Pedestrian Planning Changing the Public Realm in Vancouver

Frances Bula reports on the visible signs of pedestrian-oriented planning in the city of Vancouver.

In the past ten years, according to Bula, the city has added "100 curb bulges (corners where the sidewalk is extended into the usual crosswalk space to reduce the street-crossing time), 10 raised crosswalks, 730 intersections with countdown timers, at least three street closings to create new public hanging-out spaces, several street parklets that convert parking spaces to patios and dozens of new curb ramps, along with the requirement for wider sidewalks…"

The city has also required buildings to be setback to allow more space for sidewalks on busy commercial streets, or taking space from cars.

All of those changes have been implemented with a minimal amount of controversy in the public, according to Bula, in a city where new bike lanes can still cause controversies.