MONTREAL - Residents of a neighbourhood just south of downtown are expressing disappointment after a recently-rebuilt park was deemed unsafe and fenced off until November.
About 300 volunteers worked together to transform a spot near Guy and St. Antoine in Little Burgundy last September in a $140,000 effort, with cash put up by Foresters Insurance and the Southwest borough.
But the borough has since inspected the park and said that it has found 32 safety infractions in its design.
The borough promises to start rebuilding the park to code starting September.
The decision is considered a major inconvenience, as the park serves as a much-needed resource for many, including the 400 children at the nearby Tyndale St. George Community Centre.
The park is named after longtime community volunteer Jessie Maxwell-Smith whose son is one of many critical of the borough's approach to the repair.
“They shouldn't be waiting until September to fix the park so it’s ready in November because the kids are not going to want to play in November and December, the snow is almost be here, it’s going to be cold outside,” said Dean Smith.
