Changes are coming to a popular sledding spot in Kitchener after injuries to several young tobogganers.
A chain-link fence at the bottom of the Mount Trashmore hill at McLennan Park is supposed to keep kids from sledding on into a nearby parking lot.
But parents say the fence itself is a safety hazard, and Autumn Bosse has the scars to prove it.
The nine-year-old was going down the hill on Wednesday when she smashed into the fence, got tangled up and ultimately emerged with a sprained leg.
“We hit the fence. My friend, she just went through the fence, and then my sister and I stayed stuck and she sprained her leg,” says Elle Bosse, Autumn’s twin sister.
Other parents at the hill have their own stories of seeing sledders crash into the fence.
“We saw this boy, he was 11 years old, he came right underneath that fence on a toboggan,” says Patricia Venning.
“Seeing that, I don’t think the fences are very safe at all.”
City officials say they’re looking into the safety concerns and will be adding smaller bales of hay as well as sand over the weekend to keep children from sliding under the fence in the future.
“We will be adding a bit of sand in the runout zones and up on the berms, so that a little bit of drip will help slow the toboggans down,” says Greg Hummel, the city’s manager of park planning.
That might be too late to save Autumn Bosse’s interest in a popular winter pastime, even after her parents bought a new, sturdier sled for her and her sister.
“She said she never wants to toboggan again,” says Elle.
