Who would have guessed a year ago that my favourite new Twitter account to follow would be that of a Municipal Affairs Reporter for CBC Vancouver? Or that he’d create an awesome mega list of Vancouver’s Best Parks?
Over the last seven months, I along with 39.1K other followers have enjoyed the graphs, charts, and details that Justin McElroy provides daily on the microblogging platform. One of his personal side projects in 2020 was to visit and rank every park in the City of Vancouver, and on Christmas Day he unveiled the website where all of his notes will live on in perpetuity.
Vancouver’s Best Parks, Ranked
“In May of 2020, in the middle of a global health pandemic, British Columbia’s chief health officer said it was okay for people in different households to see one another, but “our mantra for the next little while is going to be few faces and big spaces.” So, that’s what we did,” Justin writes on his Vancouver Park Guide.
He ranked 241 parks, over five months with the help of Steve Masuch, Ricardo Bortolon, Isabel Ferreras, Gerald Deo, Andrew Forshner, Geoff Lister, Sam Bruin, Layne Bruin, Nick Rogers, Kat Green, Laura Rodgers and Mary Leong.
“We went to a new neighbourhood each week, making a summer without travel or indoor socializing into one where we explored this amazing and maddening city in a unique way.”
Each park, from the biggest to the smallest, has been scored out of 40, with 10 points each for kids, adults, design and atmosphere. The only park excluded from the rankings was Oppenheimer Park, as it is still boarded up.
The Top Three
#1 Stanley Park (2000 West Georgia St, West End area)
#2 Trout Lake (3300 Victoria Dr, Kensington-Cedar Cottage area)
#3 Jericho Beach (3941 Point Grey Rd, West Point Grey area)
The Bottom Three
#241: Park Site on Quesnel Drive (4301 Quesnel Dr, Arbutus area)
#240: Park Site on Puget Drive (4309 Puget Dr, Arbutus area)
How did Choklit Park or Dude Chilling Park rank? Or what about the Laurel Landbridge, New Brighton or Queen Elizabeth Park? Visit the Vancouver Park Guide and follow Justin on Twitter for more insights.
It’s a new year and time for a new monthly event list! While there are still COVID-19 restrictions in place, you can still find some entertaining activity options through some of our local nature, science, and arts organizations. There are also a few distanced, outdoor happenings on the calendar. Find these and more January events in Metro Vancouver below:
A new year, another look back at the city’s history through images. I think everyone is looking forward to 2021 and the hope and promise it brings (in particular with a COVID-19 vaccine). As a nice little distraction in the meantime, let’s take a look back at Vancouver in 1921 with this photo collection.
March 12, 1921: The Capitol Theatre opened at 820 Granville Street. Unlike the Pantages and Orpheum theatres, which were built to house vaudeville and live theatre, the Capitol was a pure movie palace, a lush theatre that originally seated 2,500. It was equipped with a huge Wurlitzer organ to accompany the movies.
1919 – Fred “Cyclone” Taylor. Photo Stuart Thomson.
March 21, 1921: The first game of the 1921 Stanley Cup series (a best-of-five contest between the Ottawa Senators and the Vancouver Millionaires) took place at the Denman Arena. The attendance for Game 1 was 11,000 fans, setting a new world record for the largest crowd to see a hockey game. The Senators won three games to two.
Legendary Millionaires player Fred ‘Cyclone’ Taylor (who won a cup with Ottawa in 1909, and Vancouver in 1915) retired after this match up in 1921
June 15, 1921: A brief and ineffective period of prohibition that had started in BC in 1917 came to an end, but from this date on there would be provincial government control of the sale of spirituous and malt liquors.
1921 Construction of the Peace Arch. Photo by Stuart Thomson. Archives #CVA 99-928
September 6, 1921: The Peace Arch was dedicated before a crowd at the Douglas Crossing on the BC/Washington border. Premier Oliver attended, coming from Victoria in a boat that anchored at Blaine with nearly 400 other people. Victoria’s 72nd Seaforth Highlanders band played the US national anthem and the Bellingham Elks band played God Save the King.
October 28, 1921: Disaster up the Sea to Sky; a sudden flood wave at Britannia Beach crashed down on the village and swept away 50 of its 100 houses, killing 35 people.
Also in 1921…
Angel of Victory (1940s photo by Jack Lindsay). Archives # CVA 1184-1079.
The “Winged Victory”, also referred to as “Angel of Victory” bronze sculpture by Montreal artist Coeur de Lion MacCarthy was installed in 1921. Commissioned by the Canadian Pacific Railway to mark the more than 1,100 CPR employees who perished during World War I, three statues were placed near CPR landmarks. Vancouver’s sits outside of Waterfront Station. The others are in Winnipeg (installed 1922) and Montreal (installed 1923). The dates of World War II were later added on plaques attached to each statues base. The statue was considered one of the most evocative memorial sculptures, depicting an angel carrying a deceased soldier to heaven at the moment of his death. [Source: Vancouver Heritage]
1922 image of Ballantyne Pier construction. Archives # 1376-316
Construction began on Ballantyne Pier. It would be finished in 1923. Although only a cargo-storage and loading facility for Vancouver’s busy port, the original pier was designed more as a triumphal gateway to the city than a warehouse.
