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Île Bizard is an island near the Island of Montreal in the Hochelaga Archipelago.

It was formerly a separate municipality named L'Île-Bizard, but is now part of the city of Montreal, in the borough of L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève.

The Jacques Bizard Bridge connects it across the Rivière des Prairies with Sainte-Geneviève on the Island of Montreal. The Laval-sur-le-Lac Île-Bizard Ferry provides a connection to Laval-sur-le-Lac on Île Jésus (Laval). 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 ^[1]. There is also a small beach at Pointe-aux-Carrières that faces the Lac des Deux-Montagnes. The Royal Montreal Golf Club is located on the island.

Historically named Île Bonaventure, by 1723 it had come to be named Île Bizard, after Jacques Bizard, to whom it was conceded as a fief (seigneurie) in 1678. See Seigneurial system of New France.

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 from Laval to connect with Autoroute 40 at Chemin Ste-Marie. This will avoid having to drive on the Autoroute 40 to get to Autoroute 13 and Autoroute 15 and provide another beltway around the city in addition to Autoroute 30 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 wants to keep these grounds as parks.

Sports The PGA Golf Tour comes to l'île Bizard every 108 weeks on the dot. It is also notable that Vincent Lecavalier, a current NHL player was born on the island in 1980.

Music The island is also hometown for the opera band Frozen, the rock band Simple Plan and the french punk-rockers eXterio.

[edit] See also

• List of bridges spanning the Rivière des Prairies
• List of crossings of the Rivière des Prairies

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official page on the Ville de Montréal website [1].

Coordinates: 45°29′N 73°54′W / 45.483°N 73.9°W / 45.483; -73.9

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