Today, April 26, 2007, has been declared the first “Walk to Work” day, at least in London, England. British pedestrian organization Living Streets has started a new campaign called “Walking Works” to encourage people to walk to work, and this is a way of showcasing the campaign. They are publicizing it with a parade of Dolly Parton look-alikes leading the way to the event’s launch (“Walking 9 to 5 …”).
7 comments
Let’s promote this to the 905ers.
905? That would be roll to work. Wait! Because they roll to work in their cars, they have the physique for rolling… Did you know that the average weight outside of 416 in Ontario is 10 lbs. heavier?
So I’m smug. I don’t own a car, and do walk and cycle to work, am 37 but have the physique of a… few people in 905 are 6′ and a 32″ waist at any age. Shouldn’t those of us who make choices good for the Earth, ourselves and our pocket-books be smug? Better to be smug on foot or two wheels than in an SUV, I say.
^How are your abs though? Are they ripped?
Only those with ripped abs can be smug.
Lots of people are smug. Just glad I’m not paying for gas and a loan on an assinine vehicle to be smug, and wondering why I’ve gained so much weight.
Before our faces freeze into these smug smirks, let’s have a moment of silence for all the jobs that have died in 416 over the years and have been reincarnated in 905. I live downtown. I would love to work downtown too, but in looking for a job (in the environmental field) I turned down or didn’t apply for a number of positions in Mississauga, Brampton, Markham…you get the picture. I finally found something barely in 416. Walking to work would take upwards of 4 hours. Luckily I can still bike there.
It is hard to walk anywhere in the Garden City-esque landscapes out here (well, it’s easy, but it takes a long time). If there wasn’t such an exodus of jobs from 416, more people might choose to live there and enjoy a good walk more often.
8sml> For the record I was joking about the smug. I don’t think it’s so constructive.
I’ve often fantasized about becoming a tycoon*, and refusing to do business with companies that have bad architectural practice, or ones that locate their offices in inhuman geographies. Locate in sustainable, traditional centres, and we could do business.
*A Richard Branson kind of tycoon, but without the balooning and weird stuff.
Shawn> Me too. Sorry it doesn’t come across that way. Up with tycoons and ripped abs.