Elizabeth MacKenzie suspects the southern part of Arbutus Corridor is unknown to most people, but she calls it “pretty exciting” because of how it loops east and could eventually become part of a route that goes out all the way to New Westminster.
“The Arbutus Corridor used to be a rail line to Lulu Island and certainly it is a transportation corridor and that’s what is going to be used for,” she said.
The nine-kilometre route, which the City of Vancouver recently purchased from CP for $55 million, is one of the subjects of this year’s Vancouver edition of Jane’s Walk.
The event, named after urban activist Jane Jacobs who authored the influential 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, takes place in urban areas around the world on the first weekend in May.
Volunteers, who in Vancouver range from private citizens to experts such as the city’s former co-director of planning Larry Beasley, lead free walks on urban themes of their choice. More than 25 are planned in Vancouver between May 6 and 8.
MacKenzie, an architect, is the Vancouver coordinator of Jane’s Walk. She’s co-leading three walks along Arbutus Corridor with Lon LaClaire, the city’s director of transportation. The first, on May 6, covers the stretch from Riverview Park south to the TransLink Centre and along the Fraser River.
The second, on May 7, centres on the Shaughnessy/Kerrisdale portion of the corridor, while the third, on May 8, explores the northern part from the edge of Kitsilano to Granville Loop Park.
The City of Vancouver, whose goal is to turn Arbutus Corridor into a greenway that allows for walking, biking and running — and possibly light rail, is in the midst of establishing an Arbutus Greenway project office to oversee the design process and public input. CP is expected to begin removing the track within the year, and the city plans to improve and upgrade parts of the corridor in the short term while the longer-term planning is underway.
Organizers say Jane’s Walk “cultivates a broad understanding of how cities develop, function and thrive. It works to advance walkable neighbourhoods, increase urban literacy and promote neighbourhood cohesion, civic engagement and leadership.”
MacKenzie explained walks focus on topics the leaders pitch.
“It’s fantastic. People have just come out of the woodwork and have these great ideas.”
Vancouver walks include “Strathcona Sense-scapes,” “A Citizens Guide to Bike Share in Vancouver,” “Main Street Pizza Walk,” “Recalling Downtown Vancouver’s Live Music Scene — Past and Present,” “Architectural Heritage and Human Scale Urbanism in Mount Pleasant,” “Welcome to Hastings Sunrise” and “A Perspective of Coal Harbour,” among others. Each takes about 90 minutes, with five or six stops.
One of MacKenzie’s favourite ideas for a walk from a past year involved a woman returning her books to the library.
“It was a 15-minute walk that she had to make, but she turned it into an hour and a half interesting walk,” MacKenzie said. “[It was interesting] because a person was so observant and so interested in what was going on in her world that she could make a really fantastic short walk last an hour and a half. It was really well received.”
MacKenzie describes the walks as “walking conversations” because they’re meant to be interactive with participants sharing their thoughts and/or expertise.
“It’s important for people to open their eyes to the communities they live in and see what’s good, see what could be changed and think about them,” she said. “People who come out to the walks are often quite well informed and so there really is a give and take of knowledge."
The complete list of Vancouver Jane’s Walks, including times and other details can be found at janeswalk.org/Canada/Vancouver.
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