Canada's Most Walkable City 2010: Victoria (w/ Video)
Find out why up! magazine ranked Victoria as the second Most Walkable City in Canada in 2010.
Few cities on the continent serve up eye candy like British Columbia's capital, with the snow-capped Olympic Mountains to the south, mythical Mount Baker to the east and forested hills within city limits.
Perhaps due to this visual bounty for those unobstructed by a windshield, car ownership is low and the result is "big-city density and amenities in a small-city package," says judge Chris Turner. "Victoria wins on two stats: 23.4 per cent of residents walk to work and 9.5 bike; by far the highest figure in the country and the essence of everyday walkability."
Given it's on an island, innovative use of space is as old as the 148-year-old city itself, and residents understand that roads are for everyone.
"Victoria offers some of the safest streets in Canada," says judge Gil Penalosa. "The green canopies, relationship to the water and meandering gardens offer commuters and wanderers alike an enjoyable walk. The connecting trails and nearly snow-less conditions offer year-round adventure in the heart of the city."
Neighbourhood Walk: Cook Street Village
Canada's West Coast vibes flow freely in Cook Street Village, where egalitarian cafes, locally loved restaurants and verdant streets are a short walk from the gardens of Beacon Hill Park, and the long, driftwood-strewn beaches of Dallas Road.
There are few neighbourhoods in the country that serve up such urban sophistication with a side of the epic outdoors.
This story was originally published in the May 2010 issue of up! magazine as part of the Canada's Most Walkable Cities 2010 feature, profiling 10 of Canada’s most pedestrian-friendly urban centres. Take a look at more of Canada's Most Walkable Cities.
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Based in Toronto, Tom Gierasimczuk's work has appeared in a variety of publications, including the Globe and Mail, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and OutPost magazine.
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JohnNewcomb
No argument that much of our Victoria region is very walkable, throughout the year. However, there are certainly areas of our region which are NOT very walkable, or cycle-able. Obviously, up! magazine is focused on tourism/travel, so the core areas of Victoria would be more interesting to you than the suburbs and outlying regions. For readers, I'd recommend the US-based "Walk-score" as a useful tool in comparing walkability of our cities and of neighbourhoods (walkscore.com/), but even that tool is deficient because it can't know your daily work commute, nor issues of crime risk, lack of sidewalks, etc.
However, quibbles aside, its a great article!
allison_upmagazine
You make a good point, John. There are certain areas of just about every city that aren't very walkable. Thanks for your comments!
George Allen
Great article! Glad to see the focus on one of the most critical elements of a livable urban environment. I would encourage those living in or visiting Victoria to pick up the excellent "Walk & Run Downtown Victoria" free map, available from member businesses of the Downtown Victoria Business Assoc. or by request from the Tourism Victoria Visitor Info Centre. The map includes 7 walking loops and 5 running loops, each 1-2 hrs. in length, that guide users through the best that Victoria has to offer, including Cook Village, as mentioned in the article.
East Coaster
I've heard excellent things about Victoria, but why are the photos (seemingly) of the same area just at different times of day?
:/
allison_upmagazine
Thanks for your comments! We received photos of the city from the local tourism folks, and when they all looked so nice, we decided to put them all up! Many of the photos feature the harbour, since it's such an iconic part of Victoria.
I did switch up the order of the photos in the slideshow, though, just to give a bit more variety. Happy trails!
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