Combining two of my favourite loves - “Thriller” and rail transit. Sure, we may have SkyTrain parties, but nothing can beat this flashmob.
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How many of you just absolutely *hate* TransLink’s PDF system? It’s just god awful, and I’m even on a Mac - which makes the situation slightly more bearable than on a PC. At least I don’t have to wait for the ridiculously slow Adobe Reader to load up before I can check out the transit information.
TransLink currently stores both schedules and maps on PDF. I have no reason why they haven’t embraced the new millennia and chosen a more accessible and easy to use format for this information, like the WMATA, ACTransit, or the MBTA.
Frankly, we already know their schedule information is available in a chart/table format (i.e. GTFS) - otherwise we wouldn’t have Google Transit for Vancouver (not that it even works anymore. They removed schedule information from it ever since they realized they weren’t the same times as the *actual* schedules. Something I encountered twice. Ugh). But this post isn’t about schedules.
This is about maps. Something that, really, beyond David’s cool project, you really can’t find any TransLink routes in a format other than PDF. Completely sucks right?
Well, I’ve got the perfect solution. I came across this great platform, Zoomify, which sucks in images, cuts them up, and along with a flash engine, puts them into an easy to use zoomable flash interface. Click the image below to use the example I did.
This is a perfect stopgap solution, until TransLink gets some cool Google Maps routes interface happening. All they have to do is transfer their PDFs to image files, throw them into Zoomify for a couple of minutes, then throw the new files up on their server.
So come on TransLink, why not?
Sphere: Related ContentThe Province is endorsing a suggestion by the government to add “talking on a cell phone” to the already long list of restrictions new driver’s face as part of the graduated licencing program. While the evidence is quite clear that talking on a phone while driving is quite dangerous, why is the proposal to apply only to new drivers?
The suggestion is completely discriminatory - but not only to the young people that are typically associated with the graduated licencing program. BC is home, especially in the Lower Mainland, to a large number of immigrants from Asia and India, many of whom face the licencing program, either for a transfer of their current licence, or to receive certification for a whole new one.
The graduated licencing program, as is stated quite clearly on ICBC’s website is “one of the strictest in the world.” A new driver faces a series of prohibitional restrictions for the course of three years before they are treated as equals in front of the courts and on the roads. Get a speeding ticket 5 months into your N? Well, too bad, you’ve been booted back to the beginning on your timeframe and will have to start the 18 month prohibition all over again.
Adding “talking to your cell phone” onto the list is just one step too far. Young people revolted against the province’s Graduation Portfolio for several years, prompting Shirley Bond to rehaul the program in 2006. I don’t think it’s too far fetched to see these same youth disregard the restriction and continue to talk or text on their cells.
Furthermore, while it is true that a large market of the cell phone industry is young people, what about all the soccer moms and business people who blab on their phones behind the wheel?
Many areas around the world have placed complete bans on talking on a cell phone, including Japan, the U.K., Australia, France, California, and New York City.
If we really want to improve the safety of all road users, don’t limit such a ban to young people and new immigrants by placing it as a restriction to the graduated licencing program - make it an all out ban for all BC drivers.
Sphere: Related ContentDave left a comment on my Transit Metropolis Vancouver post, challenging me to take it beyond a vision and to figure out if it is viable as a real plan, and how much it would cost. I didn’t quite fulfill that exact challenge, but combined it with the latest SkyTrain expansion plans in Surrey, and came out with this.
It’s a 14 paged document outlining what LRT is, why we shouldn’t build SkyTrain in the South Fraser area, and how much it would cost to build three LRT lines out here.
Surprisingly enough, the final estimate, based on a cost of $24 million per kilometre, three LRT lines totaling 100km in the South Fraser area could be built for $2.5 billion.
Considering that the SkyTrain extensions, tentatively set for completion between 2020-2030, will likely total nearly $5 billion by then, with only 22.7 kilometres of rail rapid transit.
I think the business case is clear. Check it out [PDF] and let me know what you think in the comments! :)
Sphere: Related ContentAfter writing up the Green Spaces pillar in my beta civic platform, I’ve been thinking a lot about how wildlife interacts with urban life.
