Mission delayed

It' s not quite what we planned, but I had a chance to show my friend Mariken around the Dunbar area on Monday. She thought the shopping area at 26th and 27th is still "very 1950s."  We agreed it will probably change soon.  

My friend Mariken and I planned to walk the length of Vancouver's new transportation corridor on Monday to form our own opinions about what we'd like to see there. The city is now conducting a "visioning" process for the corridor -- collecting idea about the development of the nine-kilometre former CP Rail line it bought for $55 million last year.

To some people's dismay, including mine, as soon as the city got its hands on what it's calling the Arbutus greenway, it started paving it. But the city said it was temporary, and also laid down some bark mulch and gravel so people could try out different surfaces for paths.

My fantasy for the property coincides with that of Adrian Levy, a Point Grey resident and chair of the Cypress Community Garden, who said in a Jan. 18 Georgia Straight story that he wants the corridor strictly pedestrian, featuring gardens, arboretums and flower beds. The city needs more green space and more accessibility to that space, he said, while cyclists already have plenty of places to ride. But even he admits the pro-bike council will insist on a bike path; and I admit a hard surface is needed for people using wheelchairs and other mobility devices, even if it wasn't for cyclists.

Mariken is a cyclist, an environmentalist and longtime community activist, so it will be interesting to learn what she thinks the new transportation corridor should look like. But that remains for the future; we had to cancel Monday's reconnaissance mission because of the heavy snow. It's hard to imagine a new paradise for walking and biking in the middle of a snowstorm.

Before our walk, lunch. Mariken and John dig into my fine kale salad, then a bowl of  Autumn Soup made from my cousin-in-law Janice's recipe. Just right for a snowy day.