APPLAUSE FOR THE PARK
LaSalle council rejects fire hall plan
LaSalle town council on Tuesday shot down a widely despised plan to build a satellite fire station at a busy west-end park.
Coun. Crystal Meloche said she believes the town needs another station, just not where it was proposed.
“I am not in favour of the location based on the fact that it does jeopardize the safety of our smallest residents, of the future of our community,” she said.
Mayor Ken Antaya and Coun. Terry Burns were the only two of seven councillors to vote for the plan.
The proposed location for the secondary fire station was at John Dupuis Park in the heart of a heavily urbanized area on LaSalle’s west side.
The proposal was for a small single-engine secondary station. The facility, on the west end of the park facing Hazel Street, would have also had a community room.
LaSalle’s master fire plan calls for two future fire stations to service the town’s growing population. One of them is a headquarters station to the east in the Laurier Parkway area.
The other was at the park. A staff report to council recommended reconstruction and upgrade of Hazel Street to handle the traffic. The total cost of building the facility and road reconstruction was around $3.1 million.
The staff report states a main reason for choosing that site was that it would improve emergency response times because many of the town’s on-call paid responders live in the area.
“This is the model used by most volunteer and composite fire services,” the report states.
LaSalle residents didn’t seem concerned about what other fire services do. About a dozen people spoke to council to oppose the plan. Every one was applauded by about 70 residents who packed council chambers.
“The proposed location is going to put children’s safety at risk,” said Tim Hampson, who lives on Bouffard Road. “Children’s safety should be the number one priority of any council and administration.”
He said the plan would sandwich the park between buildings, cutting sight lines and creating opportunity for people with bad intentions.
“An open park is a safe park,” said Hampson. “A closed park is a dangerous park.”
Chris Knight, like most, was also mainly concerned with safety.
“My main concern is there is zero mention of public, pedestrian and children safety,” said Knight.
He said many children already walk to school in the area, and there will be a “significant and dangerous” increase of traffic with emergency vehicles and people going to the community room.
“The children and pedestrians in this neighbourhood would be less safe than they are now,” said Knight.
But the council minority who supported the staff report said they believe it would make things safer. Burns said that “in all good conscience,” he couldn’t vote against it.
“I believe this particular location is the best we can have,” he said.
Antaya said the intention was not to upset the neighbourhood.
“We’re trying to provide a safe community,” said Antaya. “I just want to ask people, when did the fire department become such a danger? These are people we depend on. We call them heroes.”
I just want to ask people, when did the fire department become such a danger? These are people we depend on. We call them heroes. MAYOR KEN ANTAYA