Accessible Walkability~The Fabric of Community
Why Are we Not Naming A Special Public Space after Legendary Architect Bing Thom?
Ralph Segal was the senior architect and development planner for the Planning Department of the City of Vancouver. He is a well-respected professional that cares deeply about the city, and who was involved in most of the major planning and design decisions in the City in the three decades prior to his retirement. Ralph has…
Peter Wohlwend, Walkability and Windsor Way
I have found that it is not city administration, policy and budgets that create great communities, but the concepts and ideas of the communities themselves. When planners talk about a three-legged stool of place making and the importance of policy, plan and then community engagement, I have always seen it a bit differently. I think…
The Crossing That Can Kill You
The Globe and Mail has weighed in with an article titled “Fatal Crossings” analyzing five years of data to ascertain why and how 163 pedestrians have died in the City of Toronto in the last five years. By the author Victor Biro’s calculations, that means that in Toronto on average one pedestrian is hit on…
The Big Toll Paid By Vulnerable Road Users
There has been press about the important ramifications of reducing vehicular speed in cities and places to 30 kilometers per hour (km/h) from 50 km/h. Studies show that vulnerable road users-those folks biking or walking without the metal frame of a vehicle to protect them-can better survive car crashes at those speeds. Pedestrians and cyclists…
The Elephant in The Yard-Point Grey Road
The owners of residences on the north side of Vancouver’s Point Grey Road have some of the most spectacular views of English Bay and the North Shore mountains, unfettered by public walkways between their properties and the ocean. The City of Vancouver used to have a policy to purchase land along the north side of…
