Brush cleared as city reclaims park where 18-year-old was killed

Nova Scotia Power has cut back brush and small trees to improve safety in a run-down Dartmouth park where a young woman was killed this summer.

It's the first step toward reclaiming the once-popular park, Tony Mancini, councillor for the area, said Friday.

A narrow, paved path cuts through Farrell Street Park in north-end Dartmouth. Halifax residentChelsea Probert was walking between Albro Lake Road and Farrell Street in June when she was attacked and killed.Police arrested a 16-year-old boy two weeks later and charged him with second-degree murder. Police think the killing was random.

A man was stabbed on the path in February, and doctors were able to save his life.

Mancini said those incidents sparked a community drive to reclaim the park, which had grown dangerous with dense foliage and poor lighting.

"When I speak to [police], anytime they are chasing anyone, they have a tendency to head toward that area because they can easily get lost and try to avoid being caught by the police," he said.

Halifax Regional Police inspected the area and suggested ways to make it safer, including installing security cameras, improving lighting, and clearing away the bush.

Mancini inspected the work Friday morning and foundopen fields with fewer places for peopleto hide.

"It is very safe now. Residents have commented on feeling safer now on that pathway than in a long time," he said.

New paths coming with spring

Nova Scotia Power owns the land and has agreed to helprestore the park. The first phase was clearing the overgrowth, which crewsdid this week.

The next phase should start in the spring and will see Halifax creating new unpaved paths through the park. Nova Scotia Power has agreed to install lighting, and the municipalitywill maintain the park.

Mancini said Probert's death hit the community hard. She was 18, the same age as his daughter, and he's kept in touch with her father.

He said reclaiming the park came from "the pain the community feels after something terrible has happened.I've been very proud of HRM staff how once I explained the situation, they jumped in, and Nova Scotia Power."

HRM staff are still researching adding cameras to the park, and Mancini said if that goes ahead, it could be a pilot project for increasing security in such areas.