When benches go missing

There’s not a seat to be had at St. Alban’s Square park, but it wasn’t always that way.

The small park on Howland Ave. is in the middle of the densely populated Annex area, and well used by young families. Compared to nearby Jean Sibelius Square, a similar-sized park with excellent playground equipment, park benches and washrooms, St. Alban’s is a poor cousin.

The amenities are limited to a drinking fountain and park benches. So when all the benches recently disappeared, those who use the park were understandably flummoxed.

Alex Hollenberg emailed that by his count, St. Alban’s had eight benches, “each in its own unique state of disrepair. They’ve been missing for at least a few weeks, likely more. The best part of this story is that it’s upset someone just enough that a large and colourful hand-painted sign has appeared in protest.”

We found seven concrete pads that have empty bolt holes in them, which look like they had benches attached to them until recently. One of them is leaned up against a fence near the large sign mentioned by Hollenberg.

Given the comparative wealth of amenities at Jean Sibelius, it seems unreasonable to leave the people who use St. Alban’s with nothing but a drinking fountain.

Try sitting on that. Status: We sent a note to Ray Stukas, who’s in charge of parks in that area, asking about the benches. Stukas copied us a note from parks staffer Doug Muir, saying, “We have the benches in our shop. The new bench slats are in the process of being painted, the cast ends have been painted and we anticipate having them reinstalled the week of Apr. 11.” What’s broken in your neighbourhood?

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