Election 2011: Mary Tasi

1. What modes of transportation do you normally use within Metro Vancouver?

I live in Lower Lonsdale which has an amazing pedestrian friendly grid with smaller blocks for walking, so I walk to do most of my grocery shopping, banking, etc. (I also walk to my School Board and Advisory Planning Commission meetings at City Hall) If I am going over to Vancouver for meetings, I take the seabus and sky train and I walk. In my field of city planning expertise, new urbanism goals for a healthier and more liveable community include pedestrian and bicycle friendly lanes and pathways,and smaller blocks. I do feel the majority of people are presently not “commuter” bikers, so to get to a critical mass like some European cities, we need to do a better job of supporting the majority who want to be healthy but find our high inclines challenging to navigate at times with a bycicle.

2. How would you support and encourage parents and children to cycle to school to promote healthy and livable communities?

To support parents and children to cycle to school, I would encourage wider landscaped boulevards with bicycle racks, and I would restrict drop off and pick up parking in front of the school to essential or for handicapped only.

3. What role do you think the school board has in supporting and promoting cycling education and training for children?

The School Board can certainly play a role in creating policy around these issues. The challenge with vehicle congestion at pick up and drop off , and the need for more “walking or cycling school buses” has come up in informal Board discussions . I would personally suggest a committee comprised of the Environmental Team, and interested schools and community members to look at this issue in more depth, with achievable results and follow up.

Best regards,

Mary Tasi

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