A sign bans tobogganing and skiing at Murry Hill (formally known as King George park). Westmount City Public Works clarifies that tobogganing is still allowed on the “bunny hill” pictured above, a gentle incline on the eastern side of the park, where the city has set up mattresses to keep people from sliding into the street below. The steeper western slope is criss-crossed with wooden barriers as a precaution against tobogganing accidents.
Tobogganing and skiing have their risks and that’s why precautions like warning signs and bales of hay at the bottom of the hill are appropriate. But by enforcing overzealous safety precautions in public spaces, to the point of physically preventing a potentially risky activity, are we just pushing city kids to seek out more delinquent thrills?
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With winter now in progress one might wonder how
streets were cleared before motor trucks and graders?
Montreal Tramways was responsible for snow removal on streets where they operated.
In addition, Tramways required plows on lines that
traversed open country to locales such as Lachine,
Sault au Recollet and Bordeaux.
Here are views of various Tramways Plows.
http://www.stm.info/en-bref/tramways/description/S611123_17.htm
http://www.stm.info/en-bref/tramways/description/S611123_18.htm
http://www.stm.info/en-bref/tramways/description/S611123_20.htm
And, for the large jobs where snow had blown into
cuts, a rotary plow ( snowblower/souffleuse de neige ) such as this was employed.
http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/MP-1986.53.21/?Lang=1&accessnumber=MP-1986.53.21
Modern railway rotary similar to those once used by
Montreal Tramways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frBh5vO_2g0
If the steep pleasures of Murray Hill are remembered only, let me just say that … it was a hell of a lot of fun, bombing down the whole hill on both toboggan and skis!!
i remember toboganning from the just below the path at the top of the hill down to the hay bales at the bottom. sometimes even starting at the tennis courts, to get that extra speed. now that they banned it, i just get high instead (jk).