THE ARBUTUS CORRIDOR

The Arbutus Corridor is an 11 kilometre Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) line that connects the Fraser River to False Creek, running (mostly) parallel to Arbutus Street. As children, we used to place pennies on the tracks in the morning and would wait for the train's whistle as our sign the pennies had been squashed into smooth, shiny ovals we could hold in our pockets until lost in the wash. The Canadian Pacific Railway line was retired in 2001 and has since evolved into a pleasant walking and biking trail, lined with community garden plots. 

Since discontinuing the railway line in 2001, the railway line has tried repeatedly to redevelop the land for housing. The City of Vancouver, however, wants to keep the land as a public thoroughfare and has enacted a bylaw to do so. The City's attempts to purchase the land have been met with contempt, with the CPR claiming that the City has yet to offer fair market value. The CPR decided to reactivate the railway line in the summer of 2014, ordering all community gardens be destroyed and installing 'No Trespassing' signs. Negotiations are, apparently, still underway.

In the meantime, you can walk along the tracks, enjoying the frequent vistas showcasing the North Shore mountains and Burrard Inlet. Summer is especially enjoyable as the tracks are lined with flowers and succulent blackberries (great for making pies).

And if you want to be a real Vancouverite, take no notice of those signs.