Now, I know people don’t like commenting as much as they like reading, but I thought I may as well try.
I’m really interested in what types of wildlife you’ve seen in your community. Feel free to jot down some animals and your city in the comments section.
Here’s mine:
Surrey
Vancouver
Burnaby
This is the third pillar in my civic platform.
Transportation, all things considered, isn’t actually a *huge* deal out here. Most Surrey residents own a car and deal with reasonable traffic loads. The minority that doesn’t rides the buses and have put up with poor service for a long time now. However, this cycle can’t continue forever. At some point, with too large an increase in population and not enough road expansion, the drivers will get angry. Everyone knows roads can’t be expanded forever.
From here, we need to start looking at ways other than the car for people to get around. One simple strategy is to improve transit to the point where you can sufficiently attract drivers out of their cars. Another one, somewhat pioneered in our region is the idea of building complete communities. With this strategy, the concept is that people will be able to work, live, and play, in the same area, and could simply walk or cycle anywhere they needed to go. Longer trips could be taken of my transit or even a car share type program.
At one point in time, Surrey grew up around the Interurban, sprouting communities like Newton, Sullivan, and Cloverdale. Unfortunately, we are no longer a rail city, and growth has been half hazardly occuring around roads. It’s quite rare to see anyone walk in the city - only from the car to the store. Don’t even think about cycling in the area unless you are ready to fight the drivers.
This is unsustainable and needs to change. Now.
Imagine living somewhere where you wanted to walk to the store because there was things to see along the way and you felt safe. Imagine being able to safely cycle on your own lane, physically separated from the auto traffic or down beautiful greenways along the creeks and rivers. Imagine being able to walk a short distance to a bus stop with a modern and sharp looking weather shelter, comfy bench, along with a transit map, a garbage and recycling bin, and daily newspapers. We can make this a reality. Here’s how.
1. A Transportation Hierarchy
Development in Surrey is based around the car. Simple as that. There have been attempts to make developments a bit more friendly to other forms of transport. For example, making sure sidewalks are built, or perhaps bike lanes. But, you’re still building for cars, not people.
No more.
Surrey needs to establish a transportation hierarchy that will apply to a whole methodology surrounding developments and the way people get around. Taken straight from SmartGrowth BC’s Transportation policy:
With this overarching philosophy in place, developments will be made once again for people, not cars.
2. Bus stop initiative
Surrey doesn’t have too much control over transit and is frankly very much held captive by TransLink and the provincial government on that matter. The one area they have jurisdiction over though is the bus stops and what amenities are located there. If Surrey is truly dedicated to transit and transportation alternatives, our bus stops need to be at least as good as Vancouver’s.
First off, Surrey and it’s citizens need to decide whether they are fine with adspace paying for a large portion of this program. We could define ourselves as the city without advertising. Bus stops could be adopted by the local community and feature job boards or school artwork. Or, they could have ads for car drivers. This decision needs to be made as it influences funding.
From there, the City needs to hold a design contest with local architects to design modular bus stop amenities that can give the City an overarching transit identity, but still flexible enough to change things like colours depending on which of the six town centres the stop is in.
Next, the City needs to define progressive guidelines for bus stop amenities and also take a good look at the data. For example, some stops may be places where everyone always exits - a stop which would unlikely need a shelter, at least compared to one where riders are waiting for the bus.
Taking these variations into consideration, I generally support the concept that all stops should feature at least a shelter. This is Metro Vancouver. It rains. Shelters are needed above anything else. Shelters can also comfortably be leaned upon. A shelter is of much more use than a seat. Also, all stops with shelters must incorporate a transit map into the design.
All stops should also feature a garbage/recycling bin, in various sizes depending on the usage of the stop. Busier stops should also have a comfortable seat (not metal!), as well as newspaper bins.
It may seem like a huge initiative, but could actually dramatically improve the transit experience for all riders for quite a low cost, especially if it is partially funded through adspace. Think about it. Standing in the rain could make someone want to never ride the bus again. Having a newspaper to read could dramatically reduce the stress one faces waiting for a late bus - similar to the effect the radio has on drivers stuck in traffic. Minor investments with huge benefits.
