Great Cities Have Great Parks

 

Where does your perfect day begin? Where do you go to meet your neighbour for a walk or compete with your pals in a pickle ball round-robin? Where do train for your next sporting event or just to try something new?  If you live in South Calgary, the answer is likely Glenmore Reservoir Parklands.

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• City parks encourage active lifestyles and improve mental health

• City parks increase community engagement and provide opportunities to socialize

• City parks help clean the air and improve public health

• City parks are tools to help cities achieve their equity goals

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Great cities are almost synonymous with their great parks: Vancouver/Stanley Park, Toronto/High Park, Montreal/Mount Royal, New York/ Central Park, San Francisco/Golden Gate Park, London/Hyde Park and the list goes on.

Do you know what these parks in cities where rents are exorbitant and land values are sky-high all have in common?  They have preserved their parkland aesthetic and integrity by having either road-ways or waterways that buffer these parks from urbanization encroachment.  Effectively, these cities have used these perimeters to preserve and protect parklands and the precious nature of their environments.

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Calgary’s has a few great parks (Nosehill and Fish Creek are notable examples) but I would argue that Glenmore Reservoir Parklands (combining North and South Glenmore parks, Weaselhead and Heritage Park) represent Calgary’s unique gem.  With mountain views, tennis courts, splash pads, spacious public event sites and quieter picnic tables all integrated with scenic bike paths surrounding our lake-like reservoir, we Calgarians love this park.  Summer and winter (do we have any other seasons?) the Glenmore Reservoir Parklands are well-loved and well-used.

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Imagine the effect on the Reservoir Parklands when Rio Can undertakes construction of these towers.  With a 15-year build out plan, we can anticipate a lengthy and high volume impact from the numerous pile drivers, back hoes, dump trunks and cranes required to excavate, prepare and build the development.   While we want to encourage folks to use parklands, after completion this development would likely create areas of extreme congestion and overutilization.  The effect of shading, noise and the unsightly nature of these looming towers will be a lasting blight on our “Great Park”.

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To help preserve and protect Glenmore Reservoir Parklands for all Calgarians, we must deny Rio Can’s application for a Change in Land Use to build residential towers and an ‘intensified’ commercial development. The Glenmore Landing strip mall must be held to its current height restrictions and footprint in order to maintain the parkland aesthetic of Glenmore Reservoir and preserve this unique environment. The Glenmore Reservoir Parklands are our ‘Great Park’ and lasting legacy.  If Calgarians want to build a great city, we must continue to protect our parklands from urbanization encroachment by denying Rio Can’s Change in Land Use application.