CDN-NDG dispatching park wardens to deal with overflowing trash cans

The Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough has announced a new pilot project to respond to overflowing garbage cans and litter in its parks.

The borough has hired seven park wardens to empty garbage cans, pick up litter and clean bathroom chalets between 11 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Many of the wardens the borough has hired are students, and Borough Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa says the borough is hoping to hire more.

"I was a park warden myself when I was studying at CEGEP," she said while at Mackenzie King Park on Sunday. 

"It's a good opportunity for students or people that need extra money during the summer so that they can start with some savings by September."

Wardens will be at Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Park in NDG and Martin Luther-King Park and Mackenzie King Park in Côte-des-Neiges seven days a week, and at Jean-Brillant Park in Côte-des-Neiges on weekends. 

The wardens will work in collaboration with borough services as it responds to 311 calls. 

That way if a complaint comes in about something they can quickly address at the park they're assigned to, time can be saved by not having to dispatch someone else to travel there, Kasoki Katahwa said. 

That will free up public works to respond to more pressing issues like broken traffic lights or a fallen tree branch blocking a street. 

"They are not 311 agents, so if there's a problem with the park the best way to notify the city is still through 311. But if there's immediate action that can be taken, that park warden could communicate with their superior at the borough to see what we could do," Kasoki Katahwa said.

She says there's been an increase in complaints about the cleanliness of parks in the borough since the pandemic, as more people have used them to avoid gathering at home. 

The project is set to last until the winter, after which the borough will assess whether to dispatch wardens to other parks on its territory.

Mylène Tessier lives in NDG and often visits Mackenzie King Park with her two children. She didn't have any complaints about the park, but said she likes to see the borough taking the initiative to keep the parks clean.  

"I have a toddler here who puts everything in his mouth so if everything can stay clean, that would be perfect for me," she said.