In Other News - April 20, 2011

Hey, Mayor Ford, we need to do this too:

Step Forward Hamilton

Of course, it doesn't look promising that pedestrian concerns are taken seriously by the Ford administration...

Toronto Star - City Scrapping Pedestrian Committee among others

How Stuff Works on Urban Exploring

Urban Exploring

Europe makes plans to clean city air

2050

Remember Participaction?  It's back!  (Did it ever really go away or did we just lose interest)

Nordic Walking

Walk for a good cause

Oxfam Trail Walker

The Art of Taking a Stroll

Torontoist - Pedestrian Art

Pacing Hospital Floors

There were no big hikes this week.  No exploring neighbourhoods. Hardly any dog walks.  No lurking in coffee haunts to write. There was a lot of pacing of hospital floors.

  

Both my husband and I came down with colds late last week, severe enough to wipe us out.   When our daughter became ill over the weekend, we chalked it up to something she ate and tiredly tucked her between us.  I made a feeble attempt to clock in a few hours at work on Sunday before I got sent home.  My daughter was still ill, so my husband tucked her and I in together while he went out, sick, to grab some supplies and food basics to tide us over.  While he was gone, my daughter became dramatically ill, so I called him home and he ran her to the emergency room.  I waited up, struggling against medicated drowsiness, for them to come home.  At some point in time, I must have fallen asleep because my son woke me up, frantic for me to help him get off to school on time.  My husband wasn’t beside me.  My daughter wasn’t in her bed.  They had never made it back home.  

My husband called just as I was reaching for the phone to check for messages.  She was being admitted.  Her fever was really bad.  She was severely dehydrated.  I got my son on the school bus, grabbed a taxi and made my way over there.  

It didn’t really hit me how bad it was until I got there.  She was ashen.  Hot.  Cerulean eyes turned dark and leaden.  She was incapable of focusing on a point, on my face or my eyes.  She rambled and complained of being dizzy.  At the height of her fever she wouldn’t speak at all.  She was hooked up to an IV.  She looked so small and fragile.

No one should ever see their child that way. 

Most weeks I’ll log in more than my fair share of kilometres roaming around the city, this week they were logged in a hospital room, overlooking the very trail that she and I have spent hours strolling together, deep in mother/daughter confidences.  

It wasn’t that long ago when flus and stomach illnesses and other things that we now just casually shrug away would regularly kill people.  And it’s easy to see how someone, in just a few short days, can go from being healthy and vibrant and vital to seriously ill.  I’ve often taken these things for granted.  I’ve stuffed myself with over-the-counter meds and carried on with life.  But I have respect now for the need to just stop and let the body deal and heal.  And I have learned to appreciate every little moment because it can be taken from you in a heart beat.  

It’s not over yet.  She’s out of the hospital now and with us.  But this illness seems to have aggravated some ongoing health problems that we have been puzzling over for the last year.  In the weeks to come there will be more poking and prodding and doctors and specialists.  But I’m going to make sure that I take some time with her, just the two of us, and walk with her hand in hand.  And I will be thankful.  

Spring is Here!

It was glorious today.  Warm enough to leave behind the hats and mitts.  Warm enough to inspire the dogs to sniff about excitedly.  Warm enough for a small troupe of kindergardeners to head out to look for "signs of spring".  And then I came across them.  Vibrant bed of crocus.  Energizing and refreshing.  Purples and yellows shocking after the long white winter accented in browns.

First a howling blizzard woke us,

Then the rain came down to soak us,

And now before the eye can focus -

Crocus.  

Lilja Rogers

Strolling along the Humber

The Humber, as seen between Cruikshank and Lions Park, near the intersection
of Lawrence Ave. W and Weston Road, Etobicoke

[This is an intro to a series of walks that I will be posting in relation to the Humber River.  While I have have walked the whole of the river from the City boundaries to the Lake, I have yet to attempt an full, unbroken trek from the top of the city to the bottom, but have plans to do so in 2011. ]

Toronto has the unique distinction of having Canada’s only designated urban Canadian Heritage River flowing through it’s bounds, the Humber River.  This beautiful river gently dissects the city from top to bottom with a graceful, peaceful ribbon of green.  The river is one of two that divides the city, creating natural geographical boundaries that physically separate the city into distinct regions.  The other is The Don River Valley on the East side of the City.  I have yet to make my way to the Don yet, but I’m slowly moving eastward in my treks and hopefully I can start some trekking there this summer.

