I’m not all that surprised to learn that the results of a study shows gym class helps kids read better.
At the end of the article, after pointing out that the school studied has a lot of financial support available, Dwyer asks, “If getting in some exercise before starting school really does boost academic performance, what would it take to have fitness facilities like Naperville’s in high schools labeled as dropout factories?”
Continue reading Better education through urban planning »
Crowd at Main Street’s Car Free Day, 2010
I made the observation recently that each of us learns to walk, then virtually everyone learns how to bike, then we’re taught to drive. At that point, it’s like the first two are reduced to merely leisure activities or, to some people, hard work. Curious, isn’t it? Culturally, being able to drive and having a nice car is a measure of success. You know, because the bus is the “loser cruiser.” At the same time, being fit and skinny is attractive. They’re a bit at odds with each other, are they not? Sorry, can’t come over tonight — gotta drive to the gym. Whew, now you’ve got car payments, parking fees, insurance, AND a gym membership to keep tabs on. Better get some cheap take-out for dinner.
Whoa, hold up!
How did we get ourselves into this mess? Cities are designed for cars, not people.
Continue reading Kick the pavement: cities are for people »
On Saturday I attended a forum put on by VALTAC (Valley Transportation Advisory Committee), hosted at the Langley Township Hall. (Nice building!) It was a statement toward our poor transit network South of the Fraser that all five speakers drove to the venue. Stephen Rees joked that the TransLink trip planner wouldn’t even give him a trip itinerary because it would take either more than 3 hours or more than 3 transfers. My proximity to the Hall made it easy enough to get there, if you consider a bus late by 7 minutes then a 20-minute walk easy. And Langley isn’t exactly known for being pedestrian-friendly.
The forum was about getting better public transportation South of the Fraser, mainly via rail connections. There is much support for one solution, spearheaded by a group called Rail for the Valley, which would reinstate the Interurban that ran from about 1900 to 1950 all the way from Vancouver to Chilliwack. Maps at the venue showed the dense urban centres through which this rail line passes. (Today it is used only for freight.)
Continue reading Event recap: VALTAC forum on Rail for the Valley »
Increasingly, the news in the blogs I read has focused on climate change, biofuels and alternative energy for fueling transportation… and with good reason. We’re faced with a crisis, and we all know that. Many of the solutions already exist, in the past before depedence on oil became the norm for most transportation, and gave us solid plastic, plastic bags, chemical fertilizers, fat-free ice cream (propylene glycol, anyone?), and the American Dream: a big house on a big lot in suburbia. Well, Canadians have made that dream as much of a reality as our neighbours to the south, and in greater Vancouver, the hidden evil of it is present in perhaps no stronger a form than in the suburbs of Surrey and Langley.
Continue reading How the oil crisis will change the face of Fraser Highway »
Photo by carfreedays via Flickr