May 22, 1999.