“Actually got married in this park. 5 stars! Ask me in a couple years though lmao.”
#4 in Fairview
3001 Fir Street
For Kids
C+
For Adults
C
Design
C+
Atmosphere
C-
Final Score
22.17
What separates a good park from an average one?
Obviously it depends a lot on who’s doing the considering, what they value, when they came to the park, and all sorts of additional caveats that render moot the entire point of this exercise.
But you’re right in the middle of a never ending ramble about one city’s park system, so here’s my answer: anything that got more than 22 points.
It became clear after a few neighbourhoods that any park folks enjoyed independently of our group hangouts — the type of park that could be recommended to folks living more than a couple blocks away — got at least this score. A park with a score of at least 22 means it has at least one or two very good aspects, or was solid across the board with no giant drawbacks.
Granville Park is certainly the latter: it’s a park with a fair number of amenities, but no real magical elements to it, with apologies to those fans of the expansive lawn bowling club on site. Divided by Fir Street in the middle, there are good tennis courts, a good playground for smaller kids, a good unofficial off-leash dog park, and a good long field for games of sport.
None of these elements are in the top 10 in the city, but they’re good enough that it’s a well-used park for the many people living in mid-rise apartments nearby, and really, that’s all a park needs to be.
Vancouver Park Guide 