Parks, Green Spaces and Recreation

Apart from their beauty, parks and green spaces promote recreation, mental health, and a sense of community. As a mom of three small children, I see the impact that access to green spaces and recreation has in their daily lives and mine. In my first term, we opened a new Kenmount Terrace Community Centre; invested in many parks and recreation facilities; promoted tree planting to renew St. John’s aging tree canopy; and approved funding for the Canada Games which will lead to, among other things, accessibility improvements in facilities in the St. John’s area. We have laid the groundwork for the new Mews Centre to replace the current facility. We approved funding for a pump track at Quidi Vidi, which will be the first of its kind in St. John’s. A simple change that Councillor Jamieson and I collaborated on was to amend the necessary bylaw to let people take their boats out on Quidi Vidi Lake, increasing access to our waterways.

• I will continue to support St. John’s parks, green spaces, and recreation.
• I will make it easier to access parks and recreational amenities by public transportation.
• I will support projects that align with the parks and open spaces master plan and the urban forest master plan. I will support a timely review of these plans.
• I will work to better understand the significance to residents of the many informal green spaces throughout the city and how we can better balance competing priorities.
• I will prioritize work to make our programming and physical spaces more accessible for persons with disabilities, for families with young children, and for seniors.
• I will champion the creation of a user-friendly guide to how to safely enjoy our “blue spaces” (ponds, lakes, etc!).
• I will work with the Youth Advisory Committee to identify how to be more inclusive of teenagers in public spaces.
• I will prioritize work on promoting better mental health by filling gaps in winter recreation, for example by lighting playground areas on those early winter nights.
• I will champion naturalization efforts in green spaces throughout the city that improve access to nature for children.
• I will support further efforts towards wayfinding in the City in English and French.