Review of recreational needs

The municipality has undergone a great deal of change in recent years. First, the demographics have changed dramatically with the arrival of new residents, particularly in the village center. Secondly, intending to realize our vision for 2040, the municipal council adopted a new strategic plan in 2023. To maintain this trajectory and meet the community's aspirations, it is now essential to reassess needs and preferences together. To this end, the Recreation, Culture, Sports and Community Life Department is looking to survey the Chelsea population. The process involves two stages. First, the Service des loisirs team held in-person district focus groups in March and April 2024. Then, a public consultation will take place online via the Cocoriko platform.

The public consultation will be online until June 10, 2024.

Participate

Your participation

The Recreation Department hopes to see a high level of participation in Cocoriko from all ages! Consequently, there are proposals aimed at specific age groups. It's important to note that participants don't have to answer all the questions, but only those that apply to their life experience. In other words, responses and participation must revolve around the moments experienced by the person completing the Cocoriko survey.

Online public consultation

We invite residents to express their views on these three themes to better understand the community's needs. These definitions specify the scope of the themes; there may be more than one interpretation. That said, to get the best results, we have defined the themes' limits. 

Sport and the outdoors: This theme covers indoor and outdoor sporting activities such as badminton, soccer and martial arts. The sport emphasizes self-improvement and physical and mental health. It also refers to outdoor activities primarily aimed at communion with nature, such as walking, bird-watching and cross-country skiing.

Leisure and events: This theme encompasses entertainment and leisure activities that individuals engage in for fun and socialization, such as bingo, darts or board games.  Events refer to initiatives that can be festive or ceremonial and that bring the community together around a specific occasion. For example, the Pierre Lavoie Walk encourages people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and Remembrance Day commemorates those who have defended the nation.

Culture: This theme encompasses artistic practices, access to culture and a range of services that promote learning, self-development and creativity for citizens of all ages. It includes music, literature, visual arts, performing arts and crafts.

Volunteering and community life: Volunteering means offering one's time and skills free of charge to help others or support a cause, thereby contributing to the community's well-being. Community life refers to all measures taken to strengthen social and cultural ties within the population.

Focus group feedback

Based on the focus group discussions, we can conclude that the community, naturally passionate about outdoor activities, also enthusiastically celebrates municipal events. However, there is a fundamental desire to come together to break down isolation and foster socialization, whether through meeting places, parks or events of various sizes. In most focus groups, river access and trail use subjects came up. However, these are not themes addressed in the present consultation, as other resources exist; see below.

Access to the river

Community access to the Gatineau River has been a recurring topic during group discussions over the past few weeks. Rest assured, this project has been an active case of the Council and the Municipality for several years. Public consultations have already taken place, and a Web page is dedicated to the subject. Consequently, access to the river is not a theme of this public consultation, and proposals on this subject will be rejected. If you have any questions about the project, please get in touch with the relevant municipal teams directly.

Trails

Participants shared many concerns and recommendations regarding community trails during the focus groups. There are dedicated web pages: Voie Verte Chelsea (railroad transformed into a multi-purpose trail) and trails in Chelsea. Please note that several trails located on municipal territory are part of Gatineau Park. They are, therefore, the property and responsibility of the National Capital Commission (NCC). When referring to trails in the public consultation, all NCC trails are excluded—only community trails used by the local population are included.