Today, that entire 1.3-kilometre swath has been transformed. The City of Burnaby recently opened Willingdon Linear Park, a greenway with a meandering multi-use path, play structures, art installations, and mini pocket parks. It’s an example of how greenspace and public art can do much more than beautify a place; they also bring residents together.
“People are out with their kids or walking their dogs and starting up conversations,” says Paul McDonell, City of Burnaby councillor and chair for its parks, recreation and culture commission. “It’s building a community.
Artists Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins and architect James Khamsi are the collaborative team behind Willingdon Linear Park’s Rite of Passage, a collection of 19 distinct public-art elements. The trio was selected through a national open-call competition in 2016, with jury members from the local visual arts and design communities, Burnaby’s parks and planning departments, ISL Engineering and Land Services, and the Burnaby Art Gallery public-art committee.