3. Cycling Network Initiative
This is another “best buy”, similar to the bus stop initiative. For very low capital investment, Surrey could make huge strides in terms of cycling usage.
Cycling could be Surrey’s defining feature. We could be the national capital of cycling. Why not? It’s fun, it’s healthy, it’s green.
In fact, a ton of the immigrants living in Surrey have known cycling for most of their lives. It’s sad seeing them attempt to ride safely on the sidewalk, away from the traffic.
Ask anyone why they don’t cycle and they’ll reply, somewhere near the top, that it’s not safe! Bike lanes don’t encourage cycling, at least not among the majority of the public. We need physical separation.
Of course, just like any form of transportation, there needs to be a network. That it why, under my originally proposed Surrey Cycling Initiative, the City would make major capital investments into the system to complete the network in the near future (i.e. a couple of years). And as I said, building a whole cycle network costs so little in comparison to road expansion.
The initiative revolves around creating two major networks.
Futhermore, in coordination with the Traffic Calming Strategy further down, measures would be taken to make cycling safer in neighbourhoods and residential zones. This could be things like bike lanes, sharrows, and the like.
4. Traffic Calming Strategy
The current traffic calming strategy is failing in two main realms.
The solution is quite simple. Require a traffic calming strategy to be incorporated in all new developments. Also, update the strategy to include markers for calming features to be installed in certain areas. For example, you could set baeslines according to how many cars a road is designed for - if it surpasses this number, traffic calming is installed. Similar baselines could be set around the number of speeding tickets that have been written around certain location - or the number of accidents.
Also, update the acceptable measures to ensure that traffic calming that is friendly towards cyclists. For example, some cyclists have difficulty with roundabouts that feature a potted garden in the center. This could be adjusted be removing the garden, and allowing cyclists to proceed directly forward, while cars would have to do the roundabout. Or, you could just not have roundabouts in the first place, and do things like speed bumps or traffic diversion instead.
5. Municipal Green Fleet
As part of Surrey’s green efforts, the City should, sometime in the next few years, begin to purchase and replace it’s vehicles with “greener” ones. These could be anything from hybrids, to electrics, to diesels, to smart cars. Major capital shouldn’t be put into this, however a strategy should be in place to gradually upgrade the municipal fleet to greener vehicles.
Sphere: Related ContentThis is the second pillar in my civic platform
Green Spaces ties quite deeply into Surrey’s long standing problem of “development at any cost” reputation. It’s quite clear to any Surrey resident that this is a huge problem, as we watch the creeks get piped up, the forests get chopped down, and animals lying dead on the roadside.
The other night walking home around 12, I spotted a pack of coyotes meandering across the road into private yards. It’s no wonder pets die from wild animals - we have stolen their habitats and forced them to either live in tiny parks or attempt to make home in urban areas. Preserving green spaces for these animals will not only improve their lives, but our lifestyles as well.
In addition, there is evidence that humans with greater connection to nature will enjoy less stress and have a general improved wellbeing than those who don’t. Surrey residents need increased access to doses of “vitamin g” ;)
The tree bylaw has failed, and council must make drastic moves now to secure important green spaces before the city is fully built out. This Green Spaces pillar goes leaps and bounds farther than any current land policy in Surrey, with the ultimate goal of achieving a prime balance between preserving our natural areas, while still allowing sustainable developments to take place.
1. Nature Preservation Strategy
This is the major initiative of the Green Spaces pillar. Working with staff and citizens, council needs to develop a plan of strategic green spaces that should be secured throughout the years, for the benefit of both residents and nature.
This strategy should be based around the goal of establishing biotopes - continuous stretches of green space. Just as you would expect there to be transportation corridors for human movement, nature needs corridors for safe animal and plant movement. Green spaces cannot be established as patchwork throughout a city - it must be the other way around.
In addition, these biotopes can be used for recreational use by citizens - for example, for cycling routes as laid out in the Transportation Alternatives pillar. The strategy will obviously take into account the size, location, and current usage of the land in it’s quest to lay out strategic areas of green space.
