Tag Archives: commercial drive

Grandview Park – a redesign for beautification or gentrification?

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Grandview Park ... all guns and drugs? Or good 'ol family fun?

 I vividly remember listening to a lively CBC radio debate – lively enough that the tension seemed to permeate along with the radio waves through the room – in Fall 2008 about the potential redesign of Grandview Park in East Vancouver. Stephanie Maingot, Commercial Drive resident, was advocating for the allotment of $1 million from the city in order to ‘redesign’ the park, which she described as being fraught with drug dealing, crime, violence and illegal protests. The tension within the interview arose when Ms. Maingot was unable to pinpoint exactly how these funds would be used to address these issues, and was likely fuelled by the fact that the radio host, at the height of the interview, slipped in the fact that he is a proud East Van resident. Ms. Maingot’s plight is supported by both a group of neighbors calling themselves the ‘Friends of Grandview Park’ and the Commercial Drive Business Improvement Association. For more on Ms. Maingot’s views, check out this Vancouver Courier story in which she was interviewed on the topic. 

Earlier this year, the Vancouver Parks Board announced that this redesign project was approved, with construction set to begin in Summer 2010. The ‘Friends of Grandview Park’ were very involved in this approval process, presenting to the Parks Board on the necessity of this redesign. More details and conceptual design options can be found on the Parks Board site. Of course, there are those in opposition to the redesign, stating gentrification of the area as their main concern. The argument can be found on their Defend Grandview  website. 

Now. I live quite close to Grandview Park, and frequent it regularly. I’ve seen some shady transactions take place, very open displays of drunkenness, and homeless people sleeping in bushes. I’ve also seen amazing drum circles, children playing, and lovers picnicking. DG correspondent Kurt Heinrich was lucky enough to see a bike polo match the other weekend (which may or may not be played by resident ‘hipsters’). One can’t help but feel a sense of community when visiting Grandview Park, and if not accept, then tolerate the more systemic issues that confront residents that frequent the park. I don’t have anything against the redesign, per se – I can’t really argue against park improvements such as a better drainage system, new playground equipment, and more benches and flowerbeds – but it seems to me that a $1 million dollar redesign of the area will do little to address the more systemic issues that face the individuals who visit Grandview Park and the surrounding area. How will this redesign address homelessness? Mental health and addiction concerns? Poverty?  Is the intention of the ‘Friends of Grandview Park’ group to see these individuals move along to another park, or are there other initiatives happening parallel to this that provide support for our community members? If so, I haven’t seen any indication that this is occurring.. As a wise man once said, “Every society is judged by how it treats the least fortunate amongst them”.

Jane’s Walking through Vancouver’s Historical Communities

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”

— Jane Jacobs, ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’

It’s a simple equation, really: walking + history + people + urban literacy = strong, vibrant communities. This Saturday and Sunday (May 1 & 2, 2010) you can be part of the equation by participating in Vancouver’s Jane’s Walk 2010.

Fun Fact: Jane’s Walk is a Canadian creation that has been exported around the world – today, there are over 400 Jane’s Walks taking place on Earth. And you can be a part of it.

The Vancouver initiative is developed and driven by Think City, which, according to their website, “helps citizens understand the issues facing their communities while developing collective solutions to protect the environment, strengthen local economies, advance democratic rights and ensure access to quality public services.” After all, walking, as our Resident Architect, Stewartworks, will tell you, is perhaps the best method of transportation for properly engaging a community.

Jane’s Walk is all about the ideas of Jane Jacobs – writer, activist, Uncle Sam Impersonator – who stood up for the interests of local residents and pedestrians in opposition to a car-centered approach to planning. The event strives to take Jacobs’ ideas to communities unfamiliar with her ideas, like Phoenix, in order to advance raise awareness for people-first planning and design.  The walks bring people together based on shared interest; some of the best communities have been formed by strangers going for walks.

