Emery Barnes Park — Attraction in Vancouver

I make a point of walking through Emery-Barnes on my way home from work, and since I always have my phone with me, I never fail to snap a few photos of the ever-changing floral displays. I enter the park from the North-West corner, where roses and Fire Weed blooms right now (early July) and then make my way over to the little waterfall, where ducks often hang out, folks take in the scene from benches nearby, parents dip their children's feet in the water, and young couples sit with arms around one another. Hydrangea still abounds, as do many other varieties of flowering plants. Wisteria hangs from the pergolas constructed around the fountain, providing shade and beauty to the South-East corner of the park. And the sound of the little stream, with its colourful mosaics peering up through the ripples, gurgles as it makes its way towards the fountain & pool, which provides endless water fun for the young and not so young. I love the way this park has been laid out, and I love how everyone and anyone has access to this lush green space. I have never known a small city park to supply so many features and pleasures to residents and visitors alike. Aren't I lucky that I can look down from the windows of my home and see this jewel of a park! And to tell you the truth, I don't even mind when I hear young people making merry in the park at 3:00 a.m. after the night clubs have closed. Though the signs say "Park Closed Between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.", I am still glad to know that these kids can let off steam in a relatively safe and well-lit space. I want to thank the City of Vancouver for making this park happen, for keeping developers at bay, and for maintaining this lovely space with such care, and with a view to providing a green respite for all in this increasingly dense urban centre that Vancouver's...

This park has nice equipment that my son really enjoys playing on... and there are many nice families and kids that are there because it is a convenient, central location downtown. That said.... there is not a single day that goes by that I haven't seen either used syringes, discarded filthy clothing, and other used drug paraphernalia lying around (today I had to usher my son away from the corner of the park where there are discarded tiny square ziploc baggies and burnt out pieces of tin foil... I had to look it up and this is used to smoke crack or heroin). Today, (11am) i even saw an older woman and a man openly buying drugs from another man at one of the small tables near the playground equipment. The saddest thing about that is that they brought a boy of about 7 or 8 with them who kept yelling out "grama, Uncle... can you push me on this spinner?". I honestly have to wonder where the Vancouver police are and why the hell no one cares to watch this park where children and families frequent. There are tons of other homeless people on the far side of the park who are smoking marijuana as well, but they are far enough away that I don't pay them much mind. It's SHAMEFUL that this beautiful city park has come to this. I urge parents to be vigilant and watchful at this park with your kids... and CALL THE POLICE to complain. I've started doing this so hopefully things will change. ALSO... parents... KEEP YOUR KIDS OUT OF THE FOUNTAIN. This is so filthy... especially with homeless junkies camped out around it at night (and even in the day... today there was one man sleeping on a sleeping bag right...

Small basically featureless dog park with one tree in it. Stick a piece of brocolli in the cat's litterbox and you'd have an exact replica. Seems to attract mainly small breeds under 20 pounds. Purse pooches. Larger behaved dogs often run around on the communal lawn outside the dogpark but doing so can mean fielding critcism from people who should mind their own business but feel the need to control your life. Uhg. Theres a water feature that my dog loves to cool off in in the summer but theres also a sign that says hes not allowed to be in it. No kids either. Begs the question WHY build a shallow, bright, colorful,waterfall-stream-fountain with water spouts and miniature kid sized bridges and cartoon type pitures tiled into the bottom that flows into a round shallow pool with a fountain that resembles a wedding cake surrounded by trees and flowers RIGHT BESIDE A GIANT PLAYGROUND AND DOGPARK but not allow kids or dogs in it?? I was threatened with a ticket if i didnt get my dog out of it. Makes no sense. Other than whats...