Urban parks

[danbrotherston]

Engage Kitchener: Victoria Park Master Plan
As the oldest park in Kitchener, established in 1896, Victoria Park has grown into a highly treasured public space at the core of the city. To maintain this invaluable asset, we are updating the Victoria Park Master Plan, a guiding document for how we support the park’s infrastructure long-term.

To update the plan, we will re-assess both public and City priorities within Victoria Park. We will review existing conditions and amenities in the park, as well as analyze how the park is being used and how it will need to support the community in the future. This data-driven process will help us develop a 10-year plan for how the park is improved, maintained, and operated. For more information, read how we will develop the Master Plan.

I know this topic has been discussed here plenty, but hopefully part of the discussion extends beyond the park itself. For me the two biggest issues are the intersection of overcrowding and active transportation, both of which can be solved outside of the park. Things like providing similar amenities at other parks, expanding other parks, and continuing with active transportation alternative routes.

This is strongly on point...but I also think it's antithetical to how planning in Canada works. The Park Master Plan will exist in isolation. It can say "well the city should develop other transportation routes to relieve pressure on the park" but then the city's transportation plan will say "funnel as many people through the park because it's convenient", and everyone will agree that's absurd, and then continue to do it anyway.

(By the way, I say "transportation" because the park ALSO has cars funnelled through it, which is far more absurd than the bikes).