If you missed my previous post on Complete Streets it's here.
Anyhow I spotted this today and I had to post it.
People obviously want to walk here - it's a really well worn path and no wonder; it leads to one of the major transit points in the city at the Towne Centre Mall. There is a great sidewalk on the other side of the street which is a good thing. It's just a shame that it's not on both sides.
Take this example.... If I was a senior who wanted to take the bus to my regular hearing test (I think there is a business in the building south of the tracks that does that.) What would my walk be like? Of course, being a little older I really prefer a nice even surface to walk on for safety - given that requirement, what do I have to do to get to the buildings just south of the bus stop?
First I have to go the opposite direction (north) of my final destination ... then I have to cross the road at a busy intersection. Then I walk back the way I want to go (south) and finally I cross at another intersection (that doesn't have crosswalk lights) and finally I'm where I want to be.
Obviously it would have been a lot less effort (and safer) to just walk directly south - had there been a sidewalk in place.
I'm not pointing fingers - I really think these things are "no-fault" items... they've been missed over the years for lots of reasons. I just think that once we start looking we ought to start working to correct them. I think we'd have a better city for our efforts.
I'm still looking for your help in identifying GP's "best" incomplete streets... send me your pictures or locations!
1 comment:
WOW!
I'm a former Fairview boy (still have a lot of family there) based in Victoria, BC, these past almost-18 years, and now studying Geography with a focus on urban & development studies at the university here. This, after a diploma in Environmental Tech and several years in the workforce.
I stumbled across your blog in a roundabout way (via a Globe & Mail story about the Alberta Party & Honest Ed's resignation) and I have got to say that I am impressed. When I moved away from the Peace country after highschool in the early 1990s, it was largely due to the small-town mindset that I saw around me. To read now a blog post (!) by the mayor of one of the country's fastest-growing cities about looking at walkablilty, it gives me hope for Canada's hinterland and leads me to believe that I could finally feel comfortable living somewhere like GP.
Bravo to you for not just taking the drive-everywhere status quo for granted and kudos for looking from another point of view! I look forward to following your vision for a powerful regional capital in my old neck of the woods.
~Robin Rombs
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