We explored to Downtown Art Walk on my CTV Walking Wednesday segment today.
Check it out here: http://ow.ly/Osnlq
Engage in this public-art treasure hunt through the downtown core. Public art is always a surprise, a distraction from the business towers above you and the cars, people, and sidewalks surrounding you. Modern-day urban planners design streetscapes for the benefit of pedestrians, integrating the unexpected into the everyday built environment. The unpredictable is what makes walking in the city so enjoyable. Slow your pace and appreciate walking for walking’s sake, to simply experience the urban cityscape, alleyways, and hidden corners and surprises. Become a flâneur, which, according to the early nineteenth-century French, was a leisurely urban explorer who observed and contemplated as he or she sauntered.
For those who would like to pick up the pace and travel farther, follow the southerly route option provided that follows the people-populated streets of the Beltline, a community that is being rejuvenated with a pedestrian focus. Walk through the Memorial Park public space, grab a food truck lunch along Twelfth Avenue, and, on a blue-sky day, sit in the sunshine at one of the many outdoor tables just outside Memorial Park Library. Stroll farther south to Seventeenth Avenue, the popular walking, shopping, and dining street, or walk west along the Thirteenth Avenue greenway followed by a visit to Barb Scott Park and an intriguing public sculpture called “Chinook Arc.” It comes alive with colour at night.
The alternate loop takes you east to RiverWalk, which runs along the Bow River and hosts temporary and permanent art installations and murals. Designed to accommodate walkers and cyclists, there are two pathways, so you can relax and enjoy your chosen activity. Bring your lunch and get comfy on one of the many benches or lounge chairs. Sit back and watch the river, and the walkers and cyclists, flow by.
