Active and Safe Routes to school

As my son enters into his local public school this fall, parents are being introduced to the school facilities and teachers, the public health nurse and so on. Last night was a parent orientation night, and I spoke briefly on the subject of getting kids walking to school.

Background: Recently, I attended a seminar called "Walk and Bike for Life" and was truly inspired by speaker Gil Penalosa. Gil is passionate about improving quality of life through the promotion of walking and bicycling as activities, and the promotion of parks, trails and other public spaces as great places that foster healthier communities with happier residents. Check out his work here.

At the seminar he gave in Caledon, I decided that this was something I could really get behind. I soon connected with the principal of my son's soon-to-be school, and the Parks and Rec representative. We looked at maps of the area to find out potential problem areas we could take to the Town for improvement. We chatted about ways to get parents and kids involved, and how starting them at a young age with walking to school as a way of life is key.

If you are interested in walking your child to school and making your community cleaner, greener, safer, healthier and happier, then I encourage you to check out:
http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/
I will continue to update this blog as the program gets underway and I will tell you about both the successes and obstacles I face with this project. I look forward to your support.

Too much snow to go skiing?

Someone said to me today that he thought there was too much snow to go skiing...doesn't that sound kind of backwards to you? The roads continue to be covered in the white stuff, and the wind was blowing absolutely sideways today as I trudged to Mochaberry to get a soup and bagel. Everyone in line commiserated. It truly is a tired old story, but one that we still have to tell.

Anyways, my friend decided to go skiing after all. As a skier, he's had a great season. As a non-skier, I'm sick to freakin' death of the white stuff.

My plan was to start a little tour of the tree-stump sculptures around town, as encouraged by the mayor's most recent front page question on the Town's website. Personally, I do not love the sculptures, but public art is important and I am impressed that the town has taken steps to make public art a priority. I hope that by taking the tour, I can appreciate the sculptures a little more and decide which is my favourite. However, until the snow stops, I'll sit tight.

fields of diamonds

I walk to work. It's been a dream of mine to do so, and now I can.

This morning, it was a crisp -22 degrees, and the open spaces sparkled like fields of diamonds. After our weekend snowfall, everything was crisp and white again.

I passed only 3 people on the street: a man walking his little dog (that gave me a bark and then a quick jump up to sniff me out), a smoker outside of his apartment on Broadway, and the fellow from Citrus City Tattoo out clearing the sidewalk in front of his store. It is march break, so I suspect that many people are still hunkered down inside, maybe even serving up pancakes for their kids.

My walk is about a kilometre and a half, about 10-15 minutes depending on the weather. The snow lately has of course slowed me down. There has been a lot of snow this winter, but the effort to clear snow from sidewalks has not increased relatively. It has been an ongoing debate in Orangeville, I know, with the Town taking responsibility for the main thoroughfares and individuals to take care of the rest. Why can't we hold up our part of the deal? It seems that there are some areas on a regular basis that never get cleared.

If you know of an elderly person, or maybe just a lazy person, why not help them get the job done? You will be helping your neighbours and the other residents of Orangeville who choose to walk. I am blessed that in my neighbourhood, the neighbours are very friendly and helpful and will even come and clear my driveway if I am a little behind schedule! We in turn will help out if needed. It is this kind of "Be Nice, Clear Your Ice" attitude that I wish there was more of in Orangeville when it comes to our public spaces like sidewalks.