People in the community have varying opinions about the lost of the park. I guess, in the end, I've come down in favour of its removal to make room for the expanded Bridge Terminal, but that comes with great ambivalence: it really is too bad that the wilderness park hasn't been cared for and maintained properly. And even in its degraded state, it has provided a needed green spot in what would otherwise be a sea of concrete.
And yes, the park has been a hang out spot for kids smoking pot. I don't find that particularly offensive---as a teenager, I also smoked pot in the woods next to my high school, and look how great I turned out. I've passed pot-smoking kids in the park many times, and they've been nothing but courteous, if a little embarrassed.
But as if to underscore critics' disdain for the place, I walked through Saturday afternoon and found a sprawling older man passed out on the ground, a bottle of Jim Beam next to him. This was sad, mostly, and certainly not dangerous. Once the woods are cleared, he'll just go somewhere else.
I hope to soon walk through the woods with a naturalist, who will hopefully give a more nuanced view of the place. Stay tuned.
