Politics, Parking, Parks, and Privilege
Arbutus Way on Google Street View There’s a member motion from Councillor Marg Gardiner up for the Thursday, April 6 Victoria Committee of the Whole about returning cars to Arbutus Way in Beacon Hill Park. Arbutus Way and Chestnut Row were made car free areas during the early pandemic years. The justification for returning cars is to make it easier for people with mobility concerns to access Goodacre Lake. I think it's short sighted. Although any discussion of mobility is inherently political right now, I wasn't planning to use this blog to talk about specific motions or proposals. But this issue is personal. I started out composing a thread for Twitter and Mastodon, but it kept getting longer, so perhaps this blog is a better format. By the way, the motion uses the term mobility concerns, so that's the phrasing I'll use here. The full text of the motion is: BACKGROUND During the pandemic, the closure of Beacon Hill Park for vehicular access to Arbutus Way at Sou