OPEN - No registration required - just show up for the walk as there is no limit to the number of participants 

***Note, some of this walk will be to walk in silence***

Description: We will explore the soundscape of Lakewood Drive, starting at the foot of Lakewood at Dundas where industrial sounds dominate, and ending at Trout Lake where animal and human activity intermingle. 

Walk Leader(s): Cary is a musician and educator who has been exploring sound education for many years (he is collaborating with another New Curriculum Group member, Thomas Hoeller, on a music workbook which is free on our website). Marion is an urban studies graduate student at SFU. Living in Vancouver, she has deep appreciation for its soundscape and non-human life forms. Living off of Commercial Drive, both Cary and Marion walk up Lakewood Drive regularly, and want to explore the different soundscapes of this historically significant route that leads us to Trout Lake.

Starting place: Cambridge Park on Wall Street

Ending Location: The goal of our walk is to end up at Trout Lake around sunset, when the animal activity is at its highest! 

Duration: 90-120min

How to recognize your walk leader(s): We will have a sign that says "Jane's Walk/Tuning In" and we will congregate in the grass.

Accessibility Info: Uneven terrain, Busy sidewalks, Strong odours, Loud noises, Family-friendly, Wheelchair user-friendly, Pet-friendly, The main challenge will be to remain silent - let's try to communicate our needs without words. Cary and I will remain vigilant to the group to ensure we don't go too fast or beyond anyone's abilities, and try to do this without speaking.

Travel Tips: Transit or Biking is recommended as we are not doing a loop. Cambridge Park is close to Powell and Victoria, so aim to get to that intersection if taking transit.

Special Instructions:  The bulk of our walk will be a silent group walk!

Photo courtesy of City of Vancouver (https://covapp.vancouver.ca/ParkFinder/parkdetail.aspx?inparkid=50 and https://covapp.vancouver.ca/parkfinder/parkdetail.aspx?inparkid=85)

*REGISTRATION REQUIRED - this walk is by registration only, please REGISTER HERE for this walk.

Description: In a few decades between the 1890s to 1910s, Commercial Drive (formerly Park Drive) transformed from an isolated skid road for hunters and loggers to become a part of the longest Interurban network in Canada, with access as far as Chilliwack. The Interurban was an important social connector in the emerging Metro Vancouver, bringing people together to work and play. Aspects of life both on the rails and in the surrounding community, with a focus on Grandview Woodland will be shared during the walk. 

We will also share stories of neighbourhood street names, unique changes in the streetscapes where the Interurban ran, the end of the life of these lines and their relation to today’s Skytrain infrastructure. 

The information to be shared in this walk has largely been gathered indirectly from books, historical maps, and photographs.  A special thanks is to be given to the Grandview Woodland Heritage Group for helping me gather resources on the topic and share some personal anecdotes about the final years of the lines.

Walk Leader: Megan Stenftenagel - Megan is a Grandview Woodland resident and multimodality enthusiast. She works as an architect at Perkins&Will in Vancouver with experience on designing transit, cultural, mixed-use, and multifamily projects. Her interest in transportation systems grew largely during the couple of years she lived and worked in Germany, where massive stations, trains, trams, cycling networks, and pedestrian only zones challenged her existing concepts of car dependence and what effective mobility looks like. Closer to home, learning about the former vibrancy of the streetcar and Interurban network in Vancouver inspired Megan to dive deeper into learning and sharing this history within her neighbourhood. 

Starting place: McSpadden Park

Ending Location: Frances and Commercial 

Duration: 2 hours

How to recognize your walk leader(s): Will be holding a sign 

Accessibility Info: Busy sidewalks, Breaks offered along the way, Fast-paced, covering lots of ground, Loud noises, Family-friendly, Bicycles welcome, Pet-friendly, flat terrain, sidewalks

Travel Tips: For our transit users, the starting point is near the Commercial Broadway station, and the end point is close to the R5 bus at Hastings/Commercial.