Recently, I sat down with Jane’s Walks Vancouver coordinator, Kim Fleming, who let me know about the impact this event makes on communities. “Jane’s Walk builds community in a number of ways. Firstly, it gets people out of their cars walking around their neighbourhoods talking to their neighbours! The idea behind Jane’s Walk is that it is a dialogue that happens while you are are on the walk. The tour host is more like a fascilitator who has knowledge around a theme and the idea is to engage interested people and have them share their knowledge, ideas and experiences as well. Walkers get a broader picture of their community and the people who live in it.”

And, in true Gumboot style, I asked Kim to identify her three favourite things about Jane’s Walks:

1. It builds community!(see above)

2. It allows us to discover and re-discover our city through pedestrian focused activities and the use of public space…all public space which includes our sidewalks, laneways, parks, school yards, boulevards etc…

The great surprise in the Olympics for me was the use of public space and the great sense of community that using those spaces built, pride in our community, our city and connection with our fellow citizens. We don’t, in Vancouver, use our public spaces in this way very often and our planning does not factor in the importance of it. But we saw with the Olympics that it is important and what we see with Jane’s Walk, which is all about this, is that Vancouverites have a hunger for it! It is our city after all.

3. Walkability. It’s fun, its healthy, its free! Exploring is fun. Stories are fun! People are interesting. Jane’s Walk is just a starting point. Walkability is a concept that can carry through every time you put foot to pavement, not just on a Jane’s Walk, when you go to the cornerstore think about how it got there, (is there a cornerstore? where would one be if there was….)how is the sidewalk used that you are walking on, who uses it?…

Needless to say, I will be attending a Jane’s Walk on Sunday. And I’m lucky. Because my guide is pretty much the Indiana Jones of Jane’s Walks. His name is Phil Skipper and he will be facilitating a community-minded jaunt around Douglas Park and the South Cambie ‘hood. From Phil, I expect to experience humour, random (seemingly impossible) facts, excellent questions, and possibly coordinated dance off against another tour-group and/or some unsuspecting neighbours. You can register for Phil’s walk by following this link.

Finally, before, during and after the walk take lots of pictures. Later from home, upload your best photos to Flickr and add thinkcity and janeswalk10 as tags. If you have a Twitter account, please update your status with anything of interest you see or learn along the walk. Use #janeswalk10 and #janeswalk before your message. Be collaborative and social – after all, it’s all about community!

Hipster Bike Polo Comes to the Drive

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What do you get when you combine trash talking, Marxist philosophizing, skinny jeans wearing hipsters, bikes, trendy bowl helmets and plastic mallets? Why hipster bike polo of course.

Yesterday afternoon I had the fortune of pitching a lawn chair, beer in hand to watch a group of 12 guys (and a couple girls) zoom around the south side of three parallel tennis courts mounted on there trusty “steeds”. I was stationed on the grass above the tennis courts of Grandview Park  on the drive and was fortunate enough to take in several matches.

Each game was three aside. Each side’s goal was marked by two cones a few feet apart, that like hockey stood several feet from the back wall allowing polo players to zip around behind the goal and even pass the ball, backwards through the cones, to players waiting in front.

As a sipped my beer, loud Arcade Fire and other indie beats blasted from a boom box (that’s what we’re calling it these days!) on the other side of the tennis courts as the waiting polo players drank beers, smoked a joint, mowed on snacks and fixed upside down bikes that had been jostled during the last match. Inflatable rubber tubing was everywhere.

So was hardcore hipster sports action.

The whole scene was a groovy window into a community I’d never really witnessed first hand before. It had its own culture and its own vibe. I was surprised to see that despite one handed steering and the somewhat limited mobility of a bike, no one was splayed out on the concrete from a “hardcore” crash. In fact there were hardly any collisions at all. Perhaps its the sport itself, or maybe its the hipsters that were playing it. Could these fine young lads be far off from the upper crust British polo fore-bearers of centuries past? You be the judge!

