This is from Tim Pawsey:
I was walking back towards downtown yesterday from a meeting at the new BMO / Arts Club / Bard theatre complex, heading to the stairs on the south end of the Cambie Bridge, when I came across this little oasis of wetlands in Hinge Park, just west of the Olympic Village development.
It’s a lovely, tranquil spot. And my guess is there should be some redwing blackbirds around. I like the way that the planners reached back to the way that False Creek probably once appeared in its natural state (well, post logging!), and also integrated / contrasted it with some industrial memorabilia as public art.
BTW, this is an excellent, quick route to walk from the OV to downtown.
It gets even better! This lovely wetland is the home to a beautiful beaver family with little baby beavers! Nature in the City is glorious – the is a true oasis. Our family loves it here.
It’s great to see that a significant amount of real estate was devoted to this wetland as a primary feature. It’s chances of long-term success are pretty good provided maintenance is not ignored, notably with de-sedimentation and just picking up the litter. The wetland is complementary to the new island built and planted with native species as part of the Olympic Village where herring roe has been spotted for the first time in 100 years. The engineered shoreline with the granite steps and cool bridge is also a delight and contrasts well with (and therefore enhances) the naturalized components.
Often when you don’t have the space or budget some advocates still try to cram narrow bioswales, infiltration pits and tiny rain gardens into what can only be termed ‘left over space’, which indicates a lack of priority to initiate best practices in storm water management. Too many of these features become litter trapping ditches and gulleys that overflow after the first winter rains when the soils become saturated. This is where a working storm sewer system is necessary, hopefully daylighted with significant acreage devoted to wetlands located before the outfall.