Best Canadian downtown parks

[megadude]

Some nice suburban downtown parks in places I've lived.


Brampton's Gage Park


https://www.inbrampton.com/gage-park...ng-trail-opens


https://myhomepage.ca/local-focus-brampton-julaug2018/


Mississauga's Kariya Park


A sanctuary honouring Mississauga’s twin-city relationship with Kariya, Japan / photo by Jason Cook


https://wandercrazy.wordpress.com/20...pan-in-canada/


Oakville's Lakeside Park


http://travelwp.com/2009-1010-oakville-ontario-page.htm


My pic


Burlington's Spencer Smith Park - home of Canada's largest ribfest and Sound of Music festival


https://www.tripadvisor.ca/LocationP...n_Ontario.html


https://soundofmusic.ca/about-us/our-story/


https://www.burlington.ca/en/live-an...asp?_mid_=8846

[SpongeG]

Emery Barnes park in Yaletown is nice

[SpongeG]

Nelson Park in the west end or mole hill is nice



Apparently it will be changing though.



B.C. Hydro aims to fund two Vancouver schools in exchange for underground substation

https://theprovince.com/news/local-n...5-02727da7d8cb

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Queens park is pretty large and relatively centrally located, but yea, there isn't really a single large downtown park.

I often feel that Nathan Phillips Square would have been better off as a nice large park.. but too late now.

There is Allen Gardens and Moss Park which are both pretty significant in size, but are extremely underutilized and are in rough parts of town. Moss Park could probably be a great park if the Armoury was moved, and the park upgraded and expanded onto the entire block, and the area cleaned up a bit. The southeast corner of the park is one of the roughest intersections in the city though, which makes it tougher.

Berczy is great, but it is very small. Claude Cormier is now planning a similar park at York and Queens Quay which is a lot larger and looks quite promising.

Trinity bellwoods is really rather run down (as are most Toronto parks really), but is probably one of the liveliest in the country on a warm summer day. The place is a total zoo. Not really downtown in the traditional sense though.

Agree about Moss Park and that Toronto doesn't have a large park downtown. Rail Deck park is our last shot at having one.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by niwell

Yeah I was very pleasantly surprised when I checked it out this summer - it doesn’t have the hype of Berczy but quite well done. The reno of queens park is looking promising too with the new brick paving at the entrances and around the monuments.

Based on the criteria though, Toronto doesn’t have much in the way of true central “downtown” parks (lots in the formally defined downtown of course). Cloud gardens has a ton of potential but is in kind of rough shape right now. A bit frthed but it will be interesting to see how college park turns out - there’s some good aspects but doesn’t seem up to the quality of berczy or grange, which probably isnt surprising given the funding arrangement.

The outside area of Cloud Garden is gone. It's now a staging area for Bay Adelaide 3. The Bay Adelaide Plaza is a great place to sit and gossip so I have high hopes on the new Cloud Garden.

College Park sits on top of a parking garage and has to with emergency exits and exhaust vents. Mature trees are questionable as well. I'm not sure what to think of College Park. With that said, I do find it takes a lot of cues from the modern standard of new parks (reduced maintenance) that I find don't deliver on providing contrast with enough green surfaces and cover. In other words, too much concrete/aggregate.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by niwell

Yeah I was very pleasantly surprised when I checked it out this summer - it doesn’t have the hype of Berczy but quite well done. The reno of queens park is looking promising too with the new brick paving at the entrances and around the monuments.

Based on the criteria though, Toronto doesn’t have much in the way of true central “downtown” parks (lots in the formally defined downtown of course). Cloud gardens has a ton of potential but is in kind of rough shape right now. A bit frthed but it will be interesting to see how college park turns out - there’s some good aspects but doesn’t seem up to the quality of berczy or grange, which probably isnt surprising given the funding arrangement.

The outside area of Cloud Garden is gone. It's now a staging area for Bay Adelaide 3. The Bay Adelaide Plaza is a great place to sit and gossip so I have high hopes on the new Cloud Garden.

College Park sits on top of a parking garage and has to with emergency exits and exhaust vents. Mature trees are questionable as well. I'm not sure what to think of College Park. With that said, I do find it takes a lot of cues from the modern standard of new parks (reduced maintenance) that I find don't deliver on providing contrast with enough green surfaces and cover. In other words, too much concrete/aggregate.

I'm really looking forward to the revitalization of Allan Gardens.

[Wpg_Guy]

An old rail yard transformed...












































































https://media.chatterblock.com/djang...f5c6559cef.jpg


https://scontent.fybz2-2.fna.fbcdn.n...fa&oe=5C907CA1


https://scontent.fybz2-1.fna.fbcdn.n...d1&oe=5C9455C3


https://scontent.fybz2-1.fna.fbcdn.n...d5&oe=5C96C896


https://scontent.fybz2-2.fna.fbcdn.n...f2&oe=5CD5869D


https://scontent.fybz2-2.fna.fbcdn.n...76&oe=5C9DF1C0

[J.OT13]

In Ottawa, if we're excluding plazas around office towers, roof-top terraces, Parliament Hill and Marion Dewar Plaza in front of City Hall, both of which would be considered "front lawns", we're left with Major's Hill Park, Confederation Square and the Garden of the Provinces. We also have Nepean Point, but that's a little more out of the way, tucked behind the National Gallery.

The former two are often used for events and festivals. Major's Hill is home to Tavern on the Hill (they also run Tavern on the Falls in another park further down Sussex Drive) in summer, where they serve beer, cocktails, wine and gourmet hot dogs.

