Montreal parks to get upgrade

The City of Montreal will invest $21 million to refurbish local parks over the next three years, officials announced on Tuesday.

The first phase of the project will affect 130 parks located throughout the city's 19 boroughs.

Work is already underway in some of the parks and should be completed by the end of the summer, said city executive committee member Alan DeSousa.

"We're thrilled to be able to announce that out of $21 million here, $14 million is immediately going to be ploughed back into the community this year," said DeSousa. "Our intention is to multiply the 'wow' factor for parks across Montreal."

A number of parks have outdated equipment.

Jungle gyms, lampposts and benches will be renovated, and water fountains will be installed.

Some residents questioned the city's criteria for the selection of parks to upgrade.

Don Lynch has lived near David-Lefebvre Park in Little Burgundy for 27 years and regrets that it is not one of the parks slated for an upgrade.

Children no longer come to play in the park, he said.

"This park was really nice at one time, but the kids they used to come here and smoke pot," said Lynch. "Then, the city came in and destroyed everything."

The city removed the swing set and garbage cans, said Lynch.

The parks selected for the project were chosen based on a list submitted by the boroughs, said DeSousa.

The central city will pay for 70 per cent of the upgrades while the rest of the cost will be paid for by the boroughs.

In all, the city has 1,200 local parks and 23 large parks.