Windsor man angry with cenotaph placement in Riverside

A Windsor man remains angry about the city's decision to relocate a prominent cenotaph to the back of a parking lot and allow it to be obstructed with school buses.

"It can hardly be seen behind school buses and other vehicles parked in that lot," JackMorneausaid.

"Does the Riverside-area cenotaph really honour, as its plaque says, 'The memory of those of our comrades who laid down their lives that we might live to carry the torch of freedom?' I don't think so."

Thecenotaph,dedicated to the memory ofCanadians who laid down their lives in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War,stood in front of the Riverside Arena for years.

It was in a prominent location on Wyandotte Street E. and served asa constant reminder of the sacrifices Canadian soldiers made throughout the years.

When the Riverside Arena was torn downin 2011, the cenotaph was moved away from its longtime locationto the back of a parking lot, in front of an outdoor swimming pool.

It now stands approximately 82 metres, or 270 feet, from Wyandotte Street E, just east of St. Rose Avenue.

It's partially blocked by trees in the summer and school buses are parked in the lot during the school year.

The above image shows where the Riverside cenotaph used to stand, in front of Riverside Arena. The photo below show where it's at now, beneath theCanada flag.

The manager of theparks development for the City of Windsor says the cenotaph was moved to protect it when the arena was being torn down.

Mike Clement said he hasn't heard of any other complaints about the cenotaph, butsaidthe parks department would make a determination to move it if any commercial development threatened it.

"It's hard to say what could happen to that space, and obviously we would deal with whether the location is appropriate or not," he said.

The city's parksdepartment will hold an open house Monday night at the Caboto Club to discuss changes it has planned for other parks in the city.Morneausaid heplans to be there and may bring up his concerns at that time.