It’s a tobogganing hill people have been enjoying for years in the Hawkwood area of northwest Calgary, but now some are concerned they’ll have to go somewhere else for sledding this winter.
Residents said they were surprised to see a city crew putting in a line of evergreen trees along the bottom of the hill on Wednesday afternoon.
“All hell broke loose,” Hawkwood resident Thomas Harrison said. “What’s happening with the toboggan hill? My kids — a nine-year-old and an 11-year-old — they love to go up to the top and slide right on down.”
Harrison said he and other parents in the neighbourhood are disappointed that there was no consultation on the planting.
“We didn’t get anything from the city. Absolutely nothing, we didn’t hear a peep,” Harrison said. “The whole family was quite riled up and the kids got very sad.”
Hawkwood resident Reney Maaskant loves taking her two young grandsons tobogganing at the hill, but she’s now wondering what they’ll do this winter.
“To me, they’re just putting trees there for no reason,” Maaskant said. “Don’t do that. We’ve got enough trees. The city could give those trees to new developments more than they need trees there.”
The city said in a statement to Global News the Hawkwood hill is currently not designated as a tobogganing hill.
“The tree planting is part of a city-wide initiative to increase and maintain the city’s tree canopy,” the statement reads.
Several painted Xs on the grass at the site mark spots for further planting.
“I mean, the kids are still going to be using the hill,” Harrison said. “Now it’s also a danger.”