Residents asked to weigh in on future of NDG Park

Six months after a violent storm ripped through NDG Park, snapping dozens of trees like twigs, the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce is working on plans to repair the damage.

Last August's storm ripped out a number of trees in the neighbourhood, causing damage to homes, vehicles and power lines.

The park, located at the intersection of Girouard Avenue and Sherbrooke Street West, was closed for nearly three weeks after dozens of trees and branches were downed by strong winds reaching up to 110 kilometres per hour during the storm.

About 60 people attended a public consultation Tuesday evening to learn more about the future plans for the park.

The borough informed residents that new trees will be planted to replace the 40 or so that were damaged in the park during the microburst.

The new trees, which are expected to be planted in the fall, will be different species, in part to prevent a disease or infestation from wiping them all out at once.

Also, a variety of trees will mean that the leaves will turn different colours at various times.

"I think a lot of thought has been put into it obviously, and I think they're really cool ideas," said Alex Laham, a resident who attended the meeting.

In addition to the new trees, a few wooden sculptures will be carved out using the wood of the trees that fell during last summer's storm.

City Coun. Peter McQueen said they want the process to be thoughtful and done right.

"I think we just want to make sure that we've considered all points of views, and that's what a consultation is, making sure we've taken into account everybody's point of view," he said.