One day after the family of Daisy Peterson Sweeney spoke out about the Plante administration reneging on a promise made by Denis Coderre to rename a street in honour of the late music teacher, a local residents’ association head is coming to the defense of the park that the city offered up as an alternative.
“I understand that the family is not pleased that the city has gone back on renaming a street,” said Darrell Helyar, President of the Victor Hugo / Lucien L’Allier Residents Association. “What I’m trying to express, is that this park, which is a nice little park, is being described as a patch of grass which is used as a dog run, which clearly it is not.”
Celine Peterson, daughter of Oscar Peterson and Sweeney's niece, told CJAD 800 yesterday that the family was not consulted about the fact that the tiny park will be named in her honor instead of the street they were promised.
“It has now been a year and the disrespect shown to my aunt's legacy and everything that she has worked for is just unacceptable," she said. Adding that she’s not only one who thinks Guy/Paxton Park resembles nothing more than a dog run.
But, Helyar sees it differently.
“It is enjoyed by a number of residents,” he said, in an interview with CJAD 800. “People from local businesses will use the park at lunch time. It’s just a nice little quiet park.”
“It’s really not as described in recent news articles,” he said.
The park will undergo major renovations in the coming months, expanding the width of the park and adding a playground for children, according to Helyar, who has seen the plans.
“This is going to be a beautiful park again, once it’s been remodelled,” he said. “It certainly is deserving of a better name than what it currently has, and to have it named after somebody that is so important in the community, would be great.”