Cambie Village

The Art

The Inspiration

BigBelly

Canada is usually a few years behind the trends compared to Europe, Asia, California, the rest of the U.S., Lower Slobovia,.......  Anyway, this is very innovative for Vancouver. 

For those who don't know what BigBelly is, it's a garbage compactor. And it's solar powered. This means it should work pretty well, in the daytime, 30 or 40 days a year. 

That's an exaggeration, we just can't help going on and on and on about the rain. BigBelly is a very green machine. Because it compacts the garbage, fewer truck trips are required to empty it. Nothing spills out onto the street. Our present street containers are routinely vandalized, this one looks bomb proof. They're in a couple of spots around town on a long term trial to see how they stand up. 

My only concern regarding this thing is that if folks put redeemable containers in it the people who scavenge for them (not me personally, things aren't quite to that stage yet) will be out of luck. I'd prefer to see people place redeemables neatly beside the bin rather than throw them away. They wouldn't stay beside the bin for long. 

Cast in cement

Vancouver is getting it's third rapid transit line. The Canada Line is controversial for a few reasons, one being the disruption to businesses along the line during construction. 

The worst affected area seemed to be Cambie Village. I'm not sure if this 'village' idea is a recent trend. If you had asked me, even 5 years ago, where Cambie Village was I couldn't have told you.

Construction on this section of Cambie St. from 12th Ave. to King Edward Ave. is largely complete now. New sidewalks, lamp posts and such are in place. One particularly creative touch are these stainless steel inlays in the new sidewalks around 18th Ave. 

The film reel is a nod to the Park Theatre which has been a landmark here since 1941. 

I took several shots and chose this one because of the way the sunlight caught it on a bright afternoon in the shade. There are also inlays of a place setting, knife, forks and spoon beside a bowl on a plate. There are a number of eateries in the area, although the most popular one packed up and headed across town after the construction began.