Summer fun continues till September 18 at Kits Pool!

Kitsilano Pool will remain open an extra week to take advantage of the warm summer weather, which is forecast to continue past mid-month.

The outdoor seaside pool located on Cornwall Avenue will now close September 18. The Vancouver Park Board had originally scheduled it to close on September 11.

The extended hours of service are:
Monday, September 12 to Friday, September 16: 3 pm – 7 pm
Saturday, September 17 to Sunday, September 18: 9 am – 7 pm

Kitsilano Pool, which is one of four large outdoor pools in Vancouver, is heated and is accessible to persons with disabilities. It is the only salt water pool in Vancouver and one of the largest in the world. A smaller outdoor pool at Hillcrest Centre near Queen Elizabeth Park will remain open until further notice.

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For more information contact Daria Wojnarski Communications Coordinator, at (t) 604-257-8440 or (c) 604-561-6925.

Special visit for Coquitlam seniors

Coquitlam NOW September 2, 2011
As part of the Gentle Giant Visit program, Gerry O’Neill brought his horse Pepper to visit residents at Belvedere Care Centre in Coquitlam. The program is designed so retirement homes and other extended care facilities may invite draft horses to visit with residents, who might not otherwise have a chance to see these animals face to face.

Pepper is one of the star dapple grey Pecherons that pulls a carriage in Stanley Park. The breed originated in Perche, France. These large, strong horses were created for agricultural work and to carry knights into battle.

Pepper stands 18.3 hands tall (six feet three inches) at the shoulder and weighs more than 2,200 pounds.

© Copyright (c) Coquitlam Now

Read more: http://www.thenownews.com/PHOTOS+Special+visit+Coquitlam+seniors/5347932/story.html#ixzz1WzwfCtLy

Stanley Park cycling plan open house

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation is embarking on a process to evaluate and resolve issues with cycling in Stanley Park to enhance the park experience for all users.

Everyone is invited to drop by a public open house to provide their comments which will be used to develop options to improve cycling in the park. The public will be invited to discuss and comment on these options through a public consultation later in the fall.

Open House
Date: Saturday, September 10, 2011

Time: 10 am to 4 pm

Location: There will be two open house locations in the park—one on the plaza on the north side of Georgia Street near the underpass at Chilco Street, and the other at the Ceperley Field playground near the Second Beach Pool concession. Look for the tent and Park Board signage.

For more information on this project please visit:
http://vancouver.ca/parks/info/planning/cyclingplan/index.htm

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Have Your Say on the 2012-14 Capital Plan

The proposed 2012-14 Capital Plan for the City of Vancouver has gone out for public consultation. You can join in the conversation here - but only until August 31st. This year's plan calls for a smaller borrowing, which means fewer projects. In tight financial times this might be a good idea, but it does come with some trade-offs. Much of Vancouver's infrastructure is rapidly aging, with some well past their 'best before date'.

The Capital Plan is also being presented in a different manner, with many projects falling into cross departmental categories. In the past the Park Board was given an envelope of money and asked how they proposed to spend it. This year there is not a specific Park Board category. Instead there are revised categories for capital assets, moving away from assets identified by department to categories which identify assets by function:
-Community Facilities
-Housing
-Parks And Open Spaces
-Public Safety
-Transportation
-Utilities And Public Works
-Civic Infrastructure

The document states that the "benefits of the new approach include improved transparency and greater accountability along with a more holistic, city-wide approach to long-term capital investment decisions." This has yet to be seen, but what it does mean is that the input of the elected Commissioners at the Park Board will be reduced as many projects cut across departments and entities. An example of this is the funding for a new community centre in Marpole. The new plan calls for a multi-use facility including a new library. A great idea, but it means that decision making - especially over the location will not be the responsibility of the Park Board, even though community centres fall under its jurisdiction.

