New West residents are invited to lead and take part in neighbourhood strolls as part of this year’s Jane’s Walk event.
Reena Meijer Drees, co-founder of the Walkers Caucus, said Jane’s Walk is a global event celebrating the birthday of Jane Jacobs, who is legend in urban planning circles for her commitment to walkable neighbourhoods. The celebration consists of community-organized free neighbourhood walks.
As of Thursday morning, three walks had been planned for this weekend in New West – but organizers were hoping more walkers would sign up to lead neighbourhood strolls.
Mary Wilson, co-founder of the Walkers Caucus, said the event runs Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine. Community members are invited to sign up to lead a walk.
“You don’t have to be an expert,” she said. “You just have to enjoy a walk and invite people to go along with you. That’s it.”
For folks who enjoy going for walks, Jane’s Walk is a chance to share that experience with others, Wilson said.
“It’s a chatty kind of thing,” she told the Record. “It’s always surprising when you say: this is the walk I am doing – people show up who know more than you do about it. It’s kind of nice to get that dialogue going. It’s lovely.”
Wilson, a longtime West End resident, is once again leading one of this year’s walks – but it will be a different route than in past years.
“It’s a ‘let’s take a look at the difference between Burnaby and New Westminster’ walk,” she said. “It is quite remarkable the difference between the two places, where you cross the border, where I am going to take people.”
On Wilson’s walk, participants will take a peek at the City of Burnaby’s new Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre, which is having its grand opening on May 11.
“You know what’s going on near 18th and 10th Avenue? This is where Burnaby is building its fourth town centre. They are planning on 20 highrises there, and there is several of them going up now,” Wilson added. “When you walk from the West End and you cross the street, you are going from sort of a single-family home suburbia type thing right into urban density. You see all kinds of trails they are building. We don’t have trails; we have back lanes in New Westminster. The trails are quite different.”
Walks planned
Here’s a look at the three confirmed walks planned as part of this year’s Jane’s Walk in New West.
Friday, May 3 – 1 p.m.: Pattullo Bridge Exploration. This walk includes some history of the current bridge and progress of the replacement project.
“We will be walking about halfway along the narrow sidewalk of the current bridge to view the dramatic work in progress, returning to our start location,” said a description of the walk. “Could be noisy, not recommended for dogs or anyone with mobility concerns.”
Friday, May 3 – 7 p.m.: Brunette River Parkway. This walk will go along the river and through the forest, following the Brunette River from Hume Park to Cariboo Road, through the Brunette River conservation area.
Sunday, May 5 – 10:30 a.m.: Sneak into Burnaby/Edmonds. This walk, led by Mary Wilson, is giving walkers a chance to check out the neighbours and see what’s developing near Burnaby’s fourth town centre – Edmonds.
“Come with me for a leisurely walk to see what’s happening north of 10th Avenue,” said Wilson’s written description of the walk. “Then we’ll wander back to our starting point via West End lanes. If you’re not familiar with navigating the network of pedestrian roues on the west side of town, this walk will be a great introduction.”
Details on the walks (including meet-up locations) – and others that may be added to this year’s lineup – can be found at walkerscaucus.ca.
