on Nov 2nd, 2006
Christchurch Lifestyle
This morning I took a walk on a path behind the Trimble Navigation office. In the 15 mins of walking, I had many people in work clothes and school children cycling pass me. I guess that is a sight I will not see in Peoria, IL. I don’t think our diet in the US differs that much from NZ but the difference is people here do tend to get out more often for walks and other social activities. The area around Christchurch has plenty of walking paths versus the single one closer to town which is Rock Island Track. I remember being so glad when Riverplex was built and they also put in a walking/running path behind the facility. The road in Christchurch also has biking lanes put in which makes it relatively much safer compared to ridding a bicycle on War Memorial Dr or  Route 6 with semis passing you at 75mph.
Around Christchurch there are also social rugby teams, netball teams, recreational cycling and many more activities generated by the community themselves with a little help for the city council.  What of Peoria? I definitely think the Race of the Cure, Steamboat and Recreational Volleyball is a start but there is room for improvements.
Libraries… is another item that I see quite visible all over Christchurch. It does not have to be massive, grandios, or super high-tech. It just has to be functional and practical. A corner library shared by a couple of subdivisions maybe?Â
I like Peoria, and miss it but I wish there are more significant little changes instead of massive project that is suppose to be the silver bullet to all problems.Â
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2 Responses to “Christchurch Lifestyle”
Mmmmm, this post is up for a couple of days and I don’t see a furious rebuttal from any Peorian on your Peoria bashing 😉
Let me try…….Maybe not, you are mostly right.
Although, I disagree with you on the lack of sports teams. We might not have your fancy English netball, but there is a wide range of sports played in Peoria, even NZ favorites like cricket and rugby.
So there!
I think this is just the jet lag talking.
The thing that stands out most to me is definitely the number of bikes. Canterbury is very flat, and Christchurch has done well to make the city bike friendly. During the week you see people commuting via bike, and on the weekends the roads are flooded with avid racers wearing their faux sponsor wear (USPS, Discovery Channel, etc.)