Lying between bustling downtown business hubs and Stanley Park, Vancouver’s West End is a very special neighbourhood. It’s a place where birds sing and heritage houses become museums, community facilities, and B&Bs. Cherry blossoms line the streets in early spring, tulips pop out in late April, and a lush green canopy hangs over roadways throughout the summer. It’s also a place where traffic circles have gardens.
Haro and Broughton
Haro and Jervis
Nelson and Jervis
Nelson and Comox
Nelson and Comox
Broughton and Barclay
These gardens are all maintained by volunteers through the City of Vancouver’s Green Streets program. There are currently over 350 street gardens around Vancouver that are cared for by volunteers and marked with yellow signs.
We’re very fortunate to live in a place where so many colourful blossoms line our paved thoroughfares, adding a breathe of fresh air and summer spirit to our daily routines.
Should you spot a green sign, that means the space is available for gardening and you can apply to become its volunteer gardener. If your neighbourhood doesn’t have a traffic circle, you can apply for one of those too.
If you’ve ever driven to or from Vancouver International Airport (“YVR”) then you have traveled along Grant McConachie Way. This road on Sea Island was named after bush pilot Grant McConachie, a man who Chuck Davis referred to as “a genuine Canadian hero”.
Even as a young man, owning only an old Fokker, he envisioned a polar route to Europe — a dream that 30 years later his Canadian Pacific DC-8s would fulfill.
George William ‘Grant’ McConachie was born in Hamilton, Ontario, on April 24, 1909. He grew up in Edmonton and read everything he could about aircraft. Grant frequented the Edmonton airfield, begging and sometimes getting rides with famous Canadian bush pilots like Punch Dickins and Wop May. The young enthusiast paid for his flying lessons by looking after their aircraft, finally soloing in a DH Moth after only seven hours instruction.
By 1931, at the age of 22 he had his commercial pilot s licence, and he set out for China to fly for Chinese National Airways. On his way, McConachie stopped off in Vancouver to visit his Uncle Harry This was the first of two fateful meetings in the bush pilot s life. Uncle Harry not wanting to lose his nephew to what was then a country at war with the Japanese, bought him a dilapidated, second-hand Fokker to start his own airline.
Gran McConachie, a pioneer in Canadian aviation, started flying regular mail and passenger flights to Whitehorse from Edmonton in 1937, first with his company United Air Transport and then with its successor, Yukon Southern Air Transport Limited. Planes used floats in summer and skis in winter, but McConachie soon realized that year round operations were more economical using runways. Whitehorse already had a runway but otherwise northern airstrips were very few and very far between. McConachie set about to remedy the situation, and in 1938 he hired men to clear airstrips in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson using small tractors and horse teams.
The next summer McConachie started to clear an airstrip at Watson Lake. McConachie paved the way for the Department of Transport’s survey engineers when they arrived to survey for the Northwest Staging Route. When the route became important to the military, McConachie provided knowledge and advice on how to improve facilities and the route.
Canadian Pacific Airlines launched on this day in history (May 1, 1942) and McConachie signed on as General Manager after selling them his Yukon Southern Air Transport. Canadian Pacific operated from 1942 to 1987, and from 1968 to 1986 as CP Air. It was based out of Vancouver and was eventually purchased by Canadian Airlines. In 1947, McConachie was elected President of the airline by its Board of Directors and helped it grow to become the second largest carrier in the country.
Under McConachie, CP Air would fly international and trans-Atlantic routes with destinations like Amsterdam, Australia, Hong Kong, Sydney, Lima, and Shanghai between 1942 and 1964.
On October 24th 1968, three years after his passing, Grant McConachie Way opened to traffic leading up to YVR.
The next Public Salon in Vancouver will be taking place May 16th as experts, thinkers, innovators, and leaders of their field are invited to the stage at the Vancouver Playhouse. They will each get a few minutes to share a piece of their world with an audience and present on a variety of topics.
Past speakers have included MLA Wally Oppal, Ryan Holmes (Founder of HootSuite), Top Chef Canada’s Dale MacKay, Mark Brand (Boneta, Save on Meats), Tsawwassen Chief Kim Baird, Terry McBride (CEO, Nettwork Music), John Fluevog, Ken Lum, and more.
History
“For 10 Years Global Civic Founder Sam Sullivan hosted private salons over dinner with about 10 invited guests from a broad cross-section of the community. His friend and mentor Prof. Abraham Rogatnick was a frequent guest and just before he died he urged Sullivan to bring the benefits of the salon to a broader public. As a tribute to his friend Abraham, Sullivan decided to do just that. The Public Salon presents public policy ideas and promotes public discussion of them.”