Your Digital Fill – Olympic Shenanigans

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Olympic Protestors and Olympic Fun 010

Olympic Protestors and Olympic Fun 022

Some Happy Tourists get Olympic...with lightning eagles, which, as we know, are native to the West Coast

Some Happy Tourists get Olympic...with lightning eagles, which, as we know, are native to the West Coast

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Olympic Neighbourhoods: The Drive

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Your Olympic Neighbourhood this week is…Commercial Drive!

As a key media outlet for the 2010 Olympics, the Daily Gumboot is excited to bring you our “Olympics Neighbourhood” segment. Here’s how it works: each week, Managing Editor, Kurt Heinrich, and Editor-in-Chief, John will profile a different Vancouver neighbourhood with a specific focus on things that might interest out-of-town visitors who arrive in The Couve for the Olympics. We will do this between now and the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and the story will be told be the Gumboot’s editors asking and answering the five questions below. These are the straight goods that you can’t get from VANOC, the Ministry of Tourism or the City of Vancouver. Let’s get to it!

1. Where is this neighbourhood exactly and how do I get there?

The nexus of the Drive: 1rst and Commercial

The nexus of the Drive: 1rst and Commercial

JOHN: Since Kurt’s “sense of direction” is one of his superpowers, I’ll leave it to him to create the Googlemap that shows Commercial Drive – “The Drive” – to exist in the Grandview Woodlands community, roughly, between East 12 and Hastings Streets. You can get there from downtown or the suburbs by hopping on the Skytrain and getting off at the Commercial/Broadway Station. If you’re coming from downtown and would like to combine your trip with fun adventure, take the Number 20 bus, which travels through the Downtown Eastside and always yields conversations that are as entertaining as they are interesting.

KURT: Click here to go to the Googlemap.

2. Why should a tourist/traveler be interested in it?

JOHN: The hipster culture and eclectic mix of people are great reasons. But the Commercial Drive neighbourhood, in my opinion, boasts some of the highest real estate prices in the city for two reasons: the food (so much local organic goodness) and the sense of community. People here really, really care about where they live and behave with a true sense of pride about it. The. Drive is the perfect place to start your night – most places close at midnight, so arrive for a delicious dinner, a few drinks, good music, and great times and then continue on with your Olympic exploration!

3. What good and/or unique things are there to eat?

JOHN: See our video. It’s spectacular. For breakfast, I like Cafe du Soleil and recently had a fantastic experience at Theresa’s. For lunch, it’s all about Cafe Wazubee. For dinner, I love the no-utensils-sensual-dining-experience of Addis Cafe. Everyday favourites are Pane Vero cafe and The East End Food Co-op; if you are picking up groceries during your trip this is the place to go!

KURT: I’d like to add that my favorites in the area include the Bump and Grind (for some of the best coffee in the city). For a bio of the owner, check out our Get To Know Your Community section on owner Joe Peterson.

4. What can I do for fun in this neighbourhood?

JOHN: People watch and people talk. There are all sorts of “performers” skipping and dancing and twirling around The Drive. Such folks are great to watch – you can’t help but smile at the stick-twirling antics of Cloud Man – and even better to chat with. Their stories will give you a true sense of the neighbourhood, especially if you ask people what they think about the Olympics.

One of many sites to see.

One of many sites to see.

KURT: Another groovy thing about the drive is the wealth of street and mural art that adorns its walls and sidewalks. There are a number of great murals. To learn more about the murals in the area, check out this earlier post on the Gumboot about the Eastside Mural Project. In addition to the murals of Richard Tetrault, there are a ton of other great ones all along the street.

5. What are your three favourite things about The Drive?

JOHN: First, it’s all about the sense of community and how people are so passionate about preserving their businesses, homes, parks, and public spaces in a way that reflects their collective values. Second, the cultural history of the neighbourhood (did you know that English, while the most commonly spoken tongue, is a minority language in the Grandview-Woodland area?); during a visit to The Drive, a friend of mine from Calgary was heard to say, “this neighbourhood reminds me of New York City, and we have nothing like it in Calgary.” Third and finally, I love the struggle – for me it is both external and internal because of who I am and what I represent – for the future of the Grandview Woodlands community: will it succumb to Yuppification or retain it’s grunge and edginess? Only time will tell!