The east half of False Creek was filled for yards of the Great Northern (now Burlington Northern) and the Canadian Northern Pacific (now part of Canadian National Railways). An 1876 bridge that crossed the creek was removed.
1921 – Sightseeing. Archives # 99 – 3368
The 1921 census showed these population figures:
Burnaby
12,873
Coquitlam
2,374
Delta
2,839
Fraser Mills
600
Langley
4,881
Maple Ridge
3,772
New Westminster
14,495
North Van City
7,652
North Van District
3,800
Pitt Meadows
595
Point Grey
13,736
Port Coquitlam
1,178
Port Moody
1,030
Richmond
4,825
South Vancouver
32,482
Vancouver
117,217
West Vancouver
2,434
1921 – Promoting “Love Special” with silent film star Wally Reid. Archives # 99-897
Like everything else, the Vancouver Polar Bear Swim will look different for 2021 with an at-home Polar Bear Plunge organized by the Vancouver Park Board.
Polar Bear Swim Founder Peter Pantages. Photo 1927 by Stuart Thomson.
It was in 1920 that Peter Pantages, founder of Vancouver’s Polar Bear Swim Club, led a hardy group of swimmers who all plunged into English Bay on New Year’s Day. There were 10 participants back then and now over 5,000 people (usually) participate in this local tradition each January 1st.
Vancouver Polar Bear Swim 2021
The swim has become the Polar Bear Dip and is going online January 1st, 2021. Participants are encouraged to take a dip in a bathtub or kiddie pool and, if brave enough, adjust the temperature to 7°C / 44.6 °F, the average water temperature of previous Polar Bear Swims.
“While we are deeply disappointed that our great New Year’s tradition of jumping into the frigid waters of English Bay will not be taking place in 2021, we know this is the right decision to make for the health and safety of swimmers, spectators, and staff,” said Vancouver Park Board Chair Camil Dumont.
Doing The Digital Dip
On January 1, 2021, fill a tub, kiddie pool, anything with cold water (7°C) and take a cold dip. Get creative!
Share your video and photo online with #PBPolarBearDip2021
Register to receive a commemorative certificate
Send your photo or video to [email protected] to receive a Polar Bear Swim Club button (for Canadian residents only)
“We’ve taken this community event online and hope that Vancouverites will take the dip in the safety of their home at 2:30pm on January 1st.”
Other polar bear swim events in White Rock, North Vancouver, Langley and Delta have been cancelled entirely this year due to COVID-19.
E-Comm, which handles 99 per cent of BC’s 9-1-1 call volume at its two emergency communications centres, has released its annual top 10 list of calls that don’t belong on 9-1-1, reminding people that every time someone calls 9-1-1 with a non-urgent concern, they are putting the lives of other British Columbians at risk.
Top 10 List of Calls That Don’t Belong on 9-1-1
In addition to the increase of pandemic-related enquiries that tied up 9-1-1 lines in 2020, E-Comm call takers also dealt with some familiar consumer complaints that seem to wind up on its top 10 nuisance calls list year after year including cars that can’t start, bank cards that are stuck in ATMs and callers wondering about the time.
Complaining that their food delivery driver did not deliver their meal
Enquiring if there is a full lockdown for COVID-19
Wondering if having a trampoline is illegal during COVID-19
Asking for assistance to apply for CERB
Complaining that the mattress they had purchased second hand was more soiled than advertised
Reporting that their bank card was stuck in the ATM
Reporting their neighbour for smoking in a non-smoking building
Enquiring about how to enter a career in law enforcement
Confirming the time
Asking for help because they were locked out of their car
“Calling 9-1-1 to ask a question or report a consumer complaint may seem harmless enough,” says E-Comm call taker Megan McMath. “But, what people may not realize is that we need to treat every call as an emergency, until we can determine otherwise. That means that every moment we spend responding to general questions, concerns or complaints takes away from our priority – helping people who need help right away.”
E-Comm is also asking the public not to call 9-1-1 to report concerns about public health violations and encouraging British Columbians to refer to the wide range of resources available for COVID-19 instead.
To report public health violations, please contact your local by-law office or call your local police non-emergency line
In Vancouver, please call 3-1-1 or report your concern online
If you feel that you might have COVID-19, please call ahead to your primary care provider’s office or 8-1-1 to assess whether you need testing
For non-medical information about COVID-19, call 1-888-COVID-19 or visit bccdc.ca
E-Comm is the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in 25 regional districts in British Columbia and provides dispatch services for more than 70 police agencies and fire departments across the province.
