Pedestrian-Only?

Just before the Easter long weekend the City of Victoria closed some roads in Beacon Hill Park to vehicles, and reduced the number of parking spaces near the park.

Initially I thought these actions might be to make for a vehicle-free experience in the park over the long weekend, but in fact, the purpose was to provide for more space for pedestrians to make physical distancing easier, as part of the City's COVID-19 response planning.

Beacon Hill Park main road closed, April 11, 2020

The City of Victoria's way of closing parking spaces. No special event was planned; the City simply wanted to keep vehicles from parking in these spaces

In the last few days the City of Victoria has created more ways to give pedestrians space in the physical distancing being sought these days. Because of its popularity with walkers, and the density of people living here, James Bay has been a "pilot" of sorts.

Overnight, the one-way section on Simcoe Street was extended for several more blocks. The other lane is now a pedestrian-only space.

Simcoe Street, just outside of Thrifty's, looking west. This two-way street was turned into a one-way street, with one lane that used to be available for vehicles now dedicated to pedestrians.

To the City's credit, it provides explanatory signs for its actions, explaining that the measures are to increase "usable space".

Bollards, and a painted line on the roadway, mark the pedestrian only section of road.

A number of other Canadian cities have closed traffic lanes to make more space for pedestrians, including Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Montreal.

And, here in Victoria, transit fares have been eliminated, to make it feasible for people who need to use the bus, to board it from the back without driver contact.

So we have more people walking, no fares for transit, fewer vehicles on the roads, and people staying close to home in their communities. Reports indicate far less pollution globally. Anecdotally, family and friends who live in Calgary report seeing much more wildlife on the streets, quieter ambient noise levels, and - amazingly - fresher-smelling air. The air is so fresh, in fact, that a relative told me it "smells like the mountains".

Calgary road with closed traffic lane (Source: Global News) 

So, my question is: once COVID-19 has run its course, what will be the new "normal"? Do we want to go back to more vehicles on the roads?

We have been able to get by with a new way of operating - much less travel in our vehicles, more local travel in our communities, by foot, transit, bicycle.

If I had suggested, last fall, when there were global climate strikes, that one of the things we could do for climate change would be the re-purposing of roads away from vehicles, to increase the "usable space" for pedestrians -- well, people would have called me hard-nosed, idealistic perhaps, naive.  Yet -- here we are -- massive changes, in such a short period of time.

Let's celebrate what has happened. And, let's work to keep these roads, and sections of roads, permanently vehicle free - and identify more that can be re-purposed. Many European cities have had vehicle-free central cores for years.

Let's keep the vehicles off the streets!

Update - May 8 2020

The City of Seattle announced yesterday that it will be permanently closing 20 miles of city streets to vehicles, to make more pedestrian and cycling routes available. Good start, Seattle! Here's a link:
https://mynorthwest.com/1858217/seattle-streets-closed/

Gates and Gardens

On my last few walks around James Bay I have been looking at gates. In some ways, they are an unsung aspect of garden landscaping. Yet they are part of the subtle appeal of a house and garden. An attractive gate invites the viewer to look more closely at the overall aesthetic appeal of the front yard and house - and there are many such gates in this area!

Here is but a small taste of what I have come across in recent amblings. There is quite the diversity of style.

First, there are arched wooden gates:

The repetition of the gate design and the porch roof adds symmetry and an understated, quiet simplicity

Then there are wooden gates with horizontal cross pieces overhead:

And there are wooden gates with pitched roofs:

Note that this fence incorporates bamboo.

And wrought iron gates:

Here the gate is totally decorative, removed from its function of providing access to an enclosed space.

And wooden gates that are part of the overall fence design:

The designs on this fence flow with designs in the stained glass of the house's front door. And, although hard to see in this image, there are pieces of stained glass incorporated into the fence.

Custom-decorated with a sign of the times

There are so many different aesthetics expressed in the gate designs I found. I love the wide range of colours, shapes and materials.

