Main Street: The family

Credit: Hilary Henegar

Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood offers Jackie Howard’s family a car-free, community-oriented lifestyle with plenty of amenities

A few months after learning they were pregnant, Jackie and John Howard decided it was time to buy a place. Knowing they wanted to be close to transit (John works downtown), shopping and lots of green space, the couple focused their search on the Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood.

“We live on the best block in town,” laughs Jackie. And indeed, she just may.

With families lining both sides of the street, the sounds of laughter can be heard all year long, summer block parties are the norm, and Halloween is a site to behold with homes decorated like movie sets. But it is more than the community atmosphere that makes Jackie feel fortunate to live in the 100 block of East 14th. It’s the lifestyle.

“There are so many parks I can take my kids to,” says Jackie, pictured above with her daughter in Tea Swamp Park. “I can walk for my groceries, and if I am feeling indulgent, I take the kids to Cobs Bread for a treat.”

Jackie can also shop without getting in the car. “I love going into Smoking Lily and Lip Lounge for me, and Beansprouts and Kiddo for Kids consignment stores for the little ones.”

And John, well, he rides his bike to work on most days, but when the weather gets rough, the bus is only a few blocks away.

Heather Lochner is a stay-at-home mother and a freelance writer. She loves combing the neighbourhoods of Vancouver to find locally owned shops and restaurants. Together with her two children, husband and dog, she lives aboard her sailboat in Vancouver. When not at work or school, the Lochners are out cruising the BC coast.