Speaker Series

On 10 April, I was finally able to see Elizabeth May speak in person. She was in the city for the day and the UofA Greens hosted her for a talk in the afternoon. Her talk focused on the recent budget and all the horrible things it included. I was able to ask a question about whether this budget is the final stages of a "starve the beast" conservative policy. The best part was I was able to get a few minutes of Ms. May's time after the talk. I would have loved to have chatted longer with her but a small crowd was forming so I shuffled off. On 16 April, I attended the book tour lecture by Jarrett Walker, author of humantransit.org and the recently published book, "Human Transit." If you have an interest in how transit works, the book is an excellent read. Jarrett's talk was also excellent. He covered a few things in the book and a few things he said will be in his next book. Some of the questions afterwards were insightful but two "questioners" were just looking for validation on their personal views of transit. One went on and on and on about the proposed LRT line through Chinatown. She was concerned about seniors in the area being hit by the LRT. It was much more of a rant than a question and I don't think Jarrett agreed with her logic. In fact, he believes people around sixty should think about their future mobility as they age and might not be able to drive. The other questioner seemed to wonder about mixed-use around LRT stations but it took him about three minutes to get around to something which was nearly a question and he never used the term, "mixed-use."

So long, suckers!

Today was Free Admission Day at some of the city's attractions. After my race and a nap, I pulled my girls in the bike trailer down to Fort Edmonton Park. The great thing about taking our bikes was that we got to pass all the cars idling in a one kilometre queue waiting to get into the parking lot. I had wondered if we'd make it to the park since I didn't know if the sidewalk on the Quesnell bridge had been opened yet. Naturally, the bridge was kept open to traffic and the road was completed a few weeks ago but the sidewalk must have just opened this week after being closed for about three years. The alternatives for pedestrians and cyclists was a long detour to the foot bridge between the Laurier dog park and Hawrelak Park or the shuttle. The shuttle has now been cancelled since the bridge's sidewalk has reopened. We used to watch the shuttle bus pass right in front of Mom's house; usually with no one on it. The City's website states that access to Fort Edmonton Park would not be affected by the bridge work. The City must only mean vehicle access as the sidewalk and path to Fort Edmonton Park were obstructed with dirt, gravel and trailers being used for the bridge work. Still, my wife and I were able to ride past all the cars just trying to get to the parking lot. We locked our bikes at the racks right outside the front entrance.

A summer of exploration

LP and I are very happy with the location of our new house. We have been able to enjoy a number of activities around the city without relying on our car.

Foremost is our proximity to the school grounds. LP often took the girls to play in the park during the summer. She met a few other mothers and some of Julie's future classmates. Julie starts preschool in a week and we're planning on sending both girls to the school for its Chinese program. They'll have a short walk and will be able to enjoy hot lunches at home.

The first activity to which we enjoyed walking was swimming. The local pool offers an hour of free swimming each week to community league members. We're close enough that even Shannon could walk there before she turned two. LP has also walked to the local grocery store with the girls when she just needd a few items.

LP used her bike and trailer to take the girls to the library and new splash park a number of times this summer. After taking a route across the Whitemud and 170 St which wasn't very friendly for family cycling, we were able to plot a much quieter route on Google Maps. She can now get to the splash park in under 20 minutes along bike paths and residential streets.

We also travelled to three big events this summer by bike. In July, I pulled the girls in the trailer downtown to watch the Capital Ex parade. It's about 9 km to downtown along the river valley trails. LP pulled the girls home in an hour since I had to be at work. In August, we biked to Heritage Days at Hawrelak Park. Three weeks later, we again biked to Old Strathcona and the Fringe Festival. The kids' section of the festival seemed to get off to a slow start on its last day but the commute was enjoyable and the girls both napped for 40 minutes during the ride home. I guess my riding style just isn't exciting enough.