Planning the Hydrostone: Parkland

There are three types of parkland in or immediately adjacent to the Hydrostone.

The first is the Young Street commercial common, as pictured on the previous page. It serves a fourfold purpose:



• provides a formal entrance to the neighbourhood for pedestrian and vehicular traffic coming north from downtown
• complements the commercial block opposite
• its triangular shape between streets meeting at a diagonal provides relief from the prevailing grid pattern of streets
• provides a clear transition from the Hydrostone to adjacent districts

The second type is the eight boulevard courts, one in each residential block. These also serve four purposes:



• provide local playgrounds and open space
• they are the communal front yards for the housing blocks
• add formal spaciousness
• contribute light and air




Wide treed boulevards divide each local street





The third park is Fort Needham Park, located across Novalea Drive to te east of the neighbourhood and the largest open space in the district. The east side of the hill affords water views of the Narrows in Halifax Harbour. On the plateau, the Halifax Explosion Memorial bell tower reminds us of the park's historical significance, and the sports field on the level plateau shows its recreational importance.

The western hillside overloooks the Hydrostone. It provides a natural boundary and a visible edge to the neighbourhood.

View from the hillside in Fort Needham Park





These three categories of park place the Hydrostone firmly in the English new town tradition.

Next: Planning the Hydrostone: Streets

Atlantic Planners Institute

This page and all contents are produced by the Atlantic Planners Institute, an affiliate of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

This document was last modified on October 24, 2000.