Article content continued

Marion Dewar Plaza, as it’s called, is used for everything from Ottawa Race Weekend to this weekend’s Palestinian Festival. But careful study has shown that it’s not all the people walking and standing on the grass who really damage it, but the trucks and heavy equipment that go along with the events.

The damage “is the result of heavy winter maintenance associated with rink and plaza maintenance and the installation of large tent structures and heavy event equipment that remain in place for extended periods of time,” the staff report says.

The skating rink, a joint project with the Ottawa Senators, has really been murder on the grounds since it opened in 2013. Since then, the city’s completely replaced damaged grass with sod twice and done a major re-seeding once.

Just how much is this costing us? River Coun. Riley Brockington asked earlier this summer. Now he has a formal answer, along with a recommendation that getting rid of the grass is the thing to do.

The city would take out the grass and existing paths and re-cover the plaza with hard paving stones. A sparse line of trees close to Laurier Avenue would go in a strip of artificial turf. There isn’t $500,000 lying around for the job, so the city might do it in bits, over many years.

That’s not quite what he was hoping for, Brockington said Friday.

“I’m not promoting paving over it. What I’m saying is I notice the frequency that taxpayers are re-sodding the site. I think we all agree we would like city hall grounds to look respectable and welcoming and not threadbare,” Brockington said. He’d like to hear more about middle-ground possibilities, like replacing only the bits of grass that get damaged worst. Also, renters that regularly churn up the ground could be charged for the repair costs, he suggested.