A major goal that should be part of this strategy is an acceptable distance of access that all urban settlements should have from green spaces. For example, most major transit centres are “accessible” based on a radius of 800m - a standard acceptable walking distance. A similar number should be set out in this strategy. This goal could also take into account the density of the surrounding area, as a place like Downtown Vancouver would need more green spaces simply because there’s more people that would be sharing the area.
There should also be a defined timeline to accomplish the set out goals in the strategy.
Potential sources of long term funding for strategic land acquisition could include a partnership with Metro Vancouver and increased DCCs (development cost charges).
This strategy will give the City a long term plan to both reserve and acquire key parts of land throughout the years to ensure Surrey is truly a city in a sea of green.
2. Guaranteed funding for eco programs and associations
Surrey currently runs a number of innovative programs that help support the environment and foster citizenship in our community. For example:
You’d think with so many programs and such wide citizen support, Surrey would be one of the greenest cities in Canada. Not quite so.
Thus, with some real council support via the Nature Preservation Strategy, the City will ensure it preserves the green spaces. Through a program of guaranteed funding, we are enabling citizens and volunteers to have the resources they need to be stewards of these new and expanded green spaces. Because, without true citizen support, there’s no real point in strategically acquiring more green spaces in Surrey.
With that said, I propose that council have a memorandum of understanding that guaranteed funding will be written into the City’s next five budgets to continue to support these programs. In addition, any other citizen’s associations that prove they are helping to protect and enhance Surrey’s green spaces should be provided with some grant money from the City.
Sphere: Related ContentThis is the first pillar in my civic platform.
Development has always been a major issue in Surrey, ever since it’s inception many moons ago. This young city has always been a place of rapid growth and change, and projections show this will continue for a long time to come. In fact, it’s estimated that within 20 odd years, Surrey’s population will surpass that of Vancouver’s.
Now, it’s certainly debatable on how well Surrey has handled this growth throughout the years. I will definitely admit that with our sidestepping of the LRSP and a continuous “anything for development” attitude, our reputation around these parts has always been that of the raunchy stepchild. The attitude still pervades the city, even despite the boot of Doug McCallum - Dianne Watts certainly hasn’t slowed anything down, or taken a long term look at the impacts of certain developments. Just take a look at Campbell Heights.
While we may be beginning to make bigger steps in terms of density by building townhomes rather than single-family houses (which I would argue is for due to the market forces of high housing costs and developers wanting the most bang for their buck), there is still a *ton* of work to do.
What new do I bring to the table?
I can tell you right now that development can be good - if it’s done properly. So I’m not about to halt all future growth in the city. However, that does not mean that all developments must proceed. Council has a duty to only accept those which advance the wellbeing of the city as a whole. And with the plans I lay out below, I will ensure that the city of Surrey becomes a national leader in terms of sustainable development.
1. Green Building Strategy.
This one is big. Building structures have a huge effects on our communities, depending on their size, style, and efficiency. Buildings can contribute not only to huge energy savings, but also to substantial reductions in greenhouse gases - if they are built sustainably. Cities across the world have implemented Green Building strategies, typically in accordance to the LEED certification system.
Under LEED, new buildings, or major retrofits, take a look at a checklist of options that make a development greener. Depending on how many they fit, they will get a better and better LEED certification. LEED certification has proven to only cost approximatively 2% more than existing construction costs, and will produce huge savings down the line.
Most cities have the strategy applied simply to municipal buildings. Some even give incentives to private developments to encourage them to adopt the specifications.
Surrey will go ten steps farther to establish itself as a true leader in this space and to take a major step forward in the fight against climate change.
Obviously, all details and specifics regulations or targets would be marked down by staff, but here’s a general idea of what the strategy would be:
Beginning immediately, all new and major retrofitted civic buildings most adopt a LEED Gold certification - the most stringent in North America. The City must broker an agreement with the Board of Education that all schools will follow the same standard. In addition, major incentives will be given to private developers to encourage them to adopt the new standards. This includes a fasttracked system for building permits, a huge reduction in the cost of the building permit, and a huge reduction in DCCs (development cost charges), all based on what level of LEED certification has been proposed. These rebates will be offset a year or two later with the introduction of a levy on all new developments that do not feature LEED certification. Over time, again, based on the level of LEED certification that has been proposed, the “carrots” or incentives will decrease, and the “sticks” or disincentives will increase. This will continue to the point, over the course of a good 8 years, where all new developments in Surrey are LEED certified.
