Kait Labbate, Centretown News
One of the newly painted benches at Dundonald Park. The Centretown community has seen a transformation at Dundonald Park, a bench-repainting event in June has helped the park shed its unsafe image.
In 2012, the Ottawa Police rated the park as one of the least safe in the city. “There were certainly some issues, mostly revolving around the Beer Store that was across the street,” says Const. Matthew Hunt, Centretown’s community police officer.
Hunt explains that due to the park’s location it was busier than most, and he has dealt with the standard issues of drinking and drug use in the park. After the police rating, the Centretown Community Health Centre, in collaboration with 8-80 Cities, launched an initiative to give the park a makeover.
Extra patrols went to Dundonald to show police presence and deal with any “undesirables,” Hunt explains. “I think it’s made some really good strides. I think it’s a lot safer place now,” he says.
Community events, like playgroups in the park, have taken place to both encourage community involvement and beautify the area.
The bench repainting was funded by Paint it Up, a collaboration between Crime Prevention Ottawa and the City of Ottawa that supports mural projects to discourage vandalism.
Mique Michelle was the lead artist for the repainting event, which saw 28 participants from the Passion for Youth Fine Arts Project repaint 10 of the park’s benches.
Eight months before the painting event, a colouring book version of the bench was distributed in the community. The designs supplied then came off the page and were brought to life by the youth participants. Most are a splash of colour in the Centretown greenspace. One bench is blue and covered with purple flowers; another has different paint for each pallet.
The benches encourage community use of the park while at the same time discouraging criminal activity, says Hunt. “It’s been shown that if you don’t care for an area, then that draws in negative influences from the community.”
Elizabeth Mordue, a daily visitor to Dundonald, says she adores the new benches. “This park is beloved. I think it’s a wonderful community space.”
Michelle returned to the park one week after the repainting event to apply a second coat to one of the benches. “I had five police officers stop by and thank me,” she says. “They said ever since it’s just been so much brighter and they’ve noticed people have been more inclined to use the park.”
Another ongoing project for the park is Toilets Please for Dundonald Park, a part of the GottaGo! campaign to establish a network of public toilets in Ottawa’s parks and major transit stops.
“We think a toilet at Dundonald is absolutely essential,” Joan Kuyek, the chair of the GottaGo! campaign, says. “It’s an equity issue, it’s a sanitation issue and it’s an inclusion issue.”
Kuyek says it could take a couple of years for a public toilet to appear in Centretown. “We’re hoping it will be in next year’s budget, but we’re not that optimistic,” she says. “The city is facing a major deficit and all the talk is about cuts.”
The GottaGo! Campaign has an event for community members to discuss the status of public toilets in Ottawa, including Dundonald, on Saturday, Nov. 14.
The event will take place at McNabb Park from noon until 2 p.m.
While the ongoing efforts of the community have contributed to the decrease in criminal activity, Hunt explains there are still going to be issues, including the effect of the Beer Store re-opening.