A 10 year strategic outlook has also been prepared in conjunction with the Capital Plan. In this it states that there will be 8 recreational facilities upgraded or replaced, and 3-4 new ones built, yet this Capital Plan only calls for half the funding of the new Marpole centre. At this rate replacements will more likely be in the 30-40 year range, while new facility building will have to be put on hold indefinitely. Facilities like the Kerrisdale arena and pool do not have anywhere close to 30 years left in their life--in fact they are in danger of being closed sooner rather than later. Hastings, West Point Grey, Dunbar, and Britannia community centres are all long over due for replacement, yet this document does not address these problems.

When the Capital Plan comes before the Park Board in the fall our input will be more limited and our priorities will become mere suggestions, as City Council will have a far greater say than before. Please take the time to read as much as you can concerning this plan and participate in the discussion. This plan is not just for 2012-2014 - the decisions we make this year will have a great effect on our city and its direction for many years in the future.

Green Parks Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon To Seek 2nd Term

PRESS RELEASE: 2^nd August 2011

Stuart Mackinnon, Green Party of Vancouver (GPv) Park Board Commissioner, announced today that he will seek a second term on Vancouver’s Board of Parks and Recreation. Elected in 2008, Stuart has been a champion of parks as places for play and relaxation, and has fought against the continuing cuts to the Park Board budget, as well as the increasing commercialization of public spaces.

“The past 3 years have seen the severest cuts to the Park Board ever. I believe that parks and recreation deserve better and I want to continue the fight to preserve, promote and protect our public spaces” said Mackinnon. “A strong voice for parks as places of natural refuge and healthy play is necessary to keep Vancouver amongst the greatest cities in the world. I want to continue to be that voice.”

Mackinnon will seek the Green Party of Vancouver’s endorsement at their nomination meeting scheduled for early September. Mackinnon believes in cooperation at the municipal level but supports the Green Party’s independence. “I will continue to work with any other individual or group who shares my values and the Green perspective on individual initiatives. To rule out cooperation because of differences in other areas would be petty and foolish and would be against the public good” commented Mackinnon. Earlier in the summer the Green Party of Vancouver chose to run candidates independent of an electoral alliance with other municipal parties.

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Stuart Mackinnon brief bio:

Stuart Mackinnon, a secondary special education teacher at Killarney Secondary school, was born and raised in Vancouver. After travel and work in diverse areas of the world including Malaysia, China, and Quebec’s James Bay region, he settled in the Killarney/Fraserlands neighbourhood of Vancouver. Stuart is the board secretary of the Axis Theatre Company, as well as a director of the Wilderness Committee. He is involved with his professional association, the BCTF, as a member of his local school team. Stuart has been a Trustee of the Vancouver Public Library, a member of the Canada-China Education Association and was formerly Chair of the BCTF Assistance Society and the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC). Stuart was elected to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation in 2008 representing the Green Party of Vancouver.

For more information – contact: Stuart Mackinnon: 778-389-1956 or

Green Party of Vancouver Chairperson: Desmond Rodenbour: 604-512-4487

The Silly Season

Summer is often called the silly season in politics. Not enough news so news has to be manufactured. The summer before a fall election seems to be the silliest. Here in Vancouver we have an abundance of announcements coming out of city hall, with politicians all over the radio and TV. Letters flying decrying this or that, accusing each other of what not. It seems to me that a lot of people need a vacation.

As the election approaches I wanted to share with my readers something that was posted on another blog. An anonymous blogger who calls himself Glissando Remmy said that if he ever ran for anything this would be his platform:

‘I’ll do the best I can, with the resources at hand, for all the people of Vancouver. Period.’

Now that's a platform I think we could all support. I'm checking out for much of August. For the first part I'll be attending a mindfulness retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh called 'Awakening the Heart', and then hopefully heading out of town for a well earned rest. When I return I'll let you all know my plans for the autumn.

In the meantime try to get outside and enjoy the sunshine.

A Martini with your putter?

