Great Canadian Urban Parks Thread

[BretttheRiderFan]

If such a thread already exists, please feel free to delete this and merge it, but to my knowledge and surprise, no such thread exists. So here it is, the Great Canadian Urban Parks Thread. Share photos and information about where people in your city go for recreation and escape from the daily grind.

[SignalHillHiker]

Bannerman Park

This park was the first public park in St. John's, established in 1864. By 1891, it was fully landscaped as a Victorian park. It was then immediately converted to temporary housing (a tent city) for the newly homeless following the Great Fire of 1892, and since then has been slowly but surely restored.



Harbourside Park and the National War Memorial

It's not a big park, but it is the centre of the Downtown so it's quite busy and popular. It hosts our Memorial Day ceremony as well as lunch-hour music and theatre performances for workers in the Downtown. It's one of the only publicly-accessible stretches of waterfront in the Downtown.



Bowring Park

Easily the most famous and beloved park in St. John's due to its association with a greatly admired merchant family, heavily landscaped trails and swan/duck ponds, etc. It's an exceptionally beautiful park. Our annual equivalent of lighting the city Christmas tree is actually illuminating the trees in the park. They're switched on by the Mayor in a well-attended ceremony.



Pippy Park

This is the big boy - one of the largest urban parks in North America at 3,400 acres (14 km2). It has a lot of developed attractions - the fluvarium, golf course, trails, campgrounds, etc. but it also has a lot of undisturbed wilderness for hikers, cyclists, cross-country skiers, and so on.



Quidi Vidi Lake

The grassy, trail-lined shores of Quidi Vidi Lake are certainly the most popular casual walking/jogging place in the city, probably because they're so flat and easier for people than even just walking downtown. The lake also hosts the annual Royal St. John's Regatta, North America's oldest continuing sporting event.



Grand Concourse

All of these parks form important junctions on the Grand Concourse, an urban trail system that links just about every part of St. John's and its suburbs. Parts of it are literally just sidewalks on scenic streets, but most of it is comprised of river-side trails and more park-like settings.



And there are dozens of smaller ones in the Downtown and numerous other larger ones in the suburbs. They range from playgrounds on a typical lot along a suburban street to the quite extensive park system of Mount Pearl, which markets itself as "A City within a Park".

[BretttheRiderFan]

Very cool, SignallHill.

Today just so happens to be Earth Day and for us urbanites, maybe these parks hold some sort of extra significance today and deserve to be appreciated more.

[Bcasey25raptor]

I'll take some shots from Stanley Park later today and post them for you guys.

Also Queen Elizabeth park. I have the day off work and it looks sunny out so I'll keep you posted.

[davidivivid]

Older thread titled "Canada's downtown parks":

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=194052

[BretttheRiderFan]

Well, let's not restrict this to downtown cores.

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by BretttheRiderFan

Well, let's not restrict this to downtown cores.

We are about to see the creation of Canada's first National Urban Park.

Legislation has already been passed through both Houses of Parliament, and will be official once Royal Assent is received. Canada has committed to spending $140 million over 10 years to create this national urban park, and $7.5 million on-going.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/progs/np-pn/...uge/index.aspx

In 2010, a review of the parks governance, organization and finance concluded that a new model was required which led to the recommendation to create a national urban park. A public opinion poll was commissioned resulting in an overwhelming 88% of respondents supporting the concept of establishing Rouge Park as Canada's first national urban park.

The Government of Canada announced in the 2011 Speech from the Throne its commitment to work towards the creation of a national urban park in the Rouge Valley. The opportunity to establish Rouge Park under the stewardship of Parks Canada, as the first national urban park, builds on the success of the Agency's past efforts and is well aligned with its current priority to meaningfully reach Canada's increasingly diverse urban population. Since its inception 100 years ago, Parks Canada has played and continues to play a vital role in preserving and presenting heritage areas representative of Canada's vast natural landscapes and rich history.

Parks Canada is excited about this groundbreaking initiative. We envision the building of a "people's park", where connections are forged between the people of this great nation and the elements that make us truly Canadian. The park's proximity to Canada's largest city – and 20 percent of our nation's population – is an excellent opportunity to engage current and future generations of stewards towards ensuring the Rouge Valley's rich natural and cultural heritage is protected for the benefit, education and enjoyment of Canadians.

[Coldrsx]

William Hawrelak Park, bottom right, smack dab in the middle of our city.


(http://medias.photodeck.com/d8f25904...19_xgaplus.jpg)

[SpongeG]

mundy park - coquitlam

has some sports facilities in part of the park, most of it is just trails and nature, picnic areas, some lakes to look at, not for swimming

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sparkpeople.com


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[1overcosc]

Ottawa's got plenty. In fact, WAY too many, it harms the urban fabric too much.

The Central Experimental Farm, a huge agricultural area right in the middle of the city:


(Both: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

[TorontoDrew]

The Rouge Valley has some of my favorite hiking trails. I'm glad it's being protected.

[WhipperSnapper]

Rouge Park is protected. There's concern it will lose some of that protection turning it over to the Feds by the way "National Urban Park" is defined.

[Denscity]

Had to look up Rouge Park never heard of it and didn't know what province it was even in.

[Boris2k7]

Calgary

Nose Hill


Nose Hill Park by yurik_ryba, on Flickr


Windows by kai451, on Flickr


DSC03542 by James72Lightshow, on Flickr


DSC_0088 by Hilbert 1958, on Flickr


DSC_0054 by Hilbert 1958, on Flickr

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Ottawa's got plenty. In fact, WAY too many, it harms the urban fabric too much.

The Central Experimental Farm, a huge agricultural area right in the middle of the city:


(Both: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

That's greenspace, but most of it doesn't seem like a park.

[speedog]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

Calgary

Nose Hill


Nose Hill Park by yurik_ryba, on Flickr

Nose Hill would be Canada's largest urban park owned by a municipality (second largest urban park in Canada at 11.27 square kilometers) and also in Calgary would be Canada's largest urban park, Fish Creek Provincial Park (owned by the Government of Alberta at 13.48 square kilometers). Both have been left quite undeveloped as well - natural parks as much as possible.

[WhipperSnapper]

Don't think so. Rouge Park is 40 square kilometres. It will increase to 50 square kilometres if the Feds have their way.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Don't think so. Rouge Park is 40 square kilometres. It will increase to 50 square kilometres if the Feds have their way.

Isn't some or Rouge farmland?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by speedog

Nose Hill would be Canada's largest urban park owned by a municipality (second largest urban park in Canada at 11.27 square kilometers) and also in Calgary would be Canada's largest urban park, Fish Creek Provincial Park (owned by the Government of Alberta at 13.48 square kilometers). Both have been left quite undeveloped as well - natural parks as much as possible.

Looks more suburban/exurban than urban.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Doug

Isn't some or Rouge farmland?

Does it matter?