Project Pedestrian

My book, Walking the Bypass: Notes on Place From the Side of the Road, has been reviewed in the October issue of Harper's.

I was told this was going to happen, but I'm still surprised to see it. Well, shocked. And, of course, grateful that my book has received this thoughtful response.

Walking The Bypass Congratulations to Ken Wilson on the public launch of Walking The Bypass, published by University of Regina Press. Ken’s book evolved from a series of walks he took during the pandemic lockdo…

Congratulations to Ken Wilson on the release of "Walking The Bypass", published by University of Regina Press. @therealkenwilson.bsky.social

The marketing of 10,000 steps We walk for a variety of reasons: transportation, exploration, contemplation. Over the past decade there has been a lot of attention paid to walking as a form of exercise, and the idea that one nee…

The origins of needing to walk 10,000 steps a day lies in marketing rather than science. (Not that walking 10,000 steps is a bad thing).

Johnny Strides live streams his daily walks around Toronto.

Flânerie I was first introduced to the word flâneur and the ideas behind it in grad school. In learning about it, I realised in many ways flânerie described behaviour I’d be pursuing for some time: leisurel…

Lauren Elkin provides a response to the limited notion of the flâneur in her book "Flâneuse". In "Straggle", Tanis MacDonald brings together essays around the experiences of a woman walking in the world.
@laurenelkin.bsky.social @wolsakandwynn.bsky.social

This Frustrated New York Pedestrian Calls Out Bad Walkers

a good flâneur.euse has sharp sidewalk awareness www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/n...

my essay on slow walkers for the BBC www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Walking across Britain (from your sofa) The Canadian province of Saskatchewan – where Project Pedestrian originates – is 651,036 square kilometres, with a human population just north of 1.2 million. The island of Great Britain (England, …

Could population density account for the vast number of British TV shows based on walking?

A Right to Roam? Outside our cities and towns, walking in the countryside is impacted by the legal parameters of the jurisdiction one walks in. Nordic countries provide significant public access to land, with Norwa…

On this Labour Day long weekend, a lot of people will be heading into the countryside for a walk.

Depending on what country you live in, your access to the countryside will be quite restricted or quite open.

Follow the link to find out more.

Pretty fucked up that there’s a no pedestrians emoji 🚷 and a no bikes emoji 🚳 but not a no cars emoji!

Who & What? My name is Mark Wihak and I’m the person behind Project Pedestrian. I’m a filmmaker and educator living on Treaty 4 lands in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Walking has been an important …

Probably should have shared this info earlier about who’s behind Project Pedestrian and what it’s about…

I really enjoyed talking with Tasha Alexson about her walking experiences, and Tash and I did a walk in some of Regina's under-construction downtown, and a part of Regina we've both lived in, just south of the downtown.

Some news from another project: Saskatchewan Weekend with Shauna Powers: Regina filmmaker Mark Wihak wins Best Saskatchewan Short at RIFFA www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Text Walking Among the influences on Project Pedestrian is the Text Walking project of Calgary-based artist Baco Ohama, where she gathers text found while walking (signs, graffiti, posters) and uses them as sou…

One of the influences on Project Pedestrian is the Text Walking series by the artist Baco Ohama.

Such a pleasure to talk with Matthew R. Anderson about his books "The Good Walk" and "Someone Else's Saint", about walking on the prairies, and pilgrimage.

Matthew lives in Nova Scotia but was in Saskatchewan last week for the 10th anniversary of the walk from Wood Mountain to the Cypress Hills.

Before (2021) / After (2025) the school street Rue de Florence in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The trees were planted in 2023.

She Walks Zoe Tehrani is the person behind the website She walks in England, an excellent source of information about walking, with details about routes, tips (e.g. 11 Tips For Hiking In The Rain And Wet Wea…

Really enjoying the walking -related content of Zoe Tehrani’s website and social media feeds. You’ll find links
On the Project Pedestrian website under Resources.

Rule 71: Remove Centerlines on Neighborhood Streets

In 2009, London removed centerlines from 2-lane streets. Drivers slowed down by 7 mph—cutting pedestrian death risk nearly in half. No line = more caution, slower speeds, safer streets.

Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Walkable cities The American Geographical Society published a story on the world’s most walkable cities, and the winner is Milan, Italy! Two cities Project Pedestrian has spent extensive time in, Lyon, Franc…

Delighted that Regina is more walkable than Saskatoon and Winnipeg, but there’s lots of room for improvement.

Project Pedestrian Playlist - Project Pedestrian - 88 items

It's a long weekend in much of Canada, and what better time to launch the playlist you didn't know you needed?

The Project Pedestrian playlist gives you 88 choice cuts about walking (OK, we know, sometimes they're using walking/strolling/shuffling as a metaphor).

tidal.com/playlist/e7a...

Wanderlust The American writer Rebecca Solnit’s 2001 Wanderlust: A History of Walking is an essential book for anyone interested in thinking about walking. “Where does it start? Muscles tense. One…

Rebecca Solnit’s “Wanderlust” is an essential book for anyone interested in thinking about walking. @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social

Pedestrians in Regina are required to push a “beg button” to get a green light.

In Toronto beg buttons have largely been replaced by automatic pedestrian green lights, which go green several seconds before vehicles get a green light to try and protect pedestrians from careless right hand turns.

Herzog & Chatwin In the winter of 1974, the German filmmaker Werner Herzog walked from Munich to Paris in the hope that this would prevent the death of his friend, the film historian Lotte Eisner, who was seriously…

Two artists whose work about walking are sources of inspiration for Project Pedestrian.

Each one of our issues wraps up with @shawnmicallef.bsky.social's flaneur column, where he shares the joy of exploration on foot. Anyone can do so, and in the Toronto Star he shares 6 tips - both practical and inspiring - for walking Toronto (gift link). www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Enjoy your trip, emails can wait.

Shawn Micallef at a picnic table in Toronto’s Dufferin Grove Park.

The cover of the book Stroll by Shawn Micallef

A wide angle view of Mark Wihak and Shawn Micallef in Dufferin Grove.

A fish eye angle shot of Mark Wihak and Shawn Micallef walking along Bloor Street in Toronto.

It was such a pleasure to meet Shawn Micallef to talk about his book Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto, and a variety of walking related matters for Project Pedestrian.

Shawn and I also did a walk together in the neighbourhood around Dufferin Grove. @shawnmicallef.bsky.social

Why Lyon? I began gathering footage for Project Pedestrian in Lyon, France and of the things that made me choose Lyon was the German film Die Reise nach Lyon (Blind Spot was its English title). Directed by C…

Started gathering footage for Project Pedestrian in Lyon. And here’s one of the reasons I chose Lyon.

Resumed shooting in a very different environment than Lyon. Scarborough, ON saw a lot of growth in the 1950s when the emphasis was on roads for cars and trucks. On the upside, there are numerous strip malls housing a wide range of independent businesses and lots of places to get delicious food.

Green pedestrian light with a figure of Karl Marx.

Red pedestrian light with a figure of Karl Marx.

The German city of Trier remembers its native son Karl Marx with a few transit signals near the street where he was born. Unlike the city of Regina where I live, pedestrians in Trier don’t need to press a “beg button” in order to get a green Karl, it’s a part of the regular cycle of lights.