Earlier this summer Walk On representatives Arielle Guetta and Sally Reid had the pleasure of discussing pedestrian advocacy on Shaw TV’s Citizens Forum. Watch it below!
Earlier this summer Walk On representatives Arielle Guetta and Sally Reid had the pleasure of discussing pedestrian advocacy on Shaw TV’s Citizens Forum. Watch it below!
June 19th was Victoria’s second annual Car Free Day. Once again the weather was great and people came out in droves to experience their city on foot. This year 220 people visited our booth and signed up to become part of our general membership–welcome and we look forward to getting to know you!
Our informal polls at the event gave us some information about the people we strive to represent. Here’s the results:
The most common place that Greater Victorians walk is to the grocery store, followed by the park/beach, work/school, bus stop, restaurants, and other shopping. Other places we didn’t include in our list but were named by respondents were the library, community centre playgroups, and recreational walking areas.
Respondents are generally willing to walk quite far–with the majority saying “no distance is too far”! When asked how many hours per week they walk, almost half said they walk over eight hours.
Respondents had a lot of ideas about what the #1 walking improvement in their neighbourhood would be. More crosswalks got the most votes, but here’s some of the items respondents themselves came up with:
The wide variety of input reflects the diverse neighbourhoods and pedestrians of Greater Victoria.
Several people mentioned they’ve noticed overgrown shrubs in their neigbourhood blocking the sidewalks. Homeowners are required to keep those in check so sidewalks are accessible to all! If you find yourself stymied by an overgrown shrub or other obstruction, note the location/address and report it to your local government. Your fellow pedestrians will thank you!
Here’s where you can report obstructions for three of our local municipalities:
Canada’s first-ever national pedestrian advocacy campaign is underway. Undertaken by Green Communities in Ontario, the concept has garnered endorsements from pro-pedestrian organizations coast to coast (including Walk On, Victoria).
Here’s what they hope to accomplish:
Over the coming months and years, we will:
• sign up Canadian organizations that want to create more
walkable communities
• engage government decision-makers in adopting supportive
policies and infrastructure investments
• help local organizations to promote walking and walkability in
their own communities
• facilitate information-sharing and networking to build a cohesive pan-national movement
• address research and resource needs
• hold Canada’s first national walking summit in September 2017
Here’s an excerpt from the campaign description, which is full of great information and infographics:
Over the past decades walking has been neglected as a mode of transportation. As a result, walking in many communities has often become unsafe, impractical, and unpleasant.
Walking—the most natural of all human activities—has been engineered out of our lives.
Pedestrian advocates know what’s needed to put walking back where it belongs, at the top of the transportation hierarchy:
• routes, connections, and crossings designed for all users,
including people using wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers
• a complete network of sidewalks and trails, bridges, and
crossings, including wayfinding (signage)
• walkable destinations, including shopping, services, places of
employment, schools, libraries, galleries, parks, and transit
• a great walking environment including shade, shelter,
seating, uncluttered walkways, greenery, street art, lively public
spaces and streetscapes, public washrooms
• celebration and promotion of walking, including festivals,
Open Streets, street performers
• school programs to remove barriers and promote active
transportation
• safety measures such as improved street design, reduced traffic speedsand enforcement
The tricky thing about pedestrian advocacy is that there is no obvious way to do it. It’s tied to so many issues–health & safety, the environment, community vibrancy and social connections, and social justice–which means everyone has different reasons for being involved. Meanwhile, there are an infinite number of ways to work towards a more walkable city–do we focus on specific trouble-spots? Do we push for one type of improvement over another? Do we promote walking through events and campaigns? Do we attempt to educate pedestrians, road-users, and policymakers? Prioritizing between hundreds of potential projects is difficult but necessary, given our limited capacity.
Our steering committee has been grappling with these questions since the beginning and I think it’s safe to say now that we’ve come up with a few initial answers. I’m only one member, but here’s how I would explain them:
We’ll continue to ponder how we can maximize our impact given limited capacity. In the meantime, please have a look at our draft Strategic Plan and let us know what you think.
