The Refnrew-Collingwood area of Vancouver has more than a dozen parks across its neighbourhood, none of which are destination parks, but only one of which (Foster) could truly be considered mediocre.

That means we’re going to see a bunch of them in the middle part of our survey, stout parks that serve the community without being particularly special unto themselves. 

Cariboo is one of them — a small park along 29th Avenue, it has a lot of good elements (including a pond, playground and shaded field) that don’t fully come together. 

Part of that is due to the design that doesn’t really give definition to any area, everything sort of blending into one another. Part of it is due to the noise from 29th making it less than fully peaceful. 

And part of it is none of the elements are really exciting by themselves (the pond is non-existent in the summer, while the playground is fairly good for its size, but just two structures).  

It was with much fanfare that a fully dedicated skate park was approved by the city back in 2003, building on the city’s heritage of welcoming the sport from the days of China Creek South being one of the continent’s first sanctioned skate parks in the 1970s. 

Today, the skate park under the viaducts at Union and Quebec is well-regarded, partly because its plaza style is fairly rare in a world of more traditional skate bowls, and partly due to its convenient location and unique viaduct roof. 

Its future is something of a mystery though — when the viaducts come down the skatepark will have to be removed as well. For the moment, it serves its limited purpose quite well. 

Even if the name is a little on the nose.

Another small undeveloped triangle park in the city’s west side, we admit to enjoying McCleery a little more than perhaps we objectively should. 

Maybe it’s the old-school wooden sign that greets people at 49th and Marine Crescent, or the vibrant collection of trees that blossom in the spring, or the decent collection of benches that allow for quiet contemplation in a quiet neighbourhood. The grass in the middle is large enough for a picnic or a small soccer game as well.

Whether this makes McCleery a truly nice park, or simply a nice place we were generous in scoring, is open to interpretation. 

In the middle of a large townhome development just to the east of the Champlain  Square Shopping Centre is a small street called Mont Royal Square. It makes a loop and in the middle there’s a long thin lawn, with some benches and rock art at one end. 

The highlight is unquestionably the large fountain at the north end, where water sprays 15 feet into the air from a massive rock. 

Some nearby residents say the jurisdiction of the park is not clearly known, with some believing it to be a private park even though it isn’t. 

If you happen to be in the neighbourhood though, it’s certainly a nice place to relax. 

A block north and a block west from Commercial and Broadway is the small neighbourhood park W.C. Shelly, named for one of the city’s earlier park commissioners. 

A small but adequate playground for kids around 3 to 6 is in the middle of the park, with garden planters and benches surrounding it. There’s a decent amount of green space on either side and a path meandering through, but there’s a bit too much noise coming from the SkyTrain and the park overall is a little too exposed to feel particularly enjoyable. 

If there was ever a unnamed park in the city that screamed for a formal name, it’s the awkwardly named “Point Grey Park Site at Trutch Street”, recognizing the park is on “Trutch Street”, named for Joseph Trutch, B.C.’s first lieutenant-governor who is now widely acknowledged as B.C.’s most notoriously influential politician when it came to displacing and disenfranchising Indigenous people. 

Now that we’ve got that rant out of the way, this park is a lot like the other Point Grey pocket parks, but with one key element — a little wooden cantilever deck that juts out into the ocean, which has been there since the park’s earliest days in the 1970s. 

Not only does it give a beautiful view, if you’re prepared enough you could probably set up a unique picnic.

Though you might have some competition for the spot. 

#162: Captain Cook Park

“Many people didn’t clean up after their dogs.”

#8 in Killarney

3398 East 54th Avenue

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For Kids

D+

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For Adults

C

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Design

C

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Atmosphere

C

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Final Score

_^20.07

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A collection of simple wooded trails and tennis courts next to the nearby elementary school, Captain Cook is part of the somewhat interconnected parks in the Champlain Heights neighbourhood created in the 1970s. 

There are several trail options through the park that wind through the ferns and trees, but they’re all relatively similar. It’s good for a light jog, and can make a person living anywhere in the centre of the city jealous at all the nearby mini forests in this neighbourhood. 

#161: Cartier Park

“Its quite simple and has a children’s playground.”

#5 in Riley Park

390 East 36th Avenue

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For Kids

B-

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For Adults

D

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Design

C-

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Atmosphere

C-

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Final Score

20.10

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Cartier Park is the sort of dull, unimaginative park that every city has — the type of place first mentioned in a local newspaper when it got its official name in 1928, and not mentioned again for another 17 years. There’s a small flat field passable for T-Ball or children’s soccer, a few benches, a playground and a few tall trees for shade.     

However, that playground is perfectly good to bring kids to. While it’s old, there are four separate structures that will work for all ages, with the highlight being a vintage series of tire swings that can be walked on or through.