ParkFinder – Your New Best Friend

Looking for Park Information? Check ParkFinder!

January 3, 2006 - Perfect Pathfinder to Green Spaces For almost a year the Park Board's best little web tool this side of the Rockies has been under development. ParkFinder is the result and it is the discerning browser who starts here first on their search to all park amenities, services, locations and histories.

ParkFinder can be found centrally positioned on the Park Board web site feature page, and with only a stroke of the keyboard, a multiplicity of options are at ones' fingertips. You can search for a park amenity by neighbourhood location, facility or activity and even by park name.

Once you've been directed to a park page the information generally includes:

• City Map Location
• Aerial View
• Address
• Neighbourhood
• Acreage
• Summary of Park Aesthetics
• History
• Landscape Photographs
• Recreation Facilities

The Little Engine that Could

In fact, ParkFinder is one of the most dynamic little search engines we've seen anywhere. Using our extensive park and recreation data base and aerial photographs, it meets the various requests of residents and visitors alike. ParkFinder can sift through data almost instantly to serve up information as diverse as jogging trails, soccer fields, community centres, off-leash areas, golfing specials or room rentals.

Over this past summer staff updated parks with hard to find archival histories making this much sought after information as easy to access as one click, 24/7! As well, colour landscape photographs and aesthetic summaries were added of the city's 200 parks.

Getting There

Every park listing in ParkFinder not only has an aerial view but a city map showing where each park is in Vancouver. Currently a variety of easy to use direction/navigation tools geared to cyclists, walkers, transit riders and drivers are being strategically tested for our more prominent locations at Stanley, Queen Elizabeth, Victory Square and Hastings Parks along with Vancouver's three full length golf facilities at Fraserview, McCleery and Langara courses. Once this technology is fine-tuned it will be applied to all parks where possible.

Plain and Simple

ParkFinder is all about the information, not bells and whistles or animated icons. Its simplicity is its success, hence its 'plain wrapper' appearance. The ParkFinder toolkit will continue to improve as new technology unfolds.

ParkFinder is your new best friend – introduce yourself on the Park Board web site feature page – you'll be glad you did!

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