I recently had the pleasure of joining the Strong Towns podcast to discuss how our Local Conversations group, Strong Towns Vancouver, is using stickers as a creative tool for community change. Sparked by the City of Vancouver’s public education campaign for micromobility users to slow down or to walk while in pedestrian spaces, our campaign playfully shares the same visuals and messaging, but directed to the drivers of motor vehicles. Our campaign speaks to those who are responsible for virtually all the deaths and permanent injuries caused on our city’s roadways, cars, not bikes.
Our initiative emphasizes the need for dedicated bike lanes, wider pedestrian spaces, and improved street design. We're pushing for an inclusive approach that prioritizes community engagement and education for all road users. The goal is to create a more harmonious urban environment where everyone can move safely and freely, whether they're walking, cycling, or driving.
There is a stark contrast between the inconvenience of sharing narrow sidewalks with cyclists and the more serious impacts of car-centric infrastructure encroaching on our daily lives. We discussed the importance of addressing root causes rather than just symptoms, particularly the lack of adequate cycling infrastructure that forces people onto sidewalks despite the overindulgence of space dedicated to cars.