Why:  

1) The school's safer school travel plan has identified this corridor, which the City of Victoria has retained ownership over, as a route which children would use to walk to school with greater safety.

2) The City of Victoria's Greenways Plan identified this corridor as important link in the chain of public walkways in the Fairfield area.  Providing the opportunity for more people to pursue walking for fitness and pleasure. Imagine a more pleasant stroll to Gonzales Beach.

3) Neighbours on Chandler Avenue have complained about the number of vehicles dropping off and picking up children on school days. Providing safer, and shorter, pedestrian routes means that fewer children will be driven to school.

4) Developing this greenway will provide children at Margaret Jenkins direct, safe access to the public green spaces of Pemberton Park.  Children will be able to use this park and playground  when their school fields are in poor condition. 

Where is it located?:

 

What does it look like in its present form?

While the ends of the path have been well hidden by the fences, ivy and undergrowth. It is still quite visible from the air  see: Aerial Photo of Pathway Location.


What Can You Do?:

Write a note to your municipal council or mayor.  Follow this link to a sample letter and email and phone addresses of appropriate mayor and council members.


 Sample Letter:

 

We request that the Gonzales-Chandler Pathway, a public right-of-way which the City of Victoria has retained ownership over, be converted to a greenway. This pathway provides a safe, direct pedestrian corridor for the students of Ecole Margaret Jenkins School and the residents of the upper and lower Gonzales neighbourhoods. 

The closure of this pathway means that children who travel from the upper Gonzales neighbourhood north of EMJS must detour over to Richmond Rd. or Foul Bay Rd. and back again to the school – or be driven by their parents. Anyone who has walked these routes knows of the high traffic volume on these roads, and of the risks faced by children as young as five negotiating these routes and street crossings, whether on foot or bicycle. 

The increased traffic volume in the vicinity the elementary school associated with this extra vehicular traffic poses a direct risk to the safety of all children. Providing pedestrian access also instills a positive lifelong habit of physical activity, which is especially important in our age of endemic childhood obesity and increasing carbon emissions. 

Furthermore, the greenway affords direct access to the safe green space and  facilities of Pemberton Park for the children attending Ecole Margaret Jenkins School and enrolled in the Fairfield Community Associations Out-of-School program.  This is particular important during periods when the schools fields are in poor condition.

 The re-opening of this pathway is recommended in the Gonzales Neighbourhood Plan (2002); the City Greenways Plan (2003); and the EMJS Safer School Travel Plan (2007). This initiative is endorsed by the EMJS Parent Advisory Committee, the Victoria Cycling Advisory Committee, and the ICBC sponsored “Way to Go Programme”.

 
 
You can write to the Victoria City Mayor and Council online via this page:
 
You can send a written letter to the Mayor and Council at the following address:
 
Victoria City Hall
#1 Centennial Square
Victoria, BC
V8W 1P6
 
 
 
 
 

Pathways Work!

Children walking to Monterey School through a very narrow (4ft) public pathway.

Children walking to Margaret Jenkins through a path in south Oak Bay.


Paths over much of Oak Bay make it a great destination for walkers.

image

 

See a map of existing pathways in the vicinity:

 

More Background: In the mid 1970s a pedestrian pathway which joined Pemberton Park (at Gonzales) with Margaret Jenkins Elementary (at Chandler) was closed due to complaints from neighbours adjoining the pathway.

This public right-of-way which the City of Victoria has retained ownership over, was identified by the 2006/07 EMJS Safer School Travel committee as an important opportunity  to improve pedestrian and bicycle access  to the school. 

The Safer School Travel program identified that Chandler Avenue is overly congested with vehicular traffic in the morning and poses a hazard to children. The survey of neighbours also determined that this amount of traffic was also an inconvenience and dangerous. Residents on Chandler suggested that one way to reduce vehicular traffic was to encourage children to walk to school.

While the SST committee have been encouraging children to walk or rider their bikes, and  parents to leave their cars at home or car pool  through newsletters, special events and contests - one of the greatest obstacles to reducing vehicular traffic is the availability of safe travel routes.  We believe that the Chandler Gonzales pedestrian corridor presents an opportunity to continue to reduce the traffic present on Chandler and increase the safety of children traveling to school.

The closure of the pedestrian corridor means that children who travel from the upper Gonzales neighbourhood north of EMJS must either travel to east over to Richmond and back again west to the school or further east over to Foul Bay and back again east to the school - or be driven by their parents.  Anyone who has walked either of these pedestrian routes will know of the high volume of traffic on these roads, and of the dangers posed by the crossing of Chandler at Richmond and Gonzales at Foul Bay.

We are also aware that this corridor which has been identified as a key component in the City of Victoria's Greenways plan would afford safer and more convenient access to the play fields and playground equipment at Pemberton Park. 

The  Safer School Travel Committee of EMJS conducted a survey of parents in the fall of 2008 and confirmed that more than 2/3 of families attending the school for which this greenway is enroute would use it.

 

The 'alternate route' on Foul Bay - means that children must walk along a very busy street which every year experiences encroaching vegetation.

 

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