Today's Run Route and Time

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat Reservoir, down Sasamat, right at Council, left at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Salish, left at Hemlock, right at Salish, turn around at 16th, right at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat Reservoir.
Today's run time
53 minutes 19 seconds

Very briefly saw B&S (Bephanie?) running the other way. The lightning-quick exchange - "Hey!" "Hey!" - had me smiling for the rest of the run. Nay, day.

Jackie's Three Things

On Jackie's My Three Things blog, her latest post is my favorite thus far. I urge you to drink in that post in particular and her blog in general. The photos themselves can stand alone, and Jackie always adds succinct and insightful commentary.

Wave Swinger included

In a previous post I said I'd let you know, so here you go. The Managing Editor for Schmap Guides sent the email last night and I read the email this morning; my photo has been included in the newly released second edition of the Schmap Canada Guide. To see it in action go to this page, scroll down and place the mouse's arrow on the Playland category.

Hoppy Easter!

Sporting Street Names

In the most recent Vancouver Courier (March 14, 2008), writer Bob Mackin uses the possible renaming of the Strait of Georgia (to Salish Sea) to make - with an eye to the impending Olympics - "10 proposals to bring sports to the streets". These are the ones I like best..

• Old name: Denman Street. New name: Millionaires Mile. Denman Street's north foot marks the western edge of Coal Harbour's high-rent district. It once led to the Patricks' Denman Arena where the Vancouver Millionaires were crowned Stanley Cup champions on March 26, 1915.
• Old: Ontario Street. New: Bob Brown Boulevard. Why does Ontario Street in Vancouver go through such a pleasant neighbourhood when British Columbia Road in Toronto is on the Canadian National Exhibition site where nobody lives? Nat Bailey Stadium wouldn't be here without Bob Brown, the Scranton, Penn., native who became the father of baseball in Vancouver.
• Old: James Street. New: Jims Street. Conveniently located near Nat Bailey Stadium, James Street should go colloquial to honour sports radio legends Robson and Cox and spectacular sports scribes Coleman, Kearney and Taylor. All Jims. All great.
• Old: West 41st Avenue. New: Rick Hansen Way. He was just a wheelchair athlete when he left Oakridge Mall on Feb. 21, 1985. But he was a national hero when he returned there on May 22, 1987 after rolling 40,075 kilometres around the world to champion access for the disabled and raise money for spinal cord research.
• Old: McGill and Bridgeway streets. New: Miracle Mile. Empire Stadium is long gone and the famous Roger Bannister/John Landy statue was moved to the geographically incorrect Renfrew Gate. Part of McGill and all of Bridgeway could be dubbed Miracle Mile for the famous Aug. 7, 1954 race in which two men ran a mile in less than four minutes for the first time. It would also please punters at the nearby Hastings Racecourse where a miracle happens whenever a longshot pony pays off.
• Old: East Fifth Avenue. New: Passaglia-Lenarduzzi Piazza. Soccer's Lenarduzzi wore number five during his Vancouver Whitecaps and 86ers career. Passaglia had the same number with the B.C. Lions while becoming pro football's greatest kicker. They're the Eastside's most famous Italian-Canadian sons. Magnifico!
• Finally, Terry Fox Way. It exists, almost unknown, by B.C. Place Stadium's west airlock but should actually encircle the entire stadium. The most important venue of the 2010 Games should've been named for the late cancer fighter when it opened 25 years ago this June.

Today's Run Route and Time

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat Reservoir, down Sasamat, right at Imperial, right at Salish, left at Council, left at Sword Fern, left at Long, left at Salish, right at Council, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat Reservoir. A dangling figure-eight.
Today's run time
36 minutes 23 seconds

Save jPod

savejpod.ca

Bikes on Burrard Bridge

Right now, on both sides of the Burrard Bridge, cyclists and pedestrians share a narrow sidewalk that has no barrier to the adjacent high-speed motor traffic. This has been the situation for many many years. For a long time, the city has wondered how to improve the situation. In the March 6-13 2008 issue of The Georgia Straight an article by Matthew Burrows, Urban cyclists still face unfriendly terrain in Vancouver, discussed this topic..

On July 19, 2005, [Fred] Bass, then the chair of the city’s transportation and traffic committee, sought closure on the 15-year-old Burrard Bridge issue. He proposed that staff look into the lane widening, but that a six-month trial be started in April 2006, in which two lanes of car traffic would be given over to cyclists and in-line skaters, creating a much-needed segregation that would guarantee the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, who still have to share the narrow sidewalks. Bass convinced all COPE councillors to vote in favour, along with then–NPA councillor Peter Ladner. Mayor Sam Sullivan is the sole dissenting vote, though Ladner—now seeking the NPA mayoral nomination—announced later on that he had changed his position. He was derided at the WERA [West End Residents Association] event for doing this.

“I can’t win that one,” Ladner said by phone. “Will I repent? No. If you are a cycling advocate, nothing I did should make you concerned. We are widening the sidewalks. There will be better issues for cyclists. So what’s the issue? It is the anticar advocates who are pissed off at me.”

The Straight asked Ladner how he would react to being called a cycling flip-flopper at election time. “I have always been consistent that cyclists need more space,” he said. “It is just a question of where to put it.”

What's the issue? The issue is that widening the sidewalks will be very costly, both financially and in terms of heritage. I don't think two lanes are needed for cyclists and pedestrians; giving just one lane would suffice. Lane allocation instead of sidewalk widening would be much cheaper and wouldn't damage the bridge's heritage. The people against lane allocation argue that whenever they drive across the bridge they rarely see enough people using the sidewalks to warrant such a move. That's because it's dangerous! I believe there is a large number of people who may be considering cycling as transportation, and who would cross Burrard Bridge, but they don't do it because they either know how dangerous it is, or they keep hearing how dangerous it is.

As mentioned, there was going to be a trial of two lanes given to cyclists. As soon as Sam Sullivan and the NPA gained power, it got scrapped before it even began.

Lane allocation: if you do it, they will come.

Carts of Darkness

Carts of Darkness is about a couple guys from Vancouver who turn bottle-picking, their primary source of income, into the extreme sport of shopping cart racing. The film takes a look into the lives of the men who race carts, the adversity they face, and the appeal of cart racing despite the risk. Source.

Today's Run Route and Time

Today's run route
In Pacific Spirit Park, start at Sasamat Reservoir, down Sasamat, right at Council, left at Salish, left at Imperial, left at Sasamat, left at Council, left at Salish, left at Imperial, left at Sasamat, end at Sasamat Reservoir.
Today's run time
36 minutes 50 seconds