Meet Arthur – VCH’s man on two wheels
Do you know Arthur Orsini? You might do if you worked at Vancouver General Hospital. He is Active Transportation Lead, usually at the VGH Commuter Centre. His role is working for staff to make it safer, more convenient and more comfortable to get to work without their car.
Starting next week, Arthur will be spending every Tuesday this spring and summer at Lions Gate Hospital to help staff here do the same as well as help implement the Transportation Demand Management Plan (TDM) that was developed by VCH in partnership with the City of North Vancouver and TransLink.
What is TDM?
A TDM plan looks at current transportation behaviours and then creates strategies to reduce employee reliance on driving alone to work.
“The assessment at LGH shows a great potential for more staff living on the North Shore to walk and bike to work,” says Arthur (See map below). “However, for those across the Burrard Inlet, with a very low uptake on transit, carpool-matching will be the focus after the back-to-school rush. Stay tuned as we take a closer look each week at the LGH plan.”
With approximately 60% of staff living right here in North Van, the early focus of the plan will be to build on the already strong number of staff walking and cycling to work, says Arthur.
“These staff will be sought to help chart their times and distances to/from the hospital so that we will have a Real-Time map showing just how quick and easy it might be for more staff to leave their cars at home. “
Please contact Arthur to help build this map.
Spring challenge
In May, a hospital-wide challenge will go out to those living within a half hour walk or a 20 minute bike ride away to see how high we can raise our active transportation rates. In fact, LGH ranks at the top for staff walking to work.
“The 2015 Employee Commuting Survey showed that 23.4% of LGH respondents walk to work – the highest of any large health care facility,” says Arthur, who only ever commutes by bike.
After his morning swim practice at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, Arthur will bike across the Lions Gate Bridge to get to LGH.
He reckons it will take about an hour. “It’s only slightly faster to bring my bike on the SeaBus.”
VCH News asked Arthur what he thinks are the main barriers to cycling or walking to work.
“The biggest barriers to walking and cycling seem to be perceptions. For people considering a walking or biking commute, just a little bit of support, information and encouragement to give it a try often yields a ‘Hey, that was a lot easier than I thought.”’
Not to mention those steep North Shore hills!
LGH active staff home location.
Commuting success stories
Check out these inspiring stories:
- Anne Coles: VCH GreenCare Commuter of the Year
- Inspiring stories from Vancouver Coastal commuters
- Metro Vancouver bike commuters geared up for the rain