Île Bizard
Encyclopedia
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal , in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus by the Rivière des Prairies....
in the Hochelaga Archipelago
Hochelaga Archipelago
The Hochelaga Archipelago, also known as the Montreal Islands , is a group of islands at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers in the southwest part of the province of Quebec, Canada.-Size:...
region.
It was formerly a separate municipality named Ville de L'Île-Bizard
L'Île-Bizard, Quebec
Ville de L'Île-Bizard is a former municipality located on Île Bizard, an island northwest of the Island of Montreal. It was originally incorporated as a municipality on July 1, 1855 as Paroisse de Saint-Raphael-de l'Ile-Bizard....
, but is now part of the city of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, in the borough of L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève
L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève
L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève is a borough of the city of Montreal.-Geography:The borough is composed of the former municipalities of L'Île-Bizard and Sainte-Geneviève. The first is a separate island, the largest of the City of Montreal besides the Island of Montreal itself, and the second is a...
.
The Jacques Bizard Bridge
Jacques Bizard Bridge
Jacques Bizard Bridge is a bridge that crosses the Rivière des Prairies and connects L'Île Bizard to Montreal Island. Except for a cable ferry that connects Île Bizard with Laval-sur-le-Lac, it is the only access to Île Bizard, which had a population of 13,861 as of the 2001 census. It carries...
connects it across the Rivière des Prairies
Rivière des Prairies
The Rivière des Prairies is a delta channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada....
with Sainte-Geneviève
Sainte-Geneviève, Quebec
thumb|upright|left|Église Sainte-GenevièveSainte-Geneviève is a former municipality located on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada...
on the Island of Montreal
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal , in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus by the Rivière des Prairies....
. The Laval-sur-le-Lac Île-Bizard Ferry
Laval-sur-le-Lac Île-Bizard Ferry
The Laval-sur-le-Lac–Île-Bizard Ferry is a seasonal cable ferry near to the city of Montreal in the Canadian province of Quebec. It carries cars, bicycles and pedestrians across the Rivière des Prairies from Laval-sur-le-Lac to the Île Bizard....
provides a connection to Laval-sur-le-Lac
Laval-sur-le-Lac
Laval-sur-le-Lac is a small neighbourhood on the western-end part of Laval and was a separate city until the municipal mergers on August 6, 1965.- Geography :...
on Île Jésus
Île Jésus
Île Jésus is an island in southwestern Quebec, separated from the mainland to the north by the Rivière des Mille Îles, and from the Island of Montreal to the south by the Rivière des Prairies....
(Laval
Laval, Quebec
Laval is a Canadian city and a region in southwestern Quebec. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third largest municipality in the province of Quebec, and the 14th largest city in Canada with a population of 368,709 in 2006...
). This ferry does not operate in the winter.
Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park is a 201 hectare park which contains marsh lands and several kilometers of nature trails, accessible year round. There is also a small beach at Pointe-aux-Carrières that faces the Lac des Deux-Montagnes. The Royal Montreal Golf Club
Royal Montreal Golf Club
The Royal Montreal Golf Club is the oldest golf club in the Americas, having been founded in 1873. In that year, a small group of eight gentlemen sat in a dockside office and formed the Montreal Golf Club...
, the Golf Saint-Raphael and Elm Ridge Country Club are located on the island.
Historically named Île Bonaventure, by 1723 it had come to be named Île Bizard, after Jacques Bizard
Jacques Bizard
Jacques Bizard was seigneur of île Bonaventure, later renamed île-Bizard. Born in Benaix, Neuchatel in Switzerland to a Calvinist pastor, Bizard served in the Venetian army where he met Louis de Buade, better known as Comte de Frontenac...
, to whom it was conceded as a fief (seigneurie) in 1678. See Seigneurial system of New France
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
. The island was also used by the settlers of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
, as a way to get timber into Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
from the river, see Timber rafting
Timber rafting
Timber rafting is a log transportation method in which logs are tied together into rafts and drifted or pulled across a water body or down a flatter river. It is arguably the second cheapest method of transportation of timber, next after log driving...
.
There are only a few restaurants on the island and various stores and businesses.
Land has been reserved on the island for the future extension of Autoroute 440
Quebec Autoroute 440 (Laval)
Autoroute 440 is a provincial highway that runs across the city of Laval, Quebec from Autoroute 13 to Autoroute 25. It is currently long, proceeding across Île Jésus on an east-west axis...
from Laval to connect with Autoroute 40
Quebec Autoroute 40
Autoroute 40 is a major highway on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. It is one of the two main connections between Montreal and Quebec City...
at Chemin Ste-Marie. This will avoid having to drive on the Autoroute 40
Quebec Autoroute 40
Autoroute 40 is a major highway on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. It is one of the two main connections between Montreal and Quebec City...
to get to Autoroute 13
Quebec Autoroute 13
Autoroute 13 , is a freeway in the urban region of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its southern end is at the junction of A-20 on the Island of Montreal near Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Its northern terminus is at the junction of A-640 near Boisbriand...
and Autoroute 15
Quebec Autoroute 15
Autoroute 15 is a highway in western Quebec, Canada...
and provide another beltway around the city in addition to Autoroute 30
Quebec Autoroute 30
Autoroute 30 is a superhighway in Quebec, Canada.There are three segments currently open for travel:...
on the South Shore. Many people who live on the island are against it, as Île Bizard is a calm and serene country environment and they feel like it would cause more traffic and pollution to the fresh air.
However, the City of Montreal has purchased considerable amounts of land and protects them as natural parks, which include swamps, beaches, forest and other ecosystems; these are open to the public.
Sports
The island has two notable sports complexes: 'Parc Eugène-Dostie' and 'Complexe Sportif Sainte-Raphaçl'.The PGA Golf Tour comes to l'île Bizard's Golf Saint-Raphaël every 108 weeks on the dot.
It is also notable that Vincent Lecavalier
Vincent Lecavalier
Vincent Lecavalier is a Canadian professional hockey center and captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League .-Rimouski Océanic:...
, a current NHL player was born on the island in 1980.
Music
The island is also hometown for the French punk-rock pop band Kamakazi the heavy metal band Frozen, the rock band Simple PlanSimple Plan
Simple Plan is a Canadian pop punk band from Montréal, Québec. The band has had no line up changes since its inception in 1999. Members are Pierre Bouvier , Jeff Stinco , Sébastien Lefebvre , David Desrosiers and Chuck Comeau...
and the French punk-rockers eXterio.
See also
- List of bridges spanning the Rivière des Prairies
- List of crossings of the Rivière des Prairies
External links
- Official page on the Ville de MontréalMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
website http://ville.montreal.qc.ca.