Such a plan gives developers a timeline to work off of to ensure they receive the best deal possible, and potentially avoid larger taxation in the future. With this reasonable market based system, Surrey can ensure that it lowers in carbon footprint, which increases it’s citizens overall wellbeing. In addition, Surrey will be a newfound national leader in the transition to a green economy.
2. Affordable Housing Strategy
As housing prices continue to escalate, hopeful homeowners have been priced out of the market for a single family house. Meanwhile, new options have sprung up, such as condos and townhomes, providing residents with brand new housing for an achievable pricetag. However, as of 2005, the average annual income of a citizen of Surrey is $32,000. And considering a whopping 90% of citizens are not in a common law relationship, the typical formula of having two people share a mortgage is no longer the reality. In fact, it is doubtful a large majority of residents can even afford to buy *any* form of housing.
Although renting continues to be an affordable alternative to home ownership, these citizens are unlikely to ever be able to enter the ownership market. In such a system, we are simply expanding the split between “haves” and “have nots” - something which has huge societal rebounds in the future.
An affordable housing strategy depends on a variety of measures to ensure that *all* citizens in Surrey can afford to live in reasonable accommodations. The strategy I’m proposed has four major sections.
I’ve been pondering a lot recently about my position in the community and how to best realize my vision for this region, and, more specifically, for my home city of Surrey. You see, a person like me tends to have a lot of projects and ideas swirling around his head - it’s just a matter of how best to make these a reality. Rather often, it seems that the power to truly improve things lies in the hands of decision makers. To that end, I’m pondering a potential run for political office in Surrey during the November municipal elections.
I’ve written before about what I believe is a lack of boldness in this region. You know, that spice of life, that energy… that ability to make, support and rally around the *best* decisions and ideas - and I think it’s something I inherently possess. It’s a quality that could make up for my lack of experience in politics and support my candidacy as I’m advocating for the important issues.
And what are the important issues?
Well, take a look at the “four pillars”, so to speak, of a Surrey civic platform that I’ve been brainstorming.
I’m a logical guy, so trust me when I say that I already have many plans on how to achieve measurable improvements in these four categories - something rarely seen from political candidates vying for office. November’s a long ways away still. Does the platform sound intriguing to you? Something you would support?
Stay tuned, the rest of this week, I’ll give a full rundown on each of these “pillars”, including specific policies and plans.
Naturally, I’d really appreciate any and all comments :)
Sphere: Related ContentIf you have no clue about this teen, watch the video below.
Despite the typical ageism the rather young host shows, the kid definitely did not deserve anything better.
He held a party with over 500 teens, destroyed the neighbourhood, and retaliated against police when they arrived to crash the situation.
This story definitely shows the power of the internet. The party itself blew up it’s attendance due to MySpace, and since the aftermath has become a worldwide phenomenon within the past week, the kid has now been offered a job with a club to host parties. Ironic enough that the $20,000 bill will be easily paid by hosting more parties.
The kid is the epitome of unresponsible teenagers. All things considered, maybe youth laws should be tightened up to ensure that, in these types of situations, kids face the consequences.
To me, it’s not so much a story of hosting a 500 person party, but a more typical situation where the partiers wrecked havoc on the neighbours. This follows my whole libertarian philosophy that you, as a free person in a free country, should be allowed to do anything you wish, as long as it does not have negative effects on any other person. Quite a broad overarching view, but such a “golden rule” is quite clearly broken here.
If they had just stuck to themselves and had their party, there wouldn’t be a huge fuss right now and I probably wouldn’t think Corey is a prick.
But hey, Corey has at least gotten his 15 seconds of fame as either the ultimate teenage asswipe or the prodigal party host. I think it’s quite clear which point of view I’m siding with.
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