Click here to download the draft Strategic Plan:
Walk On, Victoria Draft Strategic Plan 2016-2017
Walk On, Victoria is very happy to report that in response to recent pedestrian advocacy efforts, the City of Victoria has committed to spending an additional $200,000 on crosswalks over and above the amount named in the City’s Draft Financial Plan. Click here to read the Times Colonist article!
At the end of 2015 we asked our growing membership what they wanted from Walk On, Victoria. We surveyed them online about their biggest concerns as pedestrians and asked them to describe the types of work they see Walk On doing to further their interests.
One survey result suggests that downtown is likely the most important for pedestrians, many of whom live, work, shop, and play downtown. Another was that safety is top-of-mind for many of our members.
Walk On, Victoria strives to represent Greater Victoria’s pedestrians–what’s important to you is important to us. The survey results will help shape our plans for 2016 and will help us understand what part our general membership wants to play.
The first ever Walk On Week has drawn to a close. Walk On, Victoria would like to thank all participants, sponsors, and helpers. In particular:
At Victoria’s first Car Free Day, many of the visitors to the “Walk On, Victoria” table voted “exploring my neighbourhood” as one of the top reasons you walk. So, Walk On wants to encourage you to explore your urban environment and bring your friends. It’s a great way to connect with your community and you’ll be part of a long tradition of urban exploration. This post will suggest activities for people of all ages that you can do alone or as a group–maybe you’ll even inspire others to explore!
The most famous urban explorers* in recent history are (debatably) the Situationalists who explored Paris in the 1960s. They used techniques they labeled collectively “psychogeography” as a new way to map and explore the city. Now you know the Situationalists were on the right track as the Situationist International formed at a “conference,” attended by a total of eight people, in an Italian bar.
Like many of us, the Situationalists noticed that when walking with no purpose in the city, you may feel pulled along different streets to new areas as if by an unseen river. They thought by following these currents in formal walks and recording their results, they could uncover new information about the city. Unfortunately, these early psychographic walks didn’t go anywhere (literally) and eventually the Situationalists moved on. Find out more in Psychogeography (2010) by Merlin Coverley.
The Situationalist changed how we explore the city and now you can pick up a map and begin where they stopped. Walking the city still has the potential to create new paths and connections, especially when you bring groups of people together to do it. This has been done, quite well in Canada by Shawn Micallef and recorded in his book Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto (2010). Don’t worry, you don’t have to write a book to join in.
You can participate in urban exploration today! Now! Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram make it easy to connect with others who want to join you and share your experience. Technology has the potential to create huge, continuous walks!
To get you started, here are some ideas for kids and adults:
A couple more thing before you set off!
Okay, you’re ready to set off! Good luck!
“satellite images/maps and blueprints/of the whole world,/of every city//we could look it up and know what’s there/in someone else’s words,//or we could get wicked drunk/and just go.” – E Horne and J Comeau, A Softer World 340
Cail Smith is a Masters Student at UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning and would rather walk than wait for the bus. Contact Cail through planningtoride.com
Mark your calendars! Walk On Week 2015 happens October 5th-11th. This inaugural week-long celebration of walking will raise the profile of Greater Victoria pedestrians and highlight recreational walking opportunities.
The launch event (sponsored by the City of Victoria) happens October 5th, from 7:30am-9:00am in Centennial Square. Walk On, Victoria welcomes non-profit walking groups to operate a booth at the event–so if you want to share information about your walking group, please get in touch at info@walkonvictoria.og. We also welcome you to tell us about any free public walks your group is hosting throughout the week of October 5th-11th so that we can promote them via our Walk On Week 2015 calendar!
Walk On, Victoria is working with the Township of Esquimalt to gather input about walkability and urban design more generally from focus groups who might not otherwise be heard in the design process.
Walk On members will be hosting two sessions later this month with people who identify with the following groups:
These groups are likely to have special concerns relating to safety and accessibility. Input will to be taken into consideration by planners during the drafting of new West Bay Design Guidelines and upcoming review of the Official Community Plan.
If you live in West Bay and identify as belonging to one of these groups, please let us know! Sessions will be held:
Email us at info@walkonvictoria.org for information!