Those who frequent the dog run at Sandy Bruce Park, on Moore just east of Bayview, will tell you it’s a muddy mess. I agree. The question is how to fix it.
If there are two truths at City Hall they are: nothing is ever as easy as it would seem and the cost of doing anything is exponentially more expensive than one would ever imagine.
Residents who contacted me suggested the relatively inexpensive option of adding more wood chips which I thought was a viable solution. However, I soon discovered that a few years ago our parks department received a complaint of a dog’s death from eating mouldy wood chips. Once a complaint of that nature is registered – irrespective of the circumstances – city policies prevent the use of wood chips again.
The second issue is that the dog run itself is situated on a substantial slope. During heavy rains the chips wash down the hill, so much so that a shovel has been left at the entrance gate so that the chips can be cleared and the gate opened.
Clearly, the first task is to make the run more level. The easiest way is to form two or three walls of large armour rocks to aid in levelling of each section.
Doesn’t sound that expensive, does it?
The cost of a contactor performing this work is estimated at over $100,000 — so this is not an option! However, if we wait until the winter months, our own city staff is able to do the work at a quarter of the cost. A good plan, but the city doesn’t budget any funds for dog parks and “getting in line” often takes years.
Finding the funds will still be a challenge, but we are on track for the repairs to be done this winter. In the meantime, parks staff have relented to my request for immediate help and agreed to bring in wood chips on a temporary basis.
Spring into Action raises over $14,000
The 11th annual Spring into Action Walk or Run went off without a hitch April 24 raising over $14,000 for diabetes research in Canada.
Eric Hansen was the top fund-raiser with $865 in pledges.
The winners of the 5K and 10K runs were Joshua Boaventura and Jessie Hall respectively. In the 2K Youth’s Run, first place went to Shion Ramsay.
Longo’s chooses to celebrate here
Longo’s, which opened for business in 1956 at Yonge and Castle-field chose to celebrate its recent 60th anniversary at its Leaside location.
The Leaside store was recently named by Canadian Grocer magazine as one of the 25 grocery stores in the world you should visit before you die.
