Resources

…for reporting walkability issues in your neighbourhood:

Walk On, Victoria’s handy directory for reporting walkability issues to local government (broken sidewalks, ice and snow, overgrown shrubs, and more)

…for learning more about walkability issues:

Online:

Cities Alive: Towards a Walking World (Report, Arup)

Every Body Walk! Collaborative Social Justice Toolkit

Recent Books:

The Walker: On Finding and Losing Yourself in the Modern City by Matthew Beaumont (available at the Greater Victoria Public Library)

A Walk Around the Block : Stoplight Secrets, Mischievous Squirrels, Manhole Mysteries & Other Stuff You See Every Day (And Know Nothing About) by Spike Carlsen (available at the Greater Victoria Public Library)

Streetfight by Jannette Sadik-Khan (available at the Greater Victoria Public Library)

Walkable City by Jeff Speck (available at the Greater Victoria Public Library)

Happy City by Charles Montgomery (available at the Greater Victoria Public Library)

Born to Walk by Dan Rubinstein (available from the Greater Victoria Public Library)

A Walking Life:  Reclaiming Our Health and Our Freedom One Step at a Time  by Antonia Malchik (available at the Greater Victoria Public Library)

Walking: One Step at a Time  by Erling Kagge (available at the Greater Victoria Public Library)

Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit (available at the Greater Victoria Public Library)

Expert-recommended, for those who want more:

Christopher Alexander, et al. (1977), A Pattern Language, Oxford Press, Center for Environmental Structure (www.Patternlanguage.com).

CALTRANS (2014), Main Street, California: A Guide for Improving Community and Transportation Vitality, California Department of Transportation (www.dot.ca.gov); at dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/design/documents/main-street-3rd-edition-a11y.pdf.

Congress for the New Urbanism (www.cnu.org)–Provides a variety of information on innovative urban design

J.H. Crawford, Carfree Design Manual, International Books (www.carfree.com/cdm).

Reid Ewing (1996), Best Development Practices; Doing the Right Thing and Making Money at the Same Time, Planners Press (www.planning.org); at www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-04/documents/best-development-practices.pdf.

Jan Gehl (2010), Cities for People, Island Press (http://islandpress.org/cities-people).

Gehl Architects (2010), Our Cities Ourselves: 10 Principles for Transport in Urban Life (www.itdp.org); at www.itdp.org/documents/2010-OurCitiesOurselves_Booklet.pdf.

GIZ (2011), Changing Course in Urban Transport- An Illustrated Guide, Sustainable Urban Transport Project (www.sutp.org) Asia and GIZ; at www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2825.

Zaki Mustafa and Michelle Birdsall (2014) “The Great Streets Movement: Identifying How To Make Our Streets Great,” ITE Journal (www.ite.org), March, pp. 27-32; at ladot.lacity.org/sites/default/files/documents/diy-great-streets-manual-lrg-1.pdf.

PPS (2008c), The Quiet Revolution in Transportation Planning: How Great Corridors Make Great Communities, Project for Public Spaces (www.pps.org); at www.pps.org/pdf/bookstore/Great_Corridors_Great_Communities.pdf.

PPS (2012), Rightsizing Streets, Project for Public Spaces (www.pps.org); at www.pps.org/reference/rightsizing.

Marc Schlossberg, John Rowell, Dave Amos and Kelly Sanford (2013), Rethinking Streets: An Evidence-Based Guide to 25 Complete Street Transformations, University of Oregon’s Sustainable Cities Initiative (http://sci.uoregon.edu); at www.rethinkingstreets.com.


…for finding a home in a walkable neighbourhood:

Walkscore


…for recreational walking in Greater Victoria:

CRD “Find a Park or Trail”:
https://www.crd.bc.ca/parks-recreation-culture/parks-trails/find-park-trail

CRD Parks Maps:
www.crd.bc.ca/parks-recreation-culture/parks-trails/crd-regional-parks/park-maps

CRD “A Guide to User-Friendly Trails”:
www.crd.bc.ca/docs/default-source/parks-pdf/userfriendly-trails.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Walking Ideas in and Around Greater Victoria:
https://visitorinvictoria.ca/hiking-biking-walking-trails/

Oak Bay Walking Guide with Maps:
https://www.oakbay.ca/sites/default/files/maps/ob_walking_trails_maps.pdf

Esquimalt Walking Guides with Maps:
www.esquimalt.ca/community-events/explore-esquimalt/township-walking-tours

Sidney Walking Suggestions:
www.sidney.ca/Things_To_Do/Parks__Walkways___Trails/Walkways_and_Trails.htm

Saanich Trails Maps:
www.saanich.ca/EN/main/parks-recreation-community/parks/parks-trails-amenities/trails/trail-guides-maps.html

Central Saanich Walking Guide:
https://www.centralsaanich.ca/our-community/parks-recreation-culture3/trails

Saanich Peninsula Walking Guide with Maps (covers North Saanich, Central Saanich and Sidney):
www.crd.bc.ca/docs/default-source/panorama-pdf/saanich-peninsula-walking-guide.pdf?sfvrsn=c3d49ec9_0 

Langford Trails and Parks Map:
www.langford.ca/assets/Maps/Things~To~Do/ParksandTrails.pdf

Finnerty Gardens Self-Guided Walking Tour:
http://www.uvic.ca/finnerty/assets/docs/FinnertyGardensWalkingTour.pdf

Victoria West Self-Guided Walking Tours:
http://www.victoriawest.ca/index.php/walks

Oak Bay Walking Trails:
https://www.oakbay.ca/parks-recreation/parks-playgrounds/walking-trails

Victoria Heritage Foundation Self-Guided Walking Tours:
http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/northpark.html

Walk the West Shore Guide with Maps:
www.westshorerecreation.ca/wp-content/uploads/pdf/walk_westshore.pdf

Victoria Restoration Self-Guided Walks:
www.uvic.ca/socialsciences/environmental/assets/docs/RestorationWalksInVictoria.pdf

City of Victoria Self-Guided Heritage Walking Tours:
www.victoria.ca/EN/main/community/about/heritage-walking-tours.html

artsvictoria Public Art Map:
artsvictoria.ca/public_art_map

 

Walking clubs, programs, and guided walks:

Volkssport Club of Victoria
Victoria Pathfinders: https://www.victoriapathfinders.ca/

Capital Regional District Nature Outings/Walks:
https://www.crd.bc.ca/parks-recreation-culture/parks-trails/crd-regional-parks/events

District of Saanich Walking Programs:
www.saanich.ca/parkrec/parks/trails/frhttps://www.saanich.ca/EN/main/parks-recreation-community/parks/events-in-park/trails-treks.htmlee.html

Every Step Counts:
www.facebook.com/events/499807223900943/

905 Walking Group:
905walkinggroup.blogspot.com/ 

Tourism Victoria’s Walking Tours Listing*:
www.tourismvictoria.com/things-to-do/tours/walkingtours/

We also suggest searching MeetUp.com and inquiring with your local rec centre about walking groups and programs.

*Walk on, Victoria does not endorse or promote any tour companies mentioned in the listing


…for information about the health benefits of walking:

HealthLink BC: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/physical-activity/health-benefits

BC Recreation and Parks Association: http://www.walkbc.ca/get-walking/benefits-walking