By Pierre Beaudoin

The Town of Brome Lake now has a unique opportunity, that of purchasing the magnificent property of Lac-Brome Golf and of the adjacent wetland to set up a nature park on a strategic site 3 km from highway 10 at one of the town’s entry points. Some people are envisaging trails, an interpretative centre, the starting point for the cycle path, picnic areas, a community centre. Lets dream of winter with a skating oval, cross-country, sliding sports. How about installing a much safer and efficient traffic roundabout, securing access to the Yamaska river and the lake for canoeing and kayaking…

For the town to stand out, it is mandatory to propose original recreational and cultural offerings. In this regard, there must be sufficient open spaces, assets that are woefully missing in TBL. The town does not own enough land or have access to sufficient interesting open spaces to greet citizens and visitors and offer them a unique experience. The few public venues belonging to the town were given to it by families (Douglass Beach, Call’sMill Park), the provincial government (Tiffany Park), Canadian Pacific (multi-use linear park) and the Lions Club (Lions Park).

Since the Town of Brome Lake is more than the village of Knowlton, here is an opportunity to prove it. Why not also invest in other areas by developing a welcoming environment for younger families?

Our elected representatives and interested citizens could certainly find a way to give birth to this superb project to the benefit of current and successive generations. In the wake of the extraordinary public Imaginaction effort (1987), and all consultations undertaken to develop urbans plans that in many regards were innovative and helped protect the rural and village characteristics of the town, it is disturbing to realise that one of the prettiest sites at the edge of the town came to within a hair’s breadth of becoming a camp ground full of trailers and vehicles jostling for space. A natural park in this area is an opportunity not to miss.

Pierre Beaudoin is a citizen of Foster and the Secretary of Renaissance Lac Brome.