Community parks include the Civic Mall, Market Square, Rouge Edge Park, Village Green and Perimeter Park. Neighbourhood parks include East Village Common and West Residential Parkette. Other parkettes will occur on private development lands.

The Rouge valley and the parks that abut it are considered “natural passive”and designated for passive recreational activities such as hiking, sitting and bird watching. The Rouge Edge Park adjacent to the valley is designated “natural active” with sports fields accompanied by natural planting.

Village Green and East Valley Common are urban parks, providing active amenities and more sophisticated design. The Civic Mall and all parks in the core are also urban parks providing opportunities for walking, people watching or gathering. {See Parks Map.}

Rouge Edge Park – This 1.85 ha (4.45 acres) park will be an active sports and play area. Native trees and shrubs will reflect the adjacent valley and will bring the natural setting closer to the community. The park will feature baseball and soccer fields.

Civic Mall – This 860 m (2,821 ft.) long pedestrian promenade covers 2.6 ha (6.4 acres) and is the major link between the residential and commercial precincts of Downtown Markham. It is a high-profile, active place consisting of a series of outdoor rooms of various sizes, character and use. Elements include protection from the weather, public art, ornamental planting displays, park structures, a variety of seating, canopy trees and special lighting.

This park becomes more urban and geometric as it approaches the core. Small food and retail units will support increased pedestrian activity near the Civic Square. The park will support a future public transit system.

Civic Square – The 6.8 (1.67 acres) square will become the focus for public events and celebrations for all of Markham. It is here that the Civic Mall, Village Green and the Brookside open space converge. This is a formal, urban space with a large expanse of lawn and stepped paved edge for seating. A landmark water feature will serve as a focal point and civic icon. This square will be programmed for live performances, outdoor art displays and travelling exhibitions.

Brookside Open Space – Part of the open space system, a Rouge River tributary and its bank provide a linear natural area that is bordered by a meandering boardwalk. The tributary flows from a large stormwater management pond south of Highway 407 to the Rouge River.

East Valley Common – This linear urban park is 253 m long by 20 m wide (about 830 ft. by 66 ft.) covering about half a hectare (1.22 acres) and combines hard surfaces and special lighting with expanses of lawn for informal recreation. Wide tree-lined paths provide a pedestrian link to and from this residential area.

Perimeter Park – This 430 m (1,410 ft.) long 1.2 ha (2.96 acres) park features a meandering pedestrian-bike trail linking the Civic Mall, the Rouge valley and developed lands to the north. A charming pavilion with benches and picnic tables provides shelter and a place to relax or picnic.

Rouge Valley – This natural area is outside the boundaries of the development but is a key feature of Downtown Markham and the broader York Region community. The valley and floodplains will not be intruded upon and setbacks will further buffer the natural area from development. Three river crossing will be necessary to provide the roads to serve all of Markham Centre, and these have been carefully designed to minimize any impact on the environment or wildlife.

Transition zones, trails and stormwater management ponds provide additional buffers. All of the streets, parks and open space have been designed to preserve and enhance the valley and views to it.

West Residential Parkette – Centrally located within a medium density residential neighbourhood, this is a passive gathering place for everyone – especially children, thanks to an adventure play structure – surrounded by a vine-covered trellis and paved seating. A decorative paved walkway extends through this 0.33 ha (0.81 acres) park.

Development of the site as proposed envisions few direct intrusions into existing natural areas, save for the removal of isolated trees and hedgerows, the revitalization of the creek, and the construction of the three river crossings. Four stormwater management ponds are proposed.

The development and future stewardship of the site provides an opportunity to protect existing significant biological features and to enhance the habitat areas that are currently in decline.

Remington will protect natural features through a Natural Heritage System, comprised of a number of approaches:

• avoid fragmenting existing habitats
• maintain interconnections between habitats and linkages to the Rouge River where possible
• establish setbacks from natural areas to allow regeneration and to provide gradual transition zones, as required by the Official Plan
• design buildings and roads with care to provide a buffer between urban development and natural areas
• establish sediment and erosion control measures and direct surface runoff away from natural areas
• take steps during construction and afterwards to retain existing natural vegetation and replant as necessary
• restore the channel and edges of the creek
• protect or transplant rare plants to protect them during the construction phase

As part of the development, landscape plantings will be established along roadways and open space areas. Given the extensive amount of roadways and open space, in time these plantings will adequately replace the larger mature trees requiring removal.