The Public Salon on May 16th will run from 7:30pm until 9:00pm with an optional pre-show dinner at 6:00pm. Tickets are $16 in advance, $20 at the door, and $90 for the dinner along with premiere circle seats for the salon.
Social
You can follow the presenters on their Twitter accounts (if listed above) and follow @GlobalCivic on Twitter along with the tag #publicsalon on the night of the event.
I had the chance to attend a Public Salon in November and I found it to be inspirational, thought-provoking, and highly entertaining. I believe this is due to the brief length of the talks, the varied topics, and the caliber of the speakers. If you would like to attend this next Public Salon on May 16th, I have two tickets available to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment here naming 1 Vancouverite you’d love to see give a talk (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a pair of tickets to @GlobalCivic’s #PublicSalon from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/aDcBG
I will draw one winner at 12:00pm on Monday, May 7, 2012. Update The winner is Mary!
The BMO Vancouver Marathon is happening this coming Sunday, May 6th and they have two new courses to showcase. The route will wind through neighbourhoods and around shorelines, from Queen Elizabeth Park to Pacific Spirit Park and UBC, clear through to Stanley Park and the Sea Wall.
Traffic disruption will occur in the West End, Coal Harbour, Chinatown, Yaletown, Riley Park, South Cambie, Kerrisdale, Dunbar, UBC, Kitsilano, Point Grey, and False Creek.
Organizers want to make sure the public is aware of this major event and that the Sea Wall will be closed entirely to pedestrian traffic from 9:00am to 12:00pm on Sunday — from Second Beach to Lumberman’s Arch. One lane will be open on the Sea Wall from 8:00am to 4:00pm around English Bay and Coal Harbour. This is to accomodate both the full and half marathon runners.
Major road closures will be 33rd & Main St (local access only, 12:00am to 11:00am), Cambie from 29th to 41st (6:00am to 9:00am), Burrard from Pender to Hastings (1 lane 6:00am to 4:00pm), Pender from Burrard to Georgia (westbound lanes closed 6:00am to 4:00pm), and all Stanley Park Roads (excluding the causeway) will be closed from 7:00am to 10:30am. Download this PDF document for a full list of closures.
Charlene Krepiakevich, Executive Director of the Vancouver International Marathon Society said: “Runners are eager to participate in the inaugural launch of our new courses. Building on the 40 year legacy of this event, the BMO Vancouver Marathon has now become a Canadian flagship event, is a Boston and NY qualifier and is now recognized as a Forbes top 10 destination marathon.”
This is the most significant traffic plan (600 pages) since the Vancouver 2010 Olympics as it covers 63 kilometers and could affect over 33,000 residents. Any residents or visitors with questions or concerns can call the 24-hour service line at (604) 872-2928. Follow the BMO Vancouver Marathon on Twitter for news and updates.
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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Unpaid, Personal Opinion — I was not paid to write this post or any other. This post is not an endorsement or advertisement. I have a genuine interest in this development as we have lived in the West End (in view of the buildings) for several years. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
Being a West End resident for the last six years, I’ve been watching the gold and brown Pacific Palisades towers undergo a transformation. I don’t cover real estate development often, but it’s been interesting to see the Robson and Jervis based hotel buildings (circa the 1960s) shift into rental properties.
Now owned by Austeville Properties, Pacific Palisades (“PaPa on Robson”) is hosting an open house on May 5th as they near completion of their remodel from a hotel to rental suites. They gave me a hard-hat tour of the Robson Tower and a few of their one bedroom and studio suites.
The furnishings in the presentation suites that will be open during Saturday’s event are all from CB2 which is located at the foot of the Robson Tower.
The Alberni Tower (750 Jervis) is 23 floors with 128 suites (42 studio, 84 one bedroom, 2 one bedroom penthouses). The Robson Tower (788 Jervis) has 106 suites on 20 floors (34 studio, 68 one bedroom, and 4 one bedroom penthouses). Studios start at $1100/month and one bedrooms start at $1500/month.
The former covered pool area for the hotel has been completely re-done into an amenities building for the two towers. It will feature a bike workshop, laundry, and public art space. The property is smoke-free and WIFI is available in the common area.
Stop by the rental centre at 1289 Robson Street from 11:30am until 5:00pm on Saturday, May 5, 2012 to learn more. Visitors will also be entered to win $500 to spend at CB2. You can view more photos of the transformation on the PaPa Flickr account.
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