Temporarily Tamed by Winter's Touch

What makes the Humber so culturally important and why should you care?  First and foremost it is beautiful.  It wends and twists and gently curves it’s way to Lake Ontario.  Old trees grace it’s shores.  A multitude of birds and animals, including deer, can be spied near it’s banks, bringing the wilderness straight the city.  It has carved deep ravines through the city creating an oasis of peace and silence.  You can be conscious that the city’s hustle and bustle might lay just beyond the crest of that hill but be so far removed from it that all cares and worries are forgotten.  At first glance, it seems slow and calm, but watch the water flow over many of the engineered spillways along its route and witness its mighty power.  At its end, it swells and slows and supports a serene marsh.

 Summerlea Park, Winter 2011

It was first used as a trading and portage route for our First Nations peoples and the “Toronto Carrying Place Trail” follows it’s banks.  Earliest evidence of human settlement along this river points back in time to a possible 10,000 years of human impact on the river.  

Late Fall 2010, Pine Point Park

There is debate as to whether Étienne Brûlé, on behalf of Samuel de Champlain, became the first European to explore and live along the banks of the river, establishing trade and diplomatic relations with the First Peoples here.  One park along the banks of the river is named after him, however many scholars now believe he may have actually located much further west.   

Summer 2010, Magwood Park, Etobicoke

The Humber was vital to the early development of the city.  Fort Toronto was founded at it’s foot where it met Lake Ontario and was a temporary home of the first Lieutenant Governor Simcoe when he first arrived in the area.  Settlement continued to grow outwards from the Fort.  Over time the fast flowing waters powered numerous lumber and grist mills along its banks, providing the materials to build the city and strengthen its economy.  

Kipling Heights Park [not 100% sure on that one - may have been further up river],

Winter 2011, Etobicoke

On the night of October 15, 1954, Hurricane Hazel struck the City with great force.  It is rare for a Hurricane to make its way this far in land, usually they dissipate in strength once they hit landfall, and indeed, while this storm had been downgraded to a tropical storm, it proved to be a powerful one.  Already, it had caused horrendous devastation in Haiti.  It tore through the Carolinas and, instead of losing power, then steamrolled its way northwest to Toronto.  Despite, what was for the time, very accurate weather forecasts, few people paid heed to the warnings.  Storms of this strength had never been experienced here and the naïveté of Torontonians created a lax atmosphere that was unprepared for what was to come.  The storm raged late into the evening.   The water table was already saturated from heavy rains experienced the week prior.  Streams, rivers and creeks were at their peak.  The stage was set for a disaster.  

Memorial to Victims of Hurricane Hazel, Raymore Park, Etobicoke.  This memorial
incorporates 

the remains of a bridge swept away by flood waters. 

The rains of the evening proved too much and large flash floods raged through the City along the Humber River, Don River and Etobicoke Creek, taking residents by surprise.  Many houses were ripped from their foundations, bobbing their way along the rushing waters towards the lake; some residents spending a cold terrifying night on their roofs, waiting for rescue that could not come.  Efforts to aid victims were hampered by the strength of the currents and an inability to find boats of sufficient horsepower to navigate the waters.  Many of the rescuers quickly became stranded themselves or lost their lives to the raging currents.  Thousands were instantly rendered homeless.  Eight-one lives were lost that evening.  Bridges were washed out throughout the city, creating traffic snarls for months after.  Several highways and rail lines were washed away, including the 401, creating headaches to find alternate means to move goods across the country.  To this day, with an estimated cost of at least $1 billion of today’s currency, it remains the largest natural disaster ever recorded in Canada.

Memorial to firefighters lost in the chaos of October 15, 1954.
Their firetruck was swept away as they attempted a rescue.
Home Smith Park, Etobicoke

The Canadian military was called in to deal with relief efforts and clean up.  Relief agencies immediately went into action, raising millions of dollars of funds from all over the world.  Provincial and federal governments expropriated much of the property along these rivers and placed strong restrictions on further development.  National flood plain management and strategies were implemented nationwide to prevent similar disasters elsewhere.  The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority was created to help manage these areas.  These areas are now planned as flood zones, where water can be allowed to move freely through the City without major impact on nearby residents.  Spillways, dams, retention walls and other engineered features along the river help to restrain and minimize flooding and direct the water when needed.  Yet even with all that management, the River is one to be respected.  Flash floods still do occur especially during the Spring thaws or after heavy rains.  Its current is strong.  Along it’s banks lie memorials to victims, many children who have been caught within its grip.  

