Lake Leaside, the flooded construction site east of Laird Drive, was rediscovered on Facebook over the weekend. By Monday evening there were more than 30 posts from readers who found it both pretty and potentially quite perilous. People speculated about water skiing there, stocking ducks and perhaps sending home a postcard from this charming place. Others worried about kids getting hurt or killed in the murky waters. Lake Leaside was first brought to the attention of the community and given its name by The South Bayview Bulldog on April 11, 2017. It was described as a graveyard of big box retail dreams. Geoff Kettel read the post and asked Councillor Burnside to check on the somewhat rickety fences that surrounded the huge site. A decision was taken to drain the lake. The original fences had fallen down and permitted easy access on the stretch of City road off Wicksteed known as Vaughan Street. But the City sewer system was (and probably is) unable to take a full flow of water from the site. It took until August 2017 to drain Lake Leaside. All Lake Leaside
