There has been a whole lot of activity around Bowker Creek in Oak Bay this past summer. On my bike commute I've been negotiating my way around a gigantic black plastic tube snaking along the ground between the fire hall and Oak Bay High. Like something out of a sci-fi movie, it suddenly appeared one morning and blocked my route. I had to ride half a block out of my way, but the next day there were brand new temporary plywood bridges that took me over the two places where it crossed my path.

Aside from the crews working with the mysterious black tubing, over the summer workers replaced the rotting posts that held up a heavy chain alongside the creek that keeps stray toddlers from falling into the water. A traffic calming device has been installed where the creekside path crosses Hampshire Road. It's a blind curve where motorists tend to speed well over the posted 40-km speed limit, putting pedestrians, cyclists and the resident ducks at risk.

Had I been whizzing through the neighbourhood in my car each day, the traffic island would most likely have just been a minor annoyance. Because I was riding my bike, though, all this attention to a little bit of greenspace caught my attention, and I'm pleased to report that greenspaces all over the Capital Regional District are undergoing a similar transformation.

In the spring of 2002, after months of public consultation, a city-appointed steering committee began work on the Greenways Plan, a long-term vision designed to get people out of their cars and use alternative means of getting around town.

According to the draft Greenways Plan, most of the proposed routes within the city limits are already there. All that is required is the installation of signs, benches and boulevard improvements. The plan is to make travel safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and more inviting.

Victoria City planner Jarret Matanowitch says that public involvement was key to making the idea work.

"It was a very open, public process that lasted over a year where we went out to the public on several occasions," said Matanowitch. "The routes were chosen by people who chose to get involved."

"We had a steering committee that represented basically the entire community, and within the committee we have several advisory committees. We presented this document to them as well and got all their input."

The plan will be implemented over the next fifty years and will come together piece by piece.

"It is a long term process and it requires commitment from Council over the years," said Matanowitch. "Over three or four projects a year depending on budget."

It will also require the hiring of someone to oversee it, raise funds and create partnerships between municipalities, local businesses and the general public.

The Galloping Goose Trail was the core inspiration for the new infrastructure designed to include any community wanting to link with another. Matanowitch says the greenways are designed to enhance access to neighbourhoods without increasing vehicular traffic.

"What the Greenways Plan shows right now is arterial greenways systems, and part of the plan is that within those arterial grids, neighbourhoods develop their own set of greenways to attach to the arterial routes."

The plan will also focus on making the harbourfront area more accessible, with long range plans including improving connections over the Johnson Street Bridge and filling in gaps around Ogden Point and Fisherman's Wharf. The E&N Rail line is also a potential route.

Greenways will encourage the planting of more trees and the preservation of existing aquatic and marine ecosystems along the greenways themselves, which will help improve air and water quality.

The Greenways Matching Grant Program will go a long way toward encouraging neighbourhood initiatives such as community gardens. Next year Victoria plans to fund an annual $25,000 grant to groups wanting to "build or animate a portion of a Greenway."

"The best thing about the plan is that it is a living document," said Matanowitch. "It can be changed to fit the community if somebody thinks a greenway should go somewhere else."

The Greenways Plan is something everyone can get excited about, because it gives people the opportunity to really get involved in the way their community is going to take shape over the next fifty years.

So our future doesn't just have to be about cars, big box stores and urban sprawl -- all of which is great news for cyclists, pedestrians, and future generations of Bowker Creek ducks.