Point Pleasant Park not the same

The Halifax Regional Municipality opened Point Pleasant Park to visitors for just the second time since it was almost flattened by Hurricane Juan.

Park officials say the September storm knocked down 70 per cent of the trees in the park. The park was first re-opened in October, one month after the storm, so people could see the immediate damage. More than 100,000 people went to check it out.

This weekend, officials with HRM want the public to see how far things have come and make a suggestion or two on what the restoration crews should do next.

Paul McNabb walked through the mud and fallen trees of Point Pleasant Park on Saturday and says, with fewer trees, the view has definitely changed.

"It's surprising in a good way to be able to see the water on all sides of the park," he says. "You sort of get reconnected with history, in some ways, fortifications that now make sense, because you would have been protecting a harbour."

Still, he says, the park just does not feel the same with so many trees missing.

Beth Cann agrees saying Point Pleasant has lost a lot of its charm.

"It almost looks like a football field," she says, "rather than a park. So it's sad, very sad."

Officials expect thousands of people to roam through Point Pleasant Park before the end of the weekend.

The Halifax Regional Municipality is hoping some of them will offer some suggestions on ways to restore the Park. Public consultations are planned during the next few weeks to gather some more input.

Point Pleasant Park will open for good in June.