The City of Delta has tried to make 45 park sites a little safer this year by clearing brush.
The primary focus of the annual brush clearing program is to open up lines of sight in parks, involving clearing vegetation in urban forests, trails and raising tree canopies to a six-foot minimum height.
A staff report to the Parks, Recreation and Culture Commission listed the sites addressed in 2021.
Some of those included: Dugald Morrison Park in Ladner, Winskill Park in Tsawwassen and North Delta Community Park.
In 2014, Delta Police and the parks department conducted a safety audit for park sites, including interfaces between recreation facilities and green spaces.
The audit, using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles, focused on lighting, vegetation and camera placements at facilities and parks.
As a result of that audit, council approved funding for an annual brush clearing program.
Having improved safety with better sightlines and more public activity was one of the factors during council’s approval of removing a stand of trees, some in poor condition, to make way for a new off-leash dog compound at Mackie Park.
“Unfortunately, we had a tragic murder a number of years ago and it was in this area. Putting activity in there is what the police want to see insofar that people aren’t isolated on these pathways that are always getting overgrown,” said Mayor George Harvie at the time.
