Lights, candles, action: How St. John's can find more bright spots in the dead of winter

On Thursday I was sitting at my desk and, by desk, I meanmy dining room table, which has been my key piece of home office furniture for most of the last year and pausedfor a moment to look out the window. Plump, fluffy snowflakes were drifting down in an almost dreamlike kind of way and I thought oh, wow, that looks pretty.

St. John's sure can dress up well for winter. Yes, it's impossible to ignore that particularly grotesque shade of brown of hard-driven slush that overwhelms the roads in seemingly no time after any snowfall, and yes, I know what drivers are like in winter, and yes, the infernal sidewalks.

Butthere are moments every winter when St. John's feels a little enchanted. I never get tired of gazing at the city from Signal Hill when the sun casts a certain lustre over the landscape, and everything for as wide as the eye can see just seems to be shivering. The Battery, always a stunner year-round, simply looks its best just after the snow has fallen.

Quite a few years ago, when I was a reporter assigned to municipal issues, I became really intrigued by a concept called winter cities, thanks to the late Arvo McMillan, who was a planner with St. John's and who walked me through all sorts of ways that St. John's and its people could make changes that can make the whole city feel so much more enjoyable in winter.

Winter is a season when we tend to draw indoors, and we all know ways to make our internal environments feel cosier: we put on some lights to draw away the darkness, throw a blanket on our lap if we're reading or watching TV, turn on a space heater or light up a wood stove for extra comfort.

What, though, are the things that we can do on the outside? Arvo's inspiration stuck with me through the years. When I see photos of awesome winter activities and design in other cities, I wonder, can we do that here?

The answer of course is yes, and we're actually doing some of them already. I talked in depth recently about these things with Simon O'Byrne, a senior vice-president with the design firm Stantec, and a champion for winter city design. (You can read more about his thinking in this blog post from last year, in which he made a case for how design can protect cities from damages of COVID-19.)

Through the conversation(s), I realize that there are things that St. John's is doing properly. (For you people going, "but what about the sidewalks?!", hear me out and I'll get to that later.) Think about it: we have spectacular resources like Pippy Park, which is a treasure in winter, from sledding to snowshoeing in wilderness, right in the city. People with no cross-country skiing experience can get started by renting and trying out apair of skis. In Bannerman Park, there's the Loop, which has proven to be a delight, even if you don't lace up your skates.

It's really critical to create comfort in winter.- Simon O'Byrne

Some of the things we discussed involved high-level planning decisions. However, a good many of them are things that any community can take on, without necessarily a lot of expense or effort.

All of them, when you come down to it, are about raising the quality of life for everybody.

It all comes down to food

One way to get people out and about is to appeal to their stomachs, O'Byrne said.

"If you're thinking about economic vibrancy and if the intent is to make a street or a public space successful, start with kind of food as a secret sauce," he said.

Think about the pedestrian mall that ran on Water Street last summer, which came out of an emergency response to the economic damage of the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. O'Byrne said similar tactics can be used in the winter, too, to give special allure to specific, targeted areas.

The key ingredient? The food. People will go where they can eat, and stay for the other things on offer.

Tackle the wind

O'Byrne said often the problem with winter planning is not overcoming the cold, but instead the wind. This rings true in St. John's, which as any townie knows, has winds that will cut you to the bone.

But that doesn't mean you have to put up with it.

"Wind is extremely important," he said. "While there is sun for a portion of the day, it's not enough. It's really critical to create comfort in winter. Ifpeople were given the choice of 10 and wind-free and 2 and blustering, you will take 10 and no wind all day long, because it feels more comfortable if you're outside and sitting or standing."

O'Byrne lives in Edmonton, where the villain is the wind from the northwest. Designs have adapted to that key fact to take the sting out of the city's frigid temperatures.

"Whether it's a structure, a built form, the landscaping, whether it's coniferous trees, whatever, the thing is to block that kind of northwest-direction wind," he said.

O'Byrne says new developments can be geared with the wind in mind, from architectural choices to small things, like awnings. As well, existing places can be modified. Restaurateurs have learned that something as simple as plastic sheeting can increase their guests' comfort in the same way as propane heaters and outdoor seating. He noted some service-economy businesses are making design choices to allow for outdoor winter use which extends their commercial season.

Light it up

Why should bright lights be a thing we expect at Christmas, but not in the cold, dark months that follow?

O'Byrne said successful winter cities often make a great deal out of something that's pretty inexpensive: outdoor lighting.

"We're like moths and magpies we're attracted to shiny things and we're attracted to light," he said. "There's something intrinsically human about being drawn to these shiny light objects. [With] those bright lights, there's something about it that we love."

Think about how the downtown area transforms in the final weeks of the year, and the boost people get in their heart. There's a reason why downtown businesses put in the effort.

"Lighting is absolutely critical in a winter city context because we have a pallet of darkness in Canada for six months," O'Byrne said.

"You can just do something that's just utilitarian and provide enough adequate lighting for it to be safe, or you can do something whimsical and magical and fun and make for a delightful, charming streetscape."

This is an area where we've already had a proven track record, and seems like an easy adjustment.

BYOB (and that last B is not booze)

O'Byrne pointed to cities that have created temporary winter attractions short-term events or facilities that bring people together. In non-COVID times, it can be a festival. It can be a winter carnival. It could be something less formal. Sometimes, he noted, there can be moveable fire pits, as well as movable chairs so people can sit and relax.

"I think it has to be a BYOB, but instead of bring your own booze, bring your own blanket, or then provide [somewhere] for people to sit on and to put a blanket on your lap."

LISTEN | Simon O'Byrne speaks with CBC Radio's The Current about making design improvements for winter:

Sidewalks

The sidewalks in St. John's, often notoriously treacherous and neglected, of course deserve attention. With our climate and its freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw temperature swings above and below the freezing point we have disadvantages with every winter season.

I will note, however, how surprised I was last week after the first major snowfall of the season that the sidewalks I needed to use were actually cleared, and promptly. Such a strange sensation.

There has been an awful lot of pressure on city hall over the years to get serious about sidewalk snow clearing, and the city has been purchasing sidewalk equipment fit for purpose. However, even a quick dart around the city will reveal that many sidewalks need to be given the same treatment.

We're a long, long way from having a proper and safe pedestrian network. If we want to be intentional about making winter more wonderful, we have to make it as safe as can be managed.

Bright spots and inclusion

To return to my conversation with O'Byrne (there were actually two; he graciously agreed to a second when I made a true working-from-home mistake and didn't select the audio while recording the first), and a key principle. It's about building community at a time when we might need it the most.

"The reality is that winter is dark. While there is sun for a portion of the day, it's not enough," he said. "It's really critical to create comfort in winter."

It's also about being welcoming particularly to people who are new to the community. This is where some traditionalconcepts about winter can be upended, with a lens on diversity, inclusion and creating a sense of togetherness.

"Whereas some multigenerational of Canadians hibernate, we found that some new Canadians are very excited to learn because they've seen images ofcross-country skiing or snowshoeing or, you know, throwing on hockey skates and going out, but they haven't really tried it," he said.

"We found that new Canadians are really excited to do that. It's just that there's a barrier to entry, so you just make it accessible."

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