The list of Jane’s Walks in New Westminster is growing by the day.
Last week, the Record told the story of Mary Wilson, an avid walker who brought the global movement to the Royal City in 2013. The three-day event, inspired by writer and activist Jane Jacobs, encourages people to lace up their sneakers and either join or lead a walk in their community. The idea is simple – get to know your neighbourhood, become an engaged citizen, and cities will flourish as a result.
Telling the tale of Billy Miner
Wilson has dubbed Dale Darychuck’s stroll along the Glenbrook Ravine as the most popular route to date.
“It’s new and improved each year,” he said of the walk, which attracted about a dozen people the first year and more than 40 last year. “We’ll rediscover the Glenbrook Creek as it was before it disappeared under pavement.”
But Version 3.0 has a bit of a twist.
Darychuck, along with his daughter and some drama students, will perform a skit featuring the notorious Billy Miner. The American criminal, who was known for his good manners during holdups, was sentenced to 25 years at B.C. Penitentiary after a failed train robbery in the early 1900s.
“He was a bit of a folk hero. He was met at the train station in New West by cheers of people,” Darychuck noted of Miner’s rise in popularity.
The group plans to re-enact the day the Gentleman Bandit escaped from the penitentiary.
“They were walking up the ravine, and at that time, there were ponds. It was summertime and there were these young boys skinny dipping,” Darychuck said. “Billy started talking to them, but as he left, he told them, ‘If anyone comes along and asks if you’ve seen me, what are you going to say?’ The boys caught on and it wasn’t until many years later they were able to tell their story.”
Miner was never recaptured in Canada and eventually died in a Georgia prison.
For Darychuck, he hopes the small anecdote adds “flavour and colour” to the tour.
“Communities are what make life happen. Jane’s Walk is a great idea to allow people to meet each other and get to know their communities better,” he explained. “It fosters conversations, and walking is a great way to do that.”
The Glenbrook Ravine tour is scheduled for May 3 at 11 a.m. Participants are asked to meet at the Canada Games Pool entrance.
Granite, andesite, marble, oh my!
Coun. Patrick Johnstone plans to take his group on a historic journey that spans 250 million years.
With a master’s degree in geology from Simon Fraser University, the newly elected city councillor will teach walkers a thing or two about Geology 101 as they walk by some of the city’s oldest buildings.
“I’ll talk about the rock cycle and about the basics of how we identify different kinds of rocks,” Johnstone told the Record. “We’ll learn how building stones were used and how this changed over time.”
Some Paleontology 101 will also be included.
“There are some fossils in the rocks in some of the stones that were used for construction, and it’s fun to point those out,” he said.
When asked what types of fossils exist around town, Johnstone said he didn’t want to “give all his secrets away.”
“What I can tell you is that there are a lot of beautiful ammonites from the Jurrasic era.”
While Johnstone plans to share facts and figures during his Jane’s Walk, he encourages everyone to become a walk leader and not feel intimidated.
“The idea is not necessarily for it to be a guided walk, but to have a walking conversation,” he added. “Anyone can do it. It’s easy to follow a walk; it’s much more fun to lead it.”
New West, according to the geologist, is definitely a city Jane Jacobs would be proud of.
“It’s one of the areas in the Lower Mainland that is most reaching towards that, despite some of the challenges we’ve had,” Johnstone said.
To attend this tour, meet in front of the Judge Begbie Statue, a five-minute walk along Carnarvon from New Westminster SkyTrain station, on May 2 at 2 p.m.
Taking in the view
Think New York High Line, but with better views.
That’s what resident Roland Guasparini envisions when he walks on the top deck of the downtown parkade. With the western side of the structure expected to be bulldozed, Guasparini wants to spark the imagination of pedestrians, to get them thinking of ways to beautify the space.
“I thought this would be a good incentive for me to learn even more, plus we’re also trying to talk to city council about letting us keep our parkade,” he said. “I thought it would be a nice opportunity with the Pier Park overpass now open, to make a continuous loop around.”
The city approved the parkade’s deconstruction last year. Since then, residents like Guasparini have come forward arguing the space provides a connection between downtown and the waterfront.
“Rather than spend the money on demolishing a piece of history that connects us, why don’t we put it into making it nice to look at and show more people how it connects us?” he said.
Stops along this Jane’s Walk include Old Crow Coffee, the Wine Factory and the Larco development site.
It’s happening on May 3 at 1 p.m. Meet at the Fourth Street and Columbia entrance to the parkade.