Joe Peterson

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Joe in action and always smiling.

Joe in action and always smiling.

Who are you?

I’ve been asking myself that since I was 16 years old and still don’t have an answer.  As far as simple stats go my name is Joe Peterson, from Vancouver, BC, still here, 5’9”, skinny, like long walks and puppies.

What do you do for fun?

Make coffee then ride my bike then make more coffee.

What is your favourite community and why?

Growing up in Vancouver I’ve lived in just about every community in the city.  Some I fit in much better than others, but I think the Commercial Drive area is my fave.  It’s not like other parts of the city where you ignore your neighbor or look the other way if someone is getting mugged.  Here people look out for one another, say hi to complete strangers, don’t give false directions to tourists for kicks and give more than take.  This has been my experience with the Drive and why it’s a great community.

What is your superpower?

Turning black, dry, bean like things into liquid gold.

How do you use it to build community?

This superpower allows me to provide a space (The Bump N Grind café) for people in the community.  Whether it be to meet old friends, new friends, hold study groups, poetry slams, art showings, or just a place to go when your roommate sucks.

My three favourite things about Joe are…

1. His sunny disposition. Joe’s always smiling. He’s smiling when you walk int he door. He’s smiling when he’s brewing you up some of the best coffee in the city. He’s smiling when you realize you didn’t bring enough change for your drink and will need to “get him back” next time.

2. His community space. The Bump n’Grind is more than just a cafe. For me it’s a place I can go to relax, spend some alone time, and take in some great art while I read. It’s also a mecca for all sorts of interesting people who all share a love for Joe’s coffee. It’s for terrific people watching. Finally, it’s got one of the most kick ass bathrooms I’ve ever seen – why? You’ll have to head over to the Bump to find out.

3. He does what he loves. Music, coffee, dogs and art. What do all of these have in common? I like all of these things. And so does Joe. A lot. He’s also managed to build his career around them. To love one’s work and be surrounded by things one loves isn’t always easy. But it’s something Joe’s managed to pull off.

As told by Kurt Heinrich…

Getting to Know Your Community Art

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I get to enjoy this mural everyday on my way to work along the Adanac bike route.

I get to enjoy this mural everyday on my way to work along the Adanac bike route.

Community art is one of those things that makes a huge difference in adding color and vibrancy to a neighborhood. One of my favorite things about the Commercial Drive area is the abundance of it on walls, alleys and tucked in corridors almost everywhere you look. Not only does community art serve to promote local artists, its often also pretty participatory (allowing everyone – rich and poor – to take part in it everyday).

artcycle1A good example of this is the recently completed Eastside Mural Project, which brought together 60 local artists, students and  community members to create roughly 8,000 sq. feet of murals all over the Commercial Drive and Strathcona communities. Here’s what mural project was all about according to its organizers:

A quartet of four community-based murals sponsored by Britannia Community Services Society and coordinated by Richard Tetrault has been painted in East Vancouver this summer, marking Britannia High School’s Centennial and celebrating its place within the community. These public murals express some of the history, traditions and contemporary life in the surrounding neighbourhoods.  Strathcona, Commercial Drive and Hastings/Sunrise are dynamic parts of Vancouver, and home to hundreds of artists, arts events and festivals. These include the annual Heart of the City Festival and Eastside Culture Crawl. This set of murals explore the rich qualities of this area, drawing from events, individuals and narratives found within this community.

Talk about colorful!

Talk about colorful!

Community murals like these have the added benefit of creating community landscape that’s less likely to be defaced by graffiti and tags (not that there’s anything wrong with artistic graffiti). In fact, part of the funding for the whole project came from the East Van Community Policing Centre.

