“Tends to be busy on weekends so you won’t be able to make a big game on the field, but very nice for hangouts and picnics.”
#3 in Mount Pleasant
3161 Ontario Street
For Kids
B+
For Adults
B-
Design
B+
Atmosphere
B+
Final Score
29.38
You would hope the park named for the best neighbourhood in Vancouver (according to some yahoo’s exhaustive project) would be very good, and indeed Mount Pleasant Park is.
At just one city block it is not particularly large, but one thing we noticed again and again is that park planners in Vancouver did better work when land was at a premium.
And so there’s a community garden in the northeast section, a basketball court in the northwest, a playground and small skateboard park in the southwest, and a lawn in the middle, multiple paths going throughout to make it easy for folks to get to their destination of choice. All very utilitarian, but well done, clear detail put into each part, with excellent splashes of colour and a sense of internal geography to the park.
None of the amenities are amazing — the park is modern, with a few slides and the type of climbing pentagon structure that’s all the rage these days. But it bears mentioning that basketball, skateboard parks, new playgrounds and a good grassy lawn are very popular with Vancouverites, and work particularly well in this young, middle-class neighbourhood.
It’s extremely busy but doesn’t feel too cramped, though there can be a bit of a silent tension in purpose between the younger adults enjoying a loud picnic and younger children enjoying the nearby playgrounds.
Interestingly, a proposal by the Park Board in 2022 to get rid of much of the grassy middle area of the park in favour of a new outdoor pool was put on hold after the community proved more divided over the issue than was anticipated.
Whether you were for or against the proposed changes, it shows a well-engaged community and a well-used park, one filled on many sunny summer days, a food truck across the street, a bike share station next to the entrance, the epitome of a pleasant time in a pleasant neighbourhood.
Vancouver Park Guide 