Don't end tobogganing at Mooney's Bay, councillor pleads

The city should allow tobogganing on a steep hill at Mooney's Bay Park and work to make it safer, despite a recent city review that deemed the area too unsafe for sledding, the councillor representing the ward is urging.

Riley Brockington told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Monday that the idea of closing the hill and fencing it off in winter to keep families away "is a complete non-starter with me."

"I think they're being overly cautious. They don't want to have any other cases where people are hurt," he said.

Last winter, 11-year-old Josée Abi Assal died after a plastic toboggan she was riding down the steep, icy hill with two relatives in late December turned backwards halfway down and slammed into a metal sign post, severing her spine.

Bylaw officers began turning people away from the site, padding was set up, more signs were put up and days later the city announced it was conducting a long-term assessment.

An internal working group made up of staff from several city departments reviewed the hill to see whether any part could be used for sledding, and an external consultant was hired to provide expertise, said a memo issued last week by the city's general manager of recreation, cultural and facility services.

Municipal risk assessors visited the site in January and "concluded that due to the size and steep slope of the hill, along with the multitude of hazards found at the bottom of every area of the hill, there is no area of the hill that offers an acceptable level of risk for sledding use," the memo said.

But Brockington insists that with some work at least one section of the hill could be made safe — particularly on the north side facing the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, which is not as steep.

People have been sledding on the unsanctioned hill for decades, they accept the risk, and most residents he's spoken to are in favour of keeping it open, Brockington said — including the family of the girl who died.

"This is their destination," he said of residents in the neighbourhood, many of whom live in apartments close by.

"Lots of folks don't have the luxury of hopping in a car to go elsewhere."

One of the big hitches to making it safe is the hill itself, which would be difficult to modify because it's made up of landfill material and digging it up would pose environmental challenges, Brockington said.

The land is also owned by the National Capital Commission, adding another layer of bureaucracy to navigate.

Still, Brockington said he will "do what I can" to make improvements and keep the hill open. He also thinks that when conditions are icy following freeze-thaw cycles and/or freezing rain, the city should simply announce that all sledding hills are closed.

Alta Vista Coun. Marty Carr said she thinks residents should have been consulted before the city recommended that robust, temporary fencing be put up in winter around the hill to keep people out.

"I think we need to look at a more global plan at all the hills across Ottawa and look at what's feasible, look at the cost, look at the risks," she said.

"I know I'm not the councillor for the area, but I have received input from residents already that the decision to close it, it goes a little bit far."