Downtown outdoor spaces

[danbrotherston]

Ugh...cardinal directions like "east" and "west" have no meaning in Kitchener.
I do think there is more need for smaller local parks. Large parks like that also induce driving, etc.

Our streets don't run east-west or north-south, in spite of their names, and the angles vary as well, so no solution is perfect. But further along King St E seems like "further east" to me!

Yes, my favourite is Lancaster which runs very close to North-South but is labeled East-West. To me, further along King is "South"...and I am on the "West" side. I think that is more generally correct (outside of DTK the grid such as it is, is more closely aligned to that direction). But it disagrees with all the road names. In general I try to avoid cardinal directions, but occasionally still slip into them, causing confusion and misunderstanding.

As for rockway, it definitely could be made into a park, but rockway gardens are already quite nice.

I do think there is more need for smaller local parks. Large parks like that also induce driving, etc.

Rockway Park would be easily reachable by the IHT.

Some smaller parks (how small?) could also be created using the proceeds from the Rockway real estate sale. But as our core begins to extend further east (!) along King St in the future, an anchor park like Rockway would be priceless. The gardens are nice for flowers, but it doesn't really accommodate other activities the way, say, Victoria Park does.

I agree gardens don't fulfill all the possible uses of a park, although I will say, I think the gardens are under appreciated. One nice weekend day a few weeks back my partner and I went to Rockway Gardens. It was near deserted, only a handful of other people. On the way down, we passed Victoria Park which was absolutely packed to the gills (and most people arriving in cars leading to excessive dangerous traffic), so I'm guessing that most people simply don't think of going to Rockway....certainly I didn't think of it till that day.

As for smaller parks, I'm talking about Neighbourhood parks, anywhere from the size of a tiny parklet like Gordon Green[1] or Homewood Green[2] (which don't even show on Google Maps as green space) all the way up to something like Cherry Park or Civic Centre Park or Weber Park.

Yes, Rockway Gardens is accessible from the IHT, but so is Victoria Park, and Victoria Park is constantly slammed with cars. The reality is that if something isn't within walking distance (less than ten minutes) it's almost certain that the vast majority of people will drive, even if it is to a park. Further, for children, it is essential that there are local parks, as our roads are designed to exclude children, meaning they are dependent on their parents to take them to larger parks.

It's amazing when you start walking around some neighbourhoods how many of these things smaller parks that you find, that you would only know when you live somewhere and walk. Of course, some areas of the city are better served than others.

[1] https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4561152,-...312!8i6656

[2] https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4427623,-...312!8i6656