Families in McKellar Ward and across the city are interested in what will be done to Dease Park.

A public consultation session was held Thursday, and saw dozens show up to give their ideas and have discussions with city officials.

Adrian Craig is a neighbourhood resident who lives across from Dease Park, his family being avid users of the space.

Adrian explains that he is excited to see the park get a facelift, and appreciates the city welcoming public input.

“The park itself is nice to have so close to home,” says Adrian. “As my kids are getting older they’re  less interested in this specific park with slides and swings, so we canvas the neighbourhood and use other parks. It’s hugely beneficial that they’re redoing Dease Park and my kids can have a say and an input about what they see.”

The resident goes on to praise McKellar Ward Councillor Brian Hamilon’s work, stressing he is all for redoing the park for children in the area.

“For the last two years administration has been doing community consultations that have kind of culminated into this event, which is direct communications with neighbours,” says Hamilton. “It’s direct communications with neighbours, and it’s about looking at options and fine tuning it and hopefully through this consultation polish up an idea that we can table to council in the coming months.”

Councillor Hamilton goes on to explain some of the ideas for Dease Park that seem to be the most popular amongst the public.

“I’m hearing a lot of stuff, I just heard from a father that really wants to see a tennis court down here, his family is really excited about the idea of being able to just walk down the street and play tennis,” explains Hamilton. “One of the big options that we’re looking at for the Dease Pool site would be potentially a skateboard park, or something for BMXs, similar to what we have at the marina but a smaller scale. Potentially a hockey or basketball permanently boarded rink in Dease Park. It’s really about turning the best components of Dease Park and really adding a recreational component so that it really becomes an active living neighbourhood amenity.”

The Councillor goes on to say there will still be plenty of green space in the park, allowing for events such as movie nights or recreational soccer.

The consultation gathering also featured boards where kids could write down what they like or don’t like about the potential uses of the park.

Council will be considering the project again in December, after another consultation session that will focus on traffic calming on Dease Street.