The Chinatown and Little Italy Business Association has a proposal before City Council to transform Mary Burlie Park into a Chinese garden and cultural heritage centre.

Mary Burlie Park, which is located on 97 Street and 105 Avenue, is named after the late Mary Burlie, who was an outreach worker at the Boyle Street Co-op. It is also home to a statue memorializing the 14 victims of the Montreal Massacre at the Ecole Polytechnique.

The park, which features a covered gazebo, is also a gathering place for the homeless. Its proximity away from street level and outside visibility makes it an area known for alcohol and drug use.

The proposed Chinese garden would be based upon similar projects in other cities such as the the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon and the Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Gardens in Vancouver. It would include an enclosed space with shops, as well as a pagoda with gardens and fountains. As well, there would be a small entrance fee for the public to enter, which would be waived for people who have shopped or dined in Little Italy or Chinatown.

However, the proposal also raises questions of whether or not this is a real solution to the problems of homelessness, public drunkenness, and drug use in the area, or if it will just push them elsewhere in the neighbourhood.

City Council’s executive committee was scheduled to discuss the matter on January 26. BMC News will report on further developments and would also like to hear from area residents on their views of the proposal.