I shamefully wish I could tell you exactly where this picture was taken, but 

I seriously need to work on my note-taking skills...  Winter, 2011

But out of that horrible devastation, Torontonians were given a special and unique gift.  Deep into the heart of the City, fingers of forestry and nature tangle their way seductively towards the Lake.  Deep forested ravines isolate portions of the rivers from the City creating sanctuaries of greenery and silence.  Long stretches of recreational zones have been created along its banks and are easily accessible to most within the City and provide opportunities for biking, hiking, jogging, rollerblading dog walking, boating and fishing.  Need a first date idea but not a lot of cash?  A stroll along the Humber’s many parks provides an idillic spot to picnic and walk hand in hand.  Bird enthusiast?  The Humber provides plenty of opportunity to spy your avian friends.  Avid cyclist looking for an opportunity to bike a long distance without City traffic?  The numerous bicycle paths along its banks negotiate steep hills and turns and it’s long distance is a good opportunity to work on your endurance.  Don’t have a car but want to experience nature?  This is close enough and is easily accessible all along it’s bank via the TTC.  A portion of the trail system is even accessible by subway via Old Mill station.  

Magwood Park, Summer 2010

In the following weeks, I will continue on with more in depth segments of the parks to be found along it’s path, in chunks that will allow for 2-3 hour hikes.  Several Discovery Walks also line it’s shores and I will focus on them as well.  Hopefully, I can aspire you to get out and take a hike, and if you’ve never been here before, experience a portion of the City that is like no other.  

A mural tribute to the Humber found at Loblaws near Dundas St. W. and Scarlett St.,
Etobicoke

Happy Trails!

Some links of interest:

http://trca.on.ca/protect/watersheds/humber-river/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Hazel

http://www.hurricanehazel.ca/

http://archives.cbc.ca/environment/extreme_weather/topics/77/

The Breakup

Dear Winter,

I really don't know any kinder, gentler way to break it to you so let me be blunt.  It's over.  I just can't see it working out anymore.  You have your thing and I have mine.  I have tried to live with who you are and what you do.  I have tried to love you just the way you are.  But I just can't do it anymore. Do you have to be so dark and gloomy?  Is it reasonable to delight in the one you love being curled in a corner, all SADD and blue?   In any relationship, there has to be a little bend, a little flexibility.  I have given myself over to you, thrown myself into your arms, dealt with your cold shoulders.  But like the good ship Enterprise, NC-1701, "I just canna take it anymore, Captain!".  You were all so seductive, soft and tempting at first and then once you had me, wham, you let it loose.  You have beaten me down with snow dumps and bitter cold, threatened me with massive icicles.  All the blankets, warm wooley socks and chocolate chili chai in the world have not sheltered me from your cold, bitter, icy heart. 

I made it clear we'd be "special friends" this year but I also made it clear that there would be an expiry date for our "friendship".  Spring has always meant more to my heart and I know she's coming, so you need to clear out before she moves in.  In case you didn't hear, the Spring Equinox was just a couple of days ago. And Wiarton Willie and Shubenacadie Sam both promised on your behalf that you'd be gone by now.  

I know what's going on, don't deny it.  Your little tantrum doesn't impress me much and it certainly isn't going to change the way I feel.  You have to accept the fact that we're through.  So go ahead, get it all out.  I'm patient, I can wait, but only for so long.  I'm sorry it had to be this way.  But I hope you know we'll always have January.  

In Other News, March 22, 2011

Check out the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority's (TRCA) web channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ChrisMooreTRCA

Urban Bare Feet:

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-12/fyi-it-safe-walk-barefoot-new-york-city

Toronto Graffiti Guide:

http://www.blogto.com/books_lit/2011/01/the_ultimate_guide_to_toronto_graffiti_/

William & Kate walking tour

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/922890--british-walking-tour-charts-royal-romance?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

A Cool Pedestrian Bridge in Iowa:

http://www.kcci.com/r-video/27172543/detail.html

Revelations

It’s always interesting in the late Winter and early Spring when the first snow melts are witnessed.  So much of our sins are hidden away by the snow and are revealed on masse with the first melts.  Many cultures revere this time as one of rebirth, but I look at it as a time of revelation.  Confessed in harsh brutal truth are the empty chip bags, lost receipts, cigarette cartons, paper mugs in Christmas designs, old notes, fast-food chain toys, mounds and mounds of dog pooh that had been kicked under the snow, old used condoms and discarded clothes.  It says a lot about who we are and our vices.  They can only be hidden for so long.  Sooner or later everything that is wrong about ourselves becomes revealed, often uncontrollably and we are forced to deal with it and clean up the mess.

I have had my own spring thaw during the last few months.  The revelation of a lot of personal things that I had been in denial about but which I could no longer ignore.  I have been in the throes of some soul crushing heartbreak and self-pity which I dealt with by burying myself in my work, my children, bad TV and even worse books.   Running and running on my treadmill.  I should have been walking.  It’s not to say that I wasn’t entirely on my feet.  Of course I kept up the dog walking.  There was one night spent wandering my neighbourhood in my pyjamas in the wee hours of the morning.  But there has been very little enjoyment in my walks the past few months and a whole lot of stumbling about, a little lost, dazed and confused.  But it’s Spring and time to set things right, clean up my own little mess and walk on.