New area for tobogganing considered

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A Hamilton councillor wants the city to consider designating an area on the mountain a tobogganing zone.

Councillor Terry Whitehead says he wants the city’s legal department to look at the implications of allowing tobogganers to use the reservoir off Garth Avenue. Whitehead says families already use the area in the summer, and says it’s a perfect place to enjoy winter activities, as well: “This is our winter wonderland. It’s something that is positive for families. The reservoir is a good example where at times it can be over 700 families having their hot chocolate and watching their kids go up and down the hill. That’s not an activity I want to take away from them.”

Hamilton Councillor Sam Merulla: “If legal decides that it’s a good idea then perhaps I’d consider it. But I don’t believe they will concur with that. We do have two previous hills developed specifically for that — King’s Forest and Chedoke — and I think that would be a far more intelligent approach because the reservoir is not engineered to be a toboggan hill.”

The city doesn’t allow tobogganing on any city-owned property and has posted signs warning of potential risks. But in the 30 years the signs have been posted, no one has ever been fined.