If you’re interested in learning more about the public art of East Vancouver, make sure to check out the Eastside Mural Project’s website and take part in their upcoming art cycle (taking place from 2:15 till 5:00PM on October 3), which will be led by Richard as well as Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.

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Neighbourhood Stores: Building Community and Fighting Climate Change

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Vancouver Main Street Chinatown

There are a bunch of neighbourhoods in Vancouver that eke vibrant and distinct community. Commercial Drive, Chinatown, Main Street, Kits along the Broadway Corridor, Fraser’s Punjabi Market, the West End’s Davie Village, and Hastings and Nanaimo to name just a few. What makes these areas so interesting and vibrant is the dozens of small retail shops, restaurants, groceries, cafes, bookstores, and bars that line the streets.

In these neighbourhoods people walk to pick up their groceries and the sidewalks tend to be jammed with all sorts of different folks.

I always knew I liked these places because they created an intimate community of urban dwellers. But recently, I discovered another thing that’s neat about these neighborhood shopping areas. They’re also doing their part to fight climate change.

Here’s the reasoning:

According to a number of recent studies, in the late 1970s, the average household drove 1,200 miles a year for shopping. That figure has skyrocketed to about 3,600 miles today. When you need to drive to the big mega-mart or Safeway dozens of kilometers away to buy some groceries, milk, laundry detergent or bread few times a week, it tends to add up over a lifetime. Add to this the general trend of people seeking less and less dense neighbourhoods and your commuting time to the local grocery chain grows exponentially.

But  a of that is starting to change as many young couples begin to embrace a more dense urban lifestyle (sans the backyard and sandbox). When people live closer together, that means more small businesses and stores can be supported. In addition, according to many academics who study travel behavior,  people who live near small stores walk more for errands and, when they do drive, their trips are shorter. More surprising is that small retailers influence how likely people are to take public transit to work. All that walking and cycling can add up to significant emission reductions in the long term.

Intrigued by all this? Check out a more detailed analysis in this great article at Grist. And in the meantime, the next time you decide to cycle over to your local store instead of hitting up the big uber-grocery-mart, give yourself a pat on the back. Your building community and helping the environment, all at the same time.

Our NIMBY Dilemma

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We live on Commercial Drive. Behind our apartment is an alleyway frequented by dozens of bottle scavengers as well as a growing colony of homeless people and drifters. The colony is lodged under an overhang parking area.

During the winter time, my partner sometimes dropped off hot soup or food for the residents living there. There were only one or two people living there at the time, which made sense considering the cold (read: rainy) and inhospitable Vancouver winters. Now as spring turns to summer, the population of the overhang has grown.

Initially, we didn’t have any problem with this. Our homeless neighbours weren’t bothering anyone. The minimal increase in garbage around the alley was a pain in the ass, but that was really the only issue.

Then as new folks joined the older residents, things began to change. More scavenging around the area made us feel a bit more self conscious about the possibility of crime in the area. And then there was the noise.

At first it was just a shout here and there. But often it seemed to be party time at the colony with all manner of yelling at 11 PM 12 AM, 4 AM etc. In the afternoons we watched as a white Mercedes cruised around passing out vials to our neighbours. We weren’t quite sure why, but this was frustrating.

While we can handle the dealing; the noise is a problem. Neither of us enjoy being woken constantly through the night to loud hooting or screaming arguments.

Ultimately, we’ll soon see just how effectively community can transcend income and status. The next time there is a loud flare up (and we aren’t too groggy / lazy to get up), we’re planning on wandering over to talk to our neighbours. We’ll kindly ask if they mind keeping the noise down. We’re hopeful that the fact that while drugs and booze may be an issue, the dictum of sharing common community space will prevail. If it doesn’t (or if the drugs cloud out neighbourly decency), we’ll most certainly find ourselves in a very difficult NIMBY dilemma.

It’s a dilemma we don’t want to find ourselves in, because the alternative of calling the cops is not appealing at all.