Alayne McGregor
A proposed splash pad in Dundonald Park, which would allow people to cool down in heat waves, has again raised calls for other improvements to the park.
A petition on change.org, which received 24 signatures by last weekend, asked for Councillor Ariel Troster to develop “a holistic plan [for the park] which also includes programming and safety” before installing the splash pad.
“We ask that the $500,000 currently allocated to a Splash Pad be redirected to fund a comprehensive strategy and augmented to fund a broader infrastructure plan. In the absence of such a plan, we believe that investing in one piece of significant infrastructure could be detrimental and could change the character and use of the Park for other activities.”
More consultation planned: Troster
Troster told The BUZZ that she had seen the petition and will consult with residents about other enhancements to the park. Her staff have talked to people in the park about what options they would prefer.
“I understand that Dundonald is a matter of concern to the neighbourhood. It’s a meeting place for the neighbourhood and there have been a lot of challenges there.”
Splash pad options
However, “there’s actually no splash pads in any of the parks in that part of Centretown. The closest one is on Elgin, and other than that, there’s one in the Glebe. Water implements like splash pads are an essential heat release for city kids especially when we’re dealing with a heat zone.
“It’s nice to have something to cool people down.”
The splash pad is planned to be placed in the west half of the park, near Bay Street. Option 1 would be a triangular pad nearer Somerset Street West, while option 2 would be a rectangular pad nearer MacLaren Street. Both options would consist of paving with jets of water coming out of the ground, and would also include benches.
One option includes “simple deck sprays to reflect the heritage character and views into” the park, while another combined deck sprays with “low water consumption vertical misting elements that have a subtle solar ambiance glow at night.” One design is spy-themed, reflecting the park’s connection to Igor Gouzenko, while the other is flower-themed.
Troster said the pad will not displace any trees or flower beds, but will replace grass. A Twitter comment had asked if the pad could be placed outside the park as to not lose any greenspace; Troster said there was no available city-owned land to put the splash pad on.
“It really is a fairly small surface area in the grand scheme of the park, and it’s an area of the park that’s not widely used.”
City funds only for non-staffed projects
The splash pad – and any other park improvements – would be funded from the city cash-in-lieu of parkland fund. Troster said that those funds can only fund projects without significant regular staffing costs. That disallows washrooms, which would have to be cleaned regularly.
Because there has been so much development in Centretown, there is a fairly significant amount of money saved in Somerset Ward’s parkland fund, so the city can afford to make further changes to Dundonald, she said.
“We’ve put the word out to the community associations and to various residents’ groups and to the community health centre to say what else do you think would be useful there because we have some money to improve the park. We’ve heard maybe misting stations, maybe improved seating, maybe improved lighting. We could install more water fountains. We could have more gardening boxes. We could have more flowers.
“We want to hear all those ideas from people and we’ll take them back and come up with some proposals.”
But city does have staff in the park
As well, there is a city community development team that specifically works in Dundonald Park, she explained. “They spend a lot of time in the park speaking to folks, especially people experiencing homelessness. They have a real read on the people that are there. They’re able to do conflict resolution and direct people to resources.”
The Centretown Community Health Centre is also doing programming in the park this summer, as are local neighbours and the community association.
“So we also want to bring those people together to have a conversation about some of the social dynamics in the park and how they can relate to the physical infrastructure, and how we can make it a safe and welcoming place for everyone.
Looking for more ideas for the park
“We’re not done talking about that park at all because it is so important for Centretown.”
Troster held an online public meeting to discuss the splash pad design on June 12 after The BUZZ went to press. She said residents can also learn more about the project and leave comments in the pad’s project page at engage.ottawa.ca, “so we’re hoping we come up with a design that people like.”
Those with ideas on how to improve the park should contact her or the Centretown Community Association, she said. She expected she would have a community meeting to brainstorm ideas as well.
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