The Vancouver Board of Parks & Recreation is considering serving alcohol on the greens and fairways of the public golf courses. I am very much looking forward to the staff report that will accompany this recommendation. According to park board by-laws consumption of alcohol is prohibited in our parks, however section 4 (a) (i) of the General Requirements allows the Board to grant permission to sell any food or beverage. So while it would appear that it is possible to sell alcohol on the courses, the question becomes is it good public policy to do so?

Advocates say that many golfers already consume alcohol on the courses and this will just legitimize this. They also point out that private courses have been doing this for years. I have a problem with both of these arguments. In the first case, some people drink and drive which is illegal. Do we change the laws just to suit those who break the rules? Of course not. As far as the argument that private courses offer this service, I compare this to the difference between serving alcohol in your backyard and in a park. Your backyard is a private area whereas a park is a public area. I don't think many people would advocate selling alcohol on our playing fields or picnic areas.

So then the argument comes down to money. Profit. The argument becomes one of the loss of potential revenue. I contacted MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) to see what they thought about this. They recognized that this is already happening on private courses, and that with proper procedures such as not serving anyone who has already been drinking, limit the hours of service, limit maximum number of drinks served to 2 per 18 holes, cost the drinks higher than the cost at the bar, and have a program to offer alternative transportation if needed, it was possible. However, they also said if these were not put in place and it is being done for profit they would not be supportive. The last bit was what caught my attention.

Why would the Park Board serve alcohol on the courses? Does alcohol somehow enhance the game or make players play better? Do golfers avoid public courses because alcohol is not served on the greens? If not then why, other than profit, would we serve alcohol? These are some of the questions I am looking forward to hearing answers to.

Often we hear about the slippery slope - that if you do something in one place it will be continued in another. I am quite concerned as alcohol is often seen on our public beaches. Would we next be setting up bars or liquor trolleys at Jericho or Kits beaches simply because people are already drinking there and we are losing out on an opportunity to make money? I think public spaces should be free from alcohol sales and consumption. These are places that belong to all of us. There are plenty of places to enjoy a beverage, including the clubhouses at our public golf courses--do we need to extend this to fairways and greens?

I look forward to the staff report and input from the public.

Meadows in our parks?

There has been a spin attempted on the lack on maintenance in some of our parks and public spaces. It is being called the 'meadow look'. Well just for the record, to me this is what an urban meadow should look like (click on the picture for a better look). This is an area behind the sales office for the New Water development in my neighbourhood of East Fraserlands or the River District as it has been re-branded. This 'meadow' took a bit of thought and care. It wasn't simply abandoned or neglected parkland. If it had it would be full of weeds and brambles.

City council's budget cuts create 'meadow look'

By Stuart Mackinnon, Vancouver Courier July 20, 2011 8:02 AM

To the editor:

Re: "Central Park: Thigh high," July 13.

The "meadow look" is just a euphemism for budget cuts at the park board. Parks and boulevards look unkempt because the money needed to keep them tidy and trim was cut by city council in last November's budget, something I fought against. If the park board wanted to make some park areas into meadows I would support the idea going out to public consultation.

The problem is making them into meadows would cost money--money to dig up the grass and then plant native species. Instead we have invasive species like morning glory, Himalayan blackberry and English ivy running rampant. We don't have meadows full of wild flowers, but unkempt parks full of weeds. Meadows? Absolutely, but let's have that discussion. And let's have full funding for parks and recreation in the meantime.

Stuart Mackinnon,

Green Party park commissioner

Neighbourhood Flower Gardens: UPDATE

The Park Board passed unanimously my motion to allow neighbourhood groups to plant flowers in unused public spaces. With a slight tweak to the costing sources, all commissioners spoke in favour of the motion. My thanks to all the folks who spoke wrote and otherwise supported this initiative. Thanks also to the COPE, Vision and NPA commissioners who saw the value in this.

Also at last night's meeting, motions on using underused indoor and outdoor park spaces for community groups passed, as well as support for childcare. Last night was an example of how a Board of disparate groups can work together for the common good. let's hope this spirit can continue.