Vol. 26 No. 77 i t y r Yo ur
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COMOX VALLEY RECORD
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A division of
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September 28, 2011
Yo ur
WEDNESDAY
ANNIVERSARY
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www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
RIDERS ON WAY
Tour de Rock donations mount as riders near Valley. ■ A3
MOMAR
RONNA-RAE LEONARD prepares to tie a ribbon to launch the first Car Free Sunday in Courtenay. More photos, B1.
PHOTO BY EARLE COUPER
No cars, no problem on this one Sunday Scott Stanfield Record Staff
Rain wasn’t going to ruin this parade. Following a morning downpour, the skies cleared Sunday afternoon for the inaugural Car Free Sunday in downtown Courtenay and Cumberland where pedestrians, rollerbladers, cyclists and skateboarders could roam the streets and not contend with vehicular traffic. In keeping with a worldwide celebration, the Imagine Comox Valley-event included vendors, workshops, art, music, street theatre, street sports and forums. About 500 people attended at the peak of the afternoon in Courtenay, according to Andrew Gower, a director at the non-profit society. “It was a remarkable success,” said Gower, whose band Tin Town performed on Fifth Street. “There were people dancing in the streets, literally.” Some merchants moved their businesses outside once the morn-
ing rain eased off. asking a community to wrap its “Any time you bring more peo- head around street closures, Cumple to the downtown core, that’s berland Chamber of Commerce positive,” said Downtown Courte- president Meaghan Cursons said nay Business Improvement Asso- most people took no issue with ciation president Mark Middleton, the event. who walked the Courtenay loop “The vibe was very high. Cumwith his parents and two dogs. berland is good at closing streets,” “We had a perfectly enjoyable Cursons said. “I thought a litafternoon...We didn’t hear any- tle bit of the confusion was good thing negative from any of the because it forced us to rethink merchants.” things that we are completely Courtenay shut down a sec- automatic about, like where we tion encompassdrive and where ing Fifth and we walk.” 16th streets, It was a remarkShe notes and McPhee and able success. There were “ s p o n t a n e o u s Fitzgerald aveinteraction” does nues. In Cumber- people dancing in the not happen when land, closures at streets, literally. we use vehicles to Dunsmuir, Fourth, Andrew Gower go from point A Ulverston and to B. Derwent created a “The best part figure-eight formation. The event was seeing kids in the middle of was not held in Comox, where the street,” said Cursons, whose some business owners opposed family took more than an hour to the idea. walk two blocks from downtown to “We need to hear from the home because they kept running people in Comox,” Gower said. into familiar faces. “We played a “(But) We appreciate people being game of euchre at the corner of opposed to this.” Penrith and Fourth.” He notes a couple of road rage The Cumberland event featured incidents in Courtenay, one involv- music at the Wandering Moose, ing a driver who almost ran over a a roller derby demonstration, a cyclist on a closed route. climbing wall and a bike rodeo at “That’s unacceptable,” Gower Village Park. said. “That’s something for the Cursons expects a Cumberpolice to deal with...But even with land team will help organize next that, it was a success.” year’s event. Although it can be a tall order “We learned a lot of lessons,”
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said Gower, noting the need for tighter traffic control at key intersections and better signage. Organizers also need to determine how to better reach the public, despite spreading the word through newspapers, leaflets and the Imagine Comox Valley website. “There were still people who didn’t even know it was going on,” said Gower, who notes the afternoon was not meant to be an anti-car event. Ironically, he put about 100 kilometres on his truck driving between Courtenay and Cumberland. “I drive a 4x4 pickup,” Gower said. “I think it’s great. But at the same time it’s nice to go play on the streets and feel safe. I have a six-year-old. I hate riding my bike with him around town. So yesterday I could just let go. Ride your bike, stay inside the barricades and have fun...You take people outside their cars, it’s amazing what happens.” More than 1,500 communities around the world were expected to celebrate World Car Free Day this year. Gower encourages community feedback about the local event. For more information, visit www.imaginecomoxvalley.ca. Visit http://carfreesunday.rowvote. com to participate in a public poll. reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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There was a little more adventure than usual for some competitors in this year’s Atmosphere Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race (MOMAR) in Cumberland. “Some of the top teams missed a turn and got a little bit lost, and so a handful of teams had to bushwhack their way back to the trail or buchwacked the wrong way,” said MOMAR director Bryan Tasaka.
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Comox Valley’s first Car Free Sunday goes ahead in Courtenay, Cumberland in spite of downpour