The tour guide is a barrel-chested man with a goatee, a bushy ponytail, and a furry, green-striped top hat. Standing in Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver, he bellows, "Let's go!" to two dozen participants. He leads them down the steps to the train platform, and asks them to board the first of the two cars.
The tour was a launch party for a pocket guidebook to the Canada Line, the rapid transit system connecting Richmond and Vancouver International Airport to the city's downtown.
Led by Noam Dolgin, 33, the creator of the slim Canada Line Adventures guidebook, participants hopped on and off the trains as Mr. Dolgin led them around the different station environs, pointing out local art, sculpture, family activities and eateries available to commuters at every stop.
The pocket guide, which Mr. Dolgin hopes will encourage Vancouver residents to take their own tours, is intended to show that the Canada Line provides access to activities across Vancouver.
The 43-page booklet highlights heritage buildings such as the Minoru Chapel in Brighouse, picnic places (in Aberdeen, "watch the student rowing teams"), spots for children's play (near Oakridge, "climb on the sculpture" in Queen Elizabeth Park), and bars (near City Hall, sample FigMint's "award-winning wine collection.")
It offers a station-by-station breakdown for readers to take advantage of the rail system on their own. Each station has a suggested walking tour and map of the neighbourhood.
Mr. Dolgin got the idea watching the popular reception of the Canada Line when it opened in August, 2009.
"I saw the enthusiasm. It was a great opportunity to show people how to use green transportation for recreation, not just for work," he said. He published the guide in February, before the Vancouver Olympics.
Mr. Dolgin's initiative has received official attention. Sergeant Doug Semple of the South Coast B.C. Transportation Authority Police Service attended the launch party tour after a link to Mr. Dolgin's website was circulated among provincial transit corporation e-mails.
"It's an amazing initiative on Noam's part. He found those unique spots at every location," Sgt. Semple said.
"He's done work that perhaps the corporations could have done."
A photo of Mr. Dolgin inside the booklet shows the author, an environmental educator and proponent of low-carbon emission living, with his bicycle aboard the Canada Line. The rapid transit system is powered by hydroelectricity, a model mode of commuting for Vancouver residents, he said.
Celebrating urban upgrades that occurred under the umbrella of the 2010 Winter Games hasn't been a regular occurrence. Environmental activists decried many projects associated with the Olympics, including the expansion of the Vancouver-Whistler highway. Those concerned with international trade complained that the Canada Line cars were built by a South Korean firm.
But if Mr. Dolgin's pocket guide has the intended effect, the author hopes residents of the Lower Mainland will move toward sustainable, low-emission lifestyles.
The day of the launch party, Mr. Dolgin began the trip with song.
Cause we've come so far/and we need no car/Riding down the Canada Line! went the chorus.
Special to The Globe and Mail