The Healthy Plan.City allows you to use several indicators to see how your neighbourhood or city compares to the rest of Canada. In the “built environment” category you can choose from heat islands and tree canopy cover. In the “vulnerable population” category, select from children, older adults, low income individuals, visible minority individuals, and individuals living alone. A CBC News data analysis shows that immigrants and people with low income are most likely to live in the hottest urban areas. This makes them much more vulnerable to heat waves, with deadly consequences. Using the postal code for North Park, we can see that this same trend is reflected in our neighbourhood. See the mapping tool here. Location of Municipal Parks and Opens Spaces in the City of Victoria The 2017 Parks and Open Spaces Master Plan identifies that North Park is green space deficient. The starburst in the lower quadrant of North Park indicates where a proposed park for the neighbourhood might be located, although there have not been any developments on additional green space for the North Park neighbourhood as of yet. North Park has 6.47 hectares of municipal parkland, resulting in 1.23 hecatres per 1000 residents. However, about half of that is made up of Royal Athletic Park (see below). Once you remove RAP which is fenced off, and accessible only by paid admission, that decreases to 0.71ha/1000 residents. Compare this to the City average of 2.65ha/1000 residents. The blue squares above indicate the sizes of Central Park (top left) and Royal Athletic Park (bottom right) Sport Fields and Courts in the City of Victoria This map demonstrates that much of the green space in North Park is designated as a sport court, or sports field. Not indicated on this map is Crystal Pool which is also located in Central Park. Off Leash Dog Parks (2017) There are no off leash dog parks in North Park, Downtown, Harris Green, or parts of surrounding neighbourhoods. For the most up to date map, visit the City website.This map shows where the public amenities in North Park are located. These amenities include: The Save on Foods Memorial Arena, Victoria Curling Club, Crystal Pool, and Royal Athletic Park. Despite all being City owned recreation facilities, none of these facilities are free. It costs money to enter all of these facilities. LIFE credits enable some residents to access Crystal Pool programs free of charge, and the City has started offering a small number of free events at Royal Athletic Park since the pandemic started. However, the majority of events that take place at RAP, the Arena, and Crystal Pool all ticketed or require paid admission. Community Centres in the City of VictoriaTree canopy in Victoria (2019)Public washrooms in the City of Victoria (2022)Drinking fountains in the City of Victoria (2022)Summer Surface Temperature (2002 to 2012)
