A Walkable Thunder Bay

Written by: Stasia Starr, Thunder Bay District Health Unit, public health nurseI was recently in Las Vegas on holidays with my husband. What we enjoyed most wasthe experience of walking the strip. As we wandered along, we were sort of mindlesslyswept along by the activity on the street. There were lots of shops to peek into, streetentertainment, music, bright lights, places to have a coffee or a snack and, of course, thepeople.When we returned, I thought about what would help to make Thunder Bay a morewalkable community. There are already lots of great local coffee shops and lunchvenues located along great walkable sections of town. Plus, in the warmer months youare invited to enjoy your beverage outside on fun and interesting outdoor nooks. Butwhat could be improved is the street activity.When streets are animated, we are far more likely to linger and enjoy. We need to createa better balance between the space for vehicle use and for people wanting to walk orcycle. For example, walkers feel unsafe when traffic speeds are high, so we can slowtraffic down by narrowing the streets and making the sidewalks larger. In order to makea space feel more inviting, we can plant trees, use more plants and natural grasses, andadd benches to ensure pedestrians have a place to rest. We might also choose to closestreets to vehicles to give pedestrians clear and safe places to walk.We need to stop and ask ourselves, “Are we building our cities for cars or for people?”We need to act today to ensure that our children and grandchildren can walk or cycleto their work, leisure or recreation spots and to build a sense of community for years tocome. This is what I want for my community – what do you want?