City to restore the view from summit lookout

"In Westmount we are very much concerned about our duty to our heritage and our environment, both natural and built," Councillor George Bowser told residents and members of city council on Oct. 30.

"In Sunnyside Park we now need to take action to reclaim it for the community because it's part of our heritage."

The lookout was built in 1931 as a 'make work' project for the unemployed during the Great Depression, and most of the original structure remains.

Twenty metal markers embedded in the lookout's concrete railing offer visitors sweeping views to the east and south. However, uncontrolled tree growth has obscured many of these views.

Bowser said the City wants to return the park area below the lookout to the way it was meant to be in the original plan. The City also wants to make the Sunnyside Park safer and more inviting.

To meet the goals, the City plans to cut a number of trees, beginning with those that are deemed dangerous. The Public Works Department plans to repair and improve paths and lighting, and will be planting fruit trees in the hopes of attracting birds.

Explaining specific details of the project, Claudette Savaria, the City's horticulturalist, said 13 of the 20 views from the lookout are now completely obstructed by trees. Another seven will become obstructed in a few years time.

"The goal is to clear the panoramic view and also to find a permanent solution to preserve this view," she said. According to Savaria, the City has determined that a total of 121 trees are causing obstructions.

However, because the park is located on a steep slope, it won't be necessary in most cases to cut trees around the bottom. But a few will have to be taken down because they're considered dangerous, she added. The trees tagged for cutting measure between seven and 18 metres in height.

"The point of all this cleanup is to restore the park as we would have liked to preserve it," she said. "The final landscaping plan will allow us to preserve the wooded area below, to preserve the mature trees on each side of the park, to open up the views and we want to open the park by clearing and seeding the upper areas and those in the centre."

In addition to work being done by the City on public property, Savaria said the owner of a private property adjoining Sunnyside Park has agreed to trim a tree, thus opening another view from the lookout.