Stronger Kamloops

 The City of Kamloops is huge, surrounded by Nature all around. That is a good thing. Proper wilderness is only a few clicks north. But North Kamloops, home to most of the Kamloops residential population, and at its highest densities, likely to get higher, is most lacking in park area.  North Kamloops is best positioned to absorb the most amount of infill, from the flat land, to the sandy soil, to the river access, existing transit and a large amount of under-developed land. Living on the North Shore is great, and will continue to get better as more folks move to the neighbourhood - more and more neighbourhood businesses will be supported, the parks and streets will get safer with more foot traffic, and the access to all the cities jobs with the shortest possible commute make the North Shore desirable now, and that will only grow. But in order to maintain the best quality of life for our Cities residents, especially those on and moving to the North Shore, we need to address th...

 I know the title of this article is deliberately inflammatory in its title, but then again, you may get to the bottom of this article and feel inflamed! But it seemed like a great follow up to my last piece on the Red Bridge , and its video by Vancouver based 'About Here' in discussing the lack of vibrancy on Vancouvers Waterfront - posted again below should you be interested: Lets just jump right in to the examples - perhaps too many of them - but I want to drive home how widespread, varied and exciting parks can be in other cities big and small. Starting in Paris at (dans)  Jardin Tino Rossi Along the banks of the Seine, hundreds, and sometimes thousands of folks meet to danse and watch the dancing in this idyllic spot. Technically, the dancing is here every night of the week - but in reality it is an unorganized and organic event that has no specific times, dates or sizes. Along the park you will find folks, and their boomboxes, playing various kinds of music. The crowds ...

This article, in its really long form, is a Case Study in how I think we should be doing Urban Planning. From building on the successes of existing Active Transit, to doing the opposite of Tax Exemptions (way at the bottom), to improving stormwater and flood infrastructure, to boosting economic productivity. Schubert is a cool ' Drive '!! It runs North to South along the North Thompson River - all the way from Downtown to Westmount. Very clever people decided to run the 'Rivers Trail' along the drive, giving over the riverfront for public enjoyment. They built a Multi-Use Path many years back along its length to be enjoyed as a walking and biking recreation trail. And it is very well used! Named after Catherine Schubert, who as an Overlander, walked from Winnipeg, via Edmonton, to Kamloops - Jasper to Kamloops through the winter, pregnant to some accounts - is some of Kamloops best recreational walking today.  Marketed as both 'commuter infrastructure' and recre...

 Hey Kamloops! We have direct flights to Edmonton AGAIN! Contrary to popular opinion, Edmonton is a WAY more fun city weekend than Vancouver! Edmonton is way younger, hipper, more fun, friendlier, cheaper and well, its awesome!! As a proud Edmonton native - I love to promote my hometown! The best part of Edmonton is the little neighborhoods surrounding Downtown and Strathcona - leafy residential areas with little spots hidden in between. Nearly all destinations are accessible with the Lime Scooters, the bike lanes are prolific, safe and fun, and you can download Lime Prime trial to save yourself 15% or something and then cancel it at the end of your trip!! I plan to add more to this page as I remember things. Edmonton's Winter City Initiative is particularly cool with things like the Victoria Park Iceway. My goal in this is to take you off the beaten path. Things like the Citadel, Art Galleries, Museums, West Edmonton Mall are all things you will find with a simple search. But the ...