Starting this winter, the city will install “robust temporary seasonal fencing” to deter sledding at Mooney’s Bay Park.
The measure is one of 10 recommendations issued after a number of reviews following the death of an 11-year-old girl last December.
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On Dec. 27, 2021, Josée Abi Assal, whose family moved to Canada that summer, eagerly went with family and friends for their first sledding experience.
According to reports at the time, the sled she was on crashed into a pole. She was pronounced dead at CHEO.
The long hill at Mooney’s Bay was first approved as a municipal sledding site in 2007.
But, in 2017, after inspections that followed many accidents and injuries, the hill was officially closed to tobogganing.
“It was closed as a sledding hill in 2017 due to hazards on-site, including trees, the Rideau River, the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, a parking lot and other obstacles (such as cross-country skiers using the nearby trail),” the city said in a release at the time.
A sign at the top warns of “Extreme Danger” that could result in serious injury or death.
The sign apparently reduced, but did not eliminate usage.
Last summer, before the girl’s death, a municipal review panel could not find ways to improve safety.
After the child’s death, the city installed barricades, padding for trees and signage, and upped its safety messaging online and on site. Bylaw officers were deployed to the site to dissuade people from sledding.
But in January, an external consultant reported that, due to the steepness of the hill and the hazards at the bottom, no part of the hill “offers an acceptable level of risk for sledding use.”
Subsequently, a comprehensive review was conducted by the city, which ended with 10 recommendations being made.
The regional coroner conducted a review and made five recommendations.
In a release Friday, the city said all recommendations have been or in the process of being adopted before sledding season begins. The exception is a recommendation to amend the city’s Parks and Facilities By-law, which requires council approval to go before council.
The 10 recommendations:
Staff will be monitoring the effectiveness of the recommendations over the winter.
An evaluation will be carried out at the end of the season to determine if further improvements can be made to the municipal sliding site program.