Major's Hill Park


https://www.ottawatourism.ca/member/...ulip-festival/


https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/le...th-canada-post


Photo by me.


https://www.tripadvisor.ca/LocationP...a_Ontario.html

Confederation Park


http://fpm.ca/lisgar-apartments-for-rent-ottawa/

Garden of the Provinces and Territories


https://heritageottawa.org/50years/g...nd-territories

[SpongeG]

Victory Square is a small park on east hastings and Cambie just on the edge of the DTES, and it is heavily used on sunny days especially. It's a mix of drug users, hipsters, tech workers and students. And home to Remembrance day goings on. It was given a refurbish a number of years ago, that is when they added in the new helmet lighting.











the lighting in the park is like old helmets




circa 1917

[SpongeG]

Harbour Green Park at Coal Harbour is a nice spot.

circa 2009?






quite the change since it first arrived - 2002

[SpongeG]

this park doesn't exist yet but will start construction in 2019. The newest downtown park.

location


renders - looks like it was designed for instagram

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

looks like it was designed for instagram

A lot of physical things seem like they're designed for Instagram these days.

I'm about 60% in favour of this, 40% against.

The bad part is the shallowness of not actually experiencing a physical space on any other level than just posting about it on social media to collect likes.

But the good part is that it has injected design and whimsy into places that were once incredibly staid, and it has gotten people to go out and interact with their cities, even if it is on a superficial level. In the past they would have stayed home, and SSP-type people who actually enjoy the physical aspects of the city would have been left wandering around a city with more gravel parking lots and blank walls.

I think Canadian cities are net beneficiaries of Instagram. If I was from Italy, I'd probably have the opposite reaction.

[MonkeyRonin]

Yorkville Park is one of my favourites. Small, but well designed with both aesthetics & function in mind; with four distinct "zones" representative of different Canadian landscapes - including one with a 700-ton granite rock from Muskoka.



http://kensmithworkshop.com/yorkville.html

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

A lot of physical things seem like they're designed for Instagram these days.

I'm about 60% in favour of this, 40% against.

The bad part is the shallowness of not actually experiencing a physical space on any other level than just posting about it on social media to collect likes.

But the good part is that it has injected design and whimsy into places that were once incredibly staid, and it has gotten people to go out and interact with their cities, even if it is on a superficial level. In the past they would have stayed home, and SSP-type people who actually enjoy the physical aspects of the city would have been left wandering around a city with more gravel parking lots and blank walls.

I think Canadian cities are net beneficiaries of Instagram. If I was from Italy, I'd probably have the opposite reaction.

yes, its interesting to see the impact that social media is having on "real world" projects now. This little park compared to some of the more recent ones in Vancouver has a lot packed into it.

That new installation in New York at Hudsons Yard is also something that seems to have social media in mind as well.

Excited to see this park finish.

[J.OT13]

Another of Confederation Park from Twitter.


https://twitter.com/alamgirK/status/1079827157235445760

[isaidso]

I find most of the new 'parks' (post #31 a prime example) being built strange. They're a departure from the serene green spaces (Mont Royal, Hyde Park) I'm used to. These modern spaces are jam packed with non organic features and akin to an amusement park or jungle gym for adults. Perhaps it's a reflection of the recent generation who have been bombarded with visual/audio stimulation from birth. My brother's kids are lost/uncomfortable unless they're inundated with a constant stimuli; louder and brighter is better.

Is this a new Canadian aesthetic or just what new parks look like these days? I do like Berzcy Park in Toronto although it has a bit too much going on for my tastes. It's not an oasis in the city but more an extension of it.

[ssiguy]

Great to see these pics. Parks are essential in making a city worth living in giving a needed respite from the concrete that surrounds it.


I have to say though, and I admit I am biased, that London`s Victoria Park still seems to be the one to beat. It is right downtown basically as close to the downtown shopping and business district as humanely possible and she`s a beauty. I wish I had some computer skills as I would put up some pics and location. Any takers?

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Great to see these pics. Parks are essential in making a city worth living in giving a needed respite from the concrete that surrounds it.


I have to say though, and I admit I am biased, that London`s Victoria Park still seems to be the one to beat. It is right downtown basically as close to the downtown shopping and business district as humanely possible and she`s a beauty. I wish I had some computer skills as I would put up some pics and location. Any takers?

Kitchener's Victoria Park (1896) is not as old as London's, but it's several times larger and also right downtown. A very nice example of a Victorian Romantic style park.

[Andy6]

Another great Victoria Park is in Truro, N.S.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I find most of the new 'parks' (post #31 a prime example) being built strange. They're a departure from the serene green spaces (Mont Royal, Hyde Park) I'm used to. These modern spaces are jam packed with non organic features and akin to an amusement park or jungle gym for adults. Perhaps it's a reflection of the recent generation who have been bombarded with visual/audio stimulation from birth. My brother's kids are lost/uncomfortable unless they're inundated with a constant stimuli; louder and brighter is better.

Is this a new Canadian aesthetic or just what new parks look like these days? I do like Berzcy Park in Toronto although it has a bit too much going on for my tastes. It's not an oasis in the city but more an extension of it.

Personally I enjoy both types. The busy/groomed/artifical types seem more like the public squares of old in the sense that they're meeting places and intended to be urban hubs of activity and I enjoy this for what it is, but I agree that they don't replace the quiet/peaceful respite type parks you're referring to. i just think they're totally different intended for different purposes. I wonder if we're seeing more of the urban space-type parks than quiet ones now because those are the type of spaces our cities are most lacking in? It seems like for a long time there were no new truly public urban spaces created other than the streets themselves. That role was often played by indoor shopping mall-type spaces but those are privately owned.