Willingdon Linear Park

Burnaby's green 'hallway'–a safe, accessible urban park

Visit one of Burnaby's most imaginative parks–a lively space, 13 blocks long with an accessible wide pathway, grassy lawns, public art, trees and rest areas with two pocket parks along the way.

About Willingdon Linear Park

This 'greenway' park runs along the east side of Willingdon Ave between two popular commercial areas–Brentwood Town Centre to the south and bustling Hastings St to the north.

Park history

The plan for Willingdon Linear Park was approved in 2014 as part of the City's long-planned rebuild of Willingdon Ave–one of Burnaby's busiest traffic corridors.

The park was funded by Burnaby's Density Bonus Policy that sees private developers pay for City programs and facilities in exchange for increased density in buildings they are constructing. Starting in 2016 the park design came to life–from construction to landscaping to public art installation–culminating in its grand opening in 2018.

Features

The curved 4-metre wide asphalt urban trail is accessible to everyone–cyclists, pedestrians and wheelchair users–with a lane for walking and wheelchairs, and a lane for bikes.

The Charles St pocket park offers a relaxed setting with seating and circular paths around a beautiful fountain; while the Parker St pocket park is more active, with a play area and a fun 'community hammock' on which you can sit, climb or pose for photos.

Colourful, shaped panels separate the park from nearby residences at different points. The pocket parks feature art you can interact with–an artistic fountain at Charles St and a climb-on art piece at Parker St.

There's seating on the concrete benches that line the path and rest areas with wooden benches under leafy trees. Each pocket park has wide open grassy areas to relax in the sun or play games and run around.

Willingdon Linear Park has safe crossings for the neighbourhood side streets along its 1.73 kilometre route. It's also well-lit at night. Public transit stops let you step off the bus and right into the park.

During its 2018 construction, we took great care to preserve the trees and remove invasive plant species like English ivy. Then we planted even more trees to expand our urban forest in The Heights and Brentwood neighbourhoods.