PATH TO ‘TERRIFIC ADVENTURE’
City-encircling Greenway praised
John Bolton has biked around Calgary. Literally.
The local radio broadcaster has become one of the first people in the city to cycle completely around the new Rotary/Mattamy Greenway, a 138-kilometre pathway that encircles the entire city.
“It’s really a blessing that you can loop the entire city and do it on pathways, and see all of these different neighbourhoods without worrying too much about cars and your safety,” he says. “It’s a terrific adventure.” On Sept. 2, he plans to join Mayor Naheed Nenshi and other Calgarians at South Glenmore Park at the Greenway 150 Family Shindig.
The free parties — four in total — are hosted by Parks Foundation Calgary and will take place in each city quadrant along the Greenway, in South Glenmore Park, Shouldice Park, Cityscape Music Park and Mahogany Park.
Each celebration will take place from noon to 3 p.m. and will feature food, music and family entertainment.
Created by the City of Calgary and Parks Foundation Calgary, the Greenway is one of the world’s most unusual park projects, says Sheila Taylor, executive director of Parks Foundation Calgary.
“It’s one-of-a-kind,” says Taylor. “Many people are surprised to learn we have a pathway that encircles the whole city. It really captures people’s hearts and minds.”
In June, the Parks Foundation Calgary team announced a contest to promote the pathway and to celebrate Canada 150. Calgarians were encouraged to sign up online and then try biking, running, walking or inline skating the entire route throughout the summer.
More than 2,000 people signed up — families, individuals, dog walkers and cyclists. Some, like Bolton, completed the challenge in a day. Others took several weeks, travelling short sections at a time.
“It really inspires people to get out and be more active,” Taylor says. “And we really want people to see parts of the city that they maybe wouldn’t get to otherwise.”
The Parks Foundation Calgary team had hoped to finish work on the entire loop by this summer, in time for the Canada 150 celebrations.
But a small section that will join northwest and northeast Calgary — about seven kilometres — still needs to be completed, notes Taylor. It is scheduled to be done by the end of the year. (Bolton travelled on city roads during this part of his ride.)
On Sept. 2, as part of the Greenway shindig, medals will be awarded to all those who completed the entire circuit over the summer.
Bolton, who travelled solo, says it took him five hours and 45 minutes to complete the entire loop, averaging about 26 km/h.
“But that’s moving time,” he says. If you include stopping at traffic lights for the brief sections he had to be on the road, and two short stops for water and a soda, “I think it took me six hours and 30 minutes all together.”
Taylor, who has done parts of the Greenway, says her team estimates it would take the average person about 11 hours to complete the loop in its entirety. “To be able to say you did it is quite an accomplishment, especially in one day.”
Bolton says that biking the entire distance gave him an opportunity to see parts of the city he’d never visited since moving here six years ago from Ontario. “When you ride in the northeast, you’re basically riding along Stoney Trail going north,” he says.
His favourite part, however, is in the south: the part of the path that connects Edworthy Park, the Weaselhead and Fish Creek Park. “I like that part in particular,” he says. “It’s just terrific.”
Will he do it again? Absolutely, he says. He’s on his bike all the time, trekking out to Cochrane and back, or to Chestermere or the roads near Spruce Meadows.
In fact, at the time Postmedia called him for an interview, he was on the Greenway again, on a 50-kilometre jaunt before work.
“It’s a long way to ride a bike. It’s a good challenge,” he says. “But I really enjoy it.”
IF YOU GO
The Greenway 150 Family Shindig will take place Sept. 2 from noon to 3 p.m. in all four quadrants of the city, along the new Rotary/ Mattamy Greenway.
Parties will be held in South Glenmore Park in southwest Calgary, Mahogany Park in the southeast, Cityscape Music Park in the northeast and Shouldice Park in the northwest.
Each event will feature snacks, drinks, barbecues, family and children’s entertainment, and live music. The mayor is scheduled to attend the Glenmore celebration. Go to greenway150.com for more information.
WHERE TO RIDE
Find a map of the Rotary/Mattamy Greenway at maps.calgary. ca. Click on the “pathways & bikeways” icon. The thick green line on the map is the Greenway.