I am intrigued by the interplay of the gate, the fence, and the yard space they enclose. As an advocate of reducing the amount of lawn grass in our yards, and replacing it with alternatives such as native plants, perennials, shrubs, and vegetable beds, I am always interested to see examples that explore this challenge.

Here are a few I noticed:

A curved footpath, plants in pots and in perennial beds, and driftwood. The white on the ground is cherry blossom.

A dense assortment of perennials. The casual fence looked to be poplar. 

A variety of plantings, all appearing to be perennial. 

A couple of very large rocks added interest to this front  yard.

A relatively small space, planted with shrubs and perennials.

Another front yard without any grass!

Another example of curving walkway, perennial beds and shrubbery.

Such a feast for the eyes!

The examples above feature landscaping using perennial plantings - but there are few examples of the use of native plants in front yards. And native plants are so important for habitat, to help native birds and insects.

In my future wanderings I will set an objective for finding good examples of landscaping with native plants; I will report back!

I never tire of walking the streets of this area, and the variety of gates, fences and front yards is one of the reasons.

A Different Kind of Spring

Spring has always been a favorite season of mine, as life bursts forth after the hibernation of winter. Victoria offers such a different world of spring, compared to my experience elsewhere in Canada. 

The city has had blooms all winter long. We arrived in October; over the winter, there was never a month when there were not flowers - from winter heathers, to calendula flowers which grow in wild profusion along sidewalks, to many other species I cannot name.

Heathers, February

Grass is not only green through the winter, but actually grows then! I heard the sound of lawnmowers in January. 

So spring is more an evolution of seasons, rather than a distinct separation from winter. Victoria residents I have spoken to about their weather appreciate its bountiful ability to grow, and its temperate nature. I had wondered if people would become blasé about it and take the lack of bitter cold for granted. However, I see gratitude and appreciation for the unique climate. 

Victoria has a nickname as "City of Gardens", or the "Garden City". An annual flower count is held every spring; this year it was from March 4th to 11th. This self-described "light-hearted"  promotional event has been held for 44 years. Residents report the number of blossoms in their yards, and the count is tallied up to see which municipality of Greater Victoria has the most. This year Saanich was the winner. Apparently over 45 billion blooms were counted across Victoria. While I can envisage that it would be easy to count daffodils in a garden, I don't know how the number of blossoms on a cherry tree could possibly be counted.

The  wonderful challenge of counting blossoms.... These trees are on Menzies Street.

Because it is within easy walking distance from home, Beacon Hill Park is a frequent - and favorite - destination. The park has a diversity of sections and landscapes, and I constantly find something new to intrigue me.

I appreciate the efforts of those in the past who have worked to protect the park's Garry oak meadows, and to keep it from becoming commercialized. I have learned a little of its story from the work of Janis Ringuette, the "unofficial" historian of the Park, who has spent hours combing records to document its history. (https://beaconhillparkhistory.org/)

Beacon Hill Park is considered Victoria's "flagship" park, and so receives much attention from the City gardeners. In the areas of manicured gardens, great thought appears to have been given to the landscape design, with layers of texture, and conscious use of colour in selection of flowers and shrubs. 

Here are a few images from the last week or so. Some of the scenes in the park evoke a tranquility which speak to park design concepts from another time and place. I have not been able to find any online documentation for a park planning vision for the park, yet I am sure something must exist. These kinds of images cannot be random!

And the blossoms! Lush, luxuriant flowering shrubs with amazing, tropical colours of spring,

And finally, the areas of the Park where native plants are protected, and efforts underway to restore more of the Garry oak meadows. There are two kinds of Camas - Common and Greater. My identification skills are only evolving, so I am not able to distinguish them in the photos which follow.

Camas and an unknown flower, Beacon Hill Park, April 9 2020

Fawn lily, Beacon Hill Park, April 9 2020

Camas, Beacon Hill Park, April 9 2020

Camas - April 9 2020, Beacon Hill Park

Yesterday some friends introduced us to the moss-shrouded forests and trails of Thetis Lake park. I was tantalized, and know I will be back. Shooting stars provided a hint of spring:

Shooting star, Thetis Lake, April 24 2020

Signing off, in awe!

Sarah