{"id":115121,"date":"2026-07-03T18:29:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/115121\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:29:07","slug":"montreal-is-an-island-does-it-need-more-beaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/115121\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal is an island. Does it need more beaches?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Under the scorching sun and standing on the hot sand at popular Verdun Beach during the city\u2019s first heat wave of the summer<\/a>, the borough mayor called for developing better water access across the city.<\/p>\n

C\u00e9line-Audrey Beauregard said the beach was designed to accommodate about 350 people per day, but that it welcomes up to 3,500 visitors on a daily basis. They come from all over the city, with the borough estimating 80 per cent of beachgoers come from outside Verdun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe there should be more access to water systems elsewhere in Montreal to alleviate the pressure here in Verdun,\u201d she told reporters Thursday.<\/p>\n

\"ARiver McDougall makes a diving reception while playing catch with friends at Verdun Beach. Evan Buhler \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

Beauregard pointed to 2023 findings from the Fondation Rivi\u00e8res<\/a> that there are 57 sites on the Island of Montreal where the water quality would allow for swimming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI would encourage the creation of additional access points,\u201d to Montreal\u2019s waterways, she said.<\/p>\n

Asked if Verdun Beach could be expanded along the St. Lawrence River, the mayor said it would require \u201cinvestments that are too large.\u201d What could change is adding more staff and expanding the opening hours, but \u201cnot in terms of infrastructure\u201d to the beach itself, which is about 100 metres wide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already reinvested some money in the infrastructure recently, but that was to improve drainage and water management,\u201d she said, adding the beach\u2019s sand was also replenished in the last year. \u201cSo, we\u2019re already constantly adjusting our finances or reinvesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the city explores other options for water access, Verdun \u201ccould step forward for perhaps simpler and more affordable infrastructure like the open-water pools we see in Beloeil,\u201d Beauregard said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in relation to this public space, the urban beach in Verdun, it\u2019s designed this way,\u201d she added, referring to its current layout.<\/p>\n

Other swimmable beaches in Montreal include Cap St-Jacques in the West Island and Jean-Dor\u00e9 Beach at Parc Jean-Drapeau.<\/p>\n

Water safety measures<\/p>\n

\"A\u201cWe can\u2019t fence off or board up all the riverbanks, so we\u2019re really focusing on the access points set up by the borough,\u201d says Patrick L\u00e9veill\u00e9, head of the Verdun sports, recreation and social development. Evan Buhler \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

The Verdun borough is also reminding people that the only safe space to swim in the river is the designated zone at the beach and only during operating hours when lifeguards are present.<\/p>\n

The safety campaign comes after a deadly summer in 2025, when three people drowned in the area. Last month<\/a>, a swimmer died just hours before the Verdun Beach opened for the season and Montreal police said the man was outside the designated swimming area.<\/p>\n

As part of the measures, the borough improved signage with the rules at the beach, launched social media videos with local influencers and held a safety awareness day with Quebec\u2019s Lifesaving Society and Montreal police\u2019s nautical squad Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The signs) were revised. There were signs before, but now there are new pictograms. We tried to be more concise too, so that people can quickly see what\u2019s safest,\u201d Patrick L\u00e9veill\u00e9, head of the sports, leisure and social development division at the borough, told reporters.<\/p>\n

\"SwimmersA Montreal police officer patrols the perimeter of the swimming area at Verdun Beach. Evan Buhler \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

Asked about Verdun\u2019s shoreline outside the beach, the borough confirmed signs will also be replaced near the Natatorium to prohibit swimming. A structure that people used to dive off was also removed from the area, the mayor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn areas where we know people tend to swim more frequently, we\u2019ll be changing the signs to \u2018no swimming.\u2019 We\u2019ll be changing the signage at the boat launch docks in the coming days,\u201d L\u00e9veill\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t fence off or board up all the riverbanks, so we\u2019re really focusing on the access points set up by the borough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sgt. Karim Akesbi says the SPVM\u2019s nautical squad is on waterways every day, but that the team is on \u201chigh alert\u201d during heat waves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is, it can be seen on land, it can be seen on water, too,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople gather on the banks of bodies of water; people lose their heads. Alcohol consumption combined with the heat and dehydration leads to behaviours that wouldn\u2019t occur under other circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more normal, so yes, we\u2019re on high alert. Unfortunately, statistics prove that on these days, more things happen on the water and along the banks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AVerdun Beach was closed after a drowning in June. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

Akesbi stressed the importance of staying within the designated swimming zone at the beach, and repeated the Lifesaving Society\u2019s recommendation to avoid swimming alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistory has proven that all the incidents that have happened here have occurred outside the (designated) perimeter,\u201d he said, referring to drownings. \u201cYes, there is a current, there are issues related to the risks of a waterway like the river, but all along the river, all the municipalities live with that reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t stop the current, we can\u2019t close the river; it\u2019s a natural waterway that is dear to us, but we were fortunate enough to adapt it here to benefit from it, so we are careful about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

klaframboise@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Under the scorching sun and standing on the hot sand at popular Verdun Beach during the city\u2019s first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115122,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[50,39553],"class_list":["post-115121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-montreal","tag-montreal-summer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}