[Addick]

Even though I much prefer Urban Parks with their landscaping, manicured lawns, and numerous added-amenities (e.g. Hyde Park, Clapham Common, Englischer Garten, and Central Park), I recognize the role and importance of Urban Reserves (i.e Fish Creek and Nosehill Park). The very point of these parks are to reserve sections in urban areas for natural environments. The addition of man-made amenities runs counter to this point as it adds unnatural elements into what is suppose to be reserve for a natural environment.

If you want to enjoy splash parks and other sorts of man-made amenities your plan of action should be straightforward and simple; go to an urban park rather than an urban reserve. We cannot and should not expect Nosehill Park to cater to every demographic as in order to successfully play its intended role, it has to limit what it can offer (i.e. a natural environment). Speaking as someone who loves Urban Parks, every park does not have to be the same and we should not expect every park to have everything. Instead our expectation should be for the Parks and Recreation department to create a portfolio of parks, both Urban Parks and Urban Reserves, that can collectively provides us with all of our parking desires.

In terms of natural environment, I see Nosehill Park as more of an Urban Preserve than Reserve. It is not just reserving an area of Northwest Calgary for a natural environment but preserving an area of Northwest Calgary in its rare natural state. Just like how adding man-made amenities to an Urban Reserve would be counter-productive, so too would be adding non-natural grassland plants to Nosehill Park.

Essentially, love it or leave it.