City parks are a valued asset

By Letter to the Editor on October 6, 2021.

Editor:
Since March 2020, we’ve had record use of our parks. While nearly everything rec was shut down during the COVID-19 lockdowns, our parks system has been our crutch. It has delivered on health and wellness and our connection to the outdoors.
We must continue to find ways in making it more accessible. Areas of focus would be the interconnected trail system. Ideally, we should be able to navigate through all three areas of the city (north, south and west) through the trail system.
Having them interconnected provides a multimodal network of alternative transportation. One initiative that I would like to consider is a pedestrian/bike bridge on the south end of the west side that crosses the river and connects to the south side. I would pursue both Provincial and Federal grants to make this become reality in our community.
Partnering and collaborating with groups such as the Lethbridge Trail Alliance (LTA), Southern Alberta Group for the Environment (SAGE) and others will help projects such as singletrack trails, and aid in greater stewardship of our amazing river bottom. This type of partnership would be symbiotic with the community, environment, and users.
 There are four off leash dog parks in the City. Peenaquim Park on the Northside, Scenic Drive Dog Run on the south side, Popson Park and the Riverstone Dog Park on the westside. These parks are great, and as a dog owner, I can appreciate the opportunity for off leash sessions for exercise and socialization. Another initiative that I would like to bring forward is adding some additional, easy to access, off leash dog runs to our community.
While I am not sure what this looks like as an end product., with community consultation I can vision smaller fenced in areas at our large parks or green spaces such as Nicholas Sheran, green space along 28th ST N, Redwood Park, perhaps somewhere in SouthBrook.
Easy to access, flat areas would be accessible to a diverse group of people needing to give their fur-babies some off leash fun. 
 We need to put a value to our natural assets. It has been difficult to quantify the value of nature, but we need to make sure that we can preserve our natural spaces as they are not replaceable.
 Ryan Parker
Candidate for Lethbridge city council