paulhillsdon.com

The more I learn about public space, sustainable transportation, and climate change, the more I realize, despite Vancouver being a world leader in these matters, we’ve still got a lot of improvement to do. One of the best places on Earth can be found in Downtown Vancouver - that little slice on heaven on the Burrard Peninsula. But for all it’s wonderful aspects, like the seawall, English Bay, Robson St., Gastown, and Yaletown, one of the major parts that it lags behind in is efficient usage of street space. 

Considering how advanced the area is in terms of urban livability, I find that streets Downtown are still primarily designed as car thoroughfares and nothing more. Which is rather retarded considering how car usage in the area has been dropping steadily over the years. 

The fact of the matter is that bicycle has seen a resurgence across the world, that fossil fuel powered vehicles will go the way of the dodo, that walking needs to continue to be encouraged, and it is through this sustainable transportation infrastructure that vibrant economies and communities can develop and flourish. 

With that said, I reimagineered Davie St recently. Davie is one of several main commercial drags Downtown, and the redesign has taken such usage into consideration. Currently,

• the sidewalk is far too narrow for all the pedestrian traffic it handles, 
• the bus route (#6) is overburdened with riders and isn’t the best service possible, 
• the road is unsafe for cyclists and skateboarders (both of which I see along Davie all the time), 
• and there is a lack of amenities like benches and plants/greenery along the route. 

All of this changes with this proposal. 

The proposal removes two car lanes and reallocates this as

• an expanded sidewalk (for a total of 4m wide, which is the width of Burrard),
• a physically separated 2m wide greenway (similar to the new Carrall St. redesign),
• a less obtrusive flex space with more area for plants, bike parking, bus shelters, newspaper bins, and public art.

Furthermore, the redesign includes a streetcar line. As many know, Vancouver grew up around the streetcar, and the cheap rail technology is looking better everyday to cities around the world as a way to combat climate change, encourage economic development, and get people out of their cars. 

I personally hate riding the bus Downtown simply because it’s so stop-and-go. The drivers don’t make the situation any better because they’ll speed or slam on the brakes, rather than providing a smooth ride - this type of transit service won’t be tolerated in a decade with over 1/4 of the population as seniors. Plus, the route is almost always packed with people! And to top it all off, service isn’t all that frequent for such a busy route. 

The streetcar addition addresses this issues as follows:

• Streetcars provide a much smoother ride due to being on rails. With some good training and tough enforcement on the drivers, we could ensure that acceleration and deceleration are smoother than the SkyTrain.
• Streetcars have an economic incentive for development that buses don’t have. This alone could encourage redevelopment and higher densities along the relatively old and low-rise road. This development could also pay for the inclusion of a streetcar. 
• With the inclusion of a greenway along Davie, such a safe and convenient route could encourage people to get off transit and onto to human powered transportation like bikes or rollerblades.

So what do you all think? Is Vancouver ready to take the next step and transform Downtown’s streets like Davie from car-oriented thoroughfares to bustling multi-modal public spaces?

From The Province:

People love their cars and need more roads, so gas taxes should be directed to encourage the car culture, not fund public transit, says Maureen Bader, spokeswoman for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

WOW. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything that could be more *wrong*! It’s like saying, people love to drink, so let’s build a ton of bars! With free drinks for all! 

*shakes head*

At a press conference yesterday to promote the CTF’s 10th Annual Gas Tax Honesty Day, Bader attacked Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s federal Conservatives and Premier Gordon Campbell’s B.C. Liberals as unprincipled tax-grabbers.

“About 30 per cent of the price you’re paying at the pump here in Vancouver is in tax,” said Bader.

“In Vancouver, 20.5 cents of each litre is provincial tax. What’s worse is we’re about to be hit with a carbon tax. Starting July 1st we’re going to be paying an additional 2.4 cents per litre, then we pay GST on top of that.

“This is just wrong.”

Yes, the gas tax is getting high. I would possibly argue a little too high, considering we aren’t seeing very many big improvements to cycling or transit infrastructure. However, market demand isn’t going to suddenly drop - even with people supposedly reducing car usage - so trust me, getting rid of the gas tax will do nothing but provide customers with a short term reduction in gas prices. Ironically enough, if you were to slash the tax tomorrow, demand would spike as people would rush to fill up - causing the price to increase!

She called on Ottawa to transfer five cents per litre of the federal gas tax to municipalities for roads.

Now, this does make a bit of sense, as long as municipalities aren’t forced to use the money for roads. Cities have been demanding a bigger transfer of the gas tax or GST for years, because they just don’t have the means to support the infrastructure they require. It’s the smart cities that would put this money into providing alternatives to the car, not building more roads and highways for the status quo. 

And she questioned the widely accepted opinion of world scientists that human CO2 production is causing dangerous global warming.

“More and more scientists are coming on record and saying that man-made global warming is probably not the cause of the global warming that we have been experiencing over the past few years.

“We’re spending billions of dollars, and really, what we’re doing is allowing politicians to essentially finance their next election campaign,” said Bader.

I’m not even going to touch this one, because we all know how ridiculous her claims are. I thought we got past the point of asking “is this happening” and “did we cause it”, to “how are we going to fix this”.

She sneered at governments’ funding of public transit.

“Taxpayers have got to ask themselves: ‘Do we really need to have a $14-billion Cadillac transit plan when all the government is really expecting to see is maybe a five-per-cent increase in transit use?’ People here want to use their cars.

I agree. $14 billion for such a small increase in usage is a complete waste of money. However, we must look at what we are paying for. Due to the construction of the Millennium Line as SkyTrain, it would be foolhardy to not complete it, with the eastern UBC Line extension, and the western Evergreen Line extension, in a different technology. In a sense, we are locked into the expensive proprietary SkyTrain. But, it must be built - and frankly, we need it ASAP. 

Once we spend the billions for those routes, then we can begin to look at cheaper alternatives that wil increase transit usage such as Light Rail Transit or Bus Rapid Transit. 

And don’t forget about one of the cheapest modes of transport, not just in acquiring the vehicle, but also the construction of infrastructure - cycling!

“Governments cannot pick winners [in business] and they shouldn’t be determining for us what we should be doing with our money and with our time.

“It didn’t work in the Soviet Union, it’s not going to work here either. People are driving more now than they ever have and gasoline prices are the highest that they have ever been.”

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon couldn’t be reached for comment.

To summarize,

• BC is not Soviet Russia, 
• we need a gas tax to fund alternatives *before* everyone stops driving due to insane fuel prices, 
• climate change is real and needs to be solved, 
• Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation doesn’t speak for all taxpayers, and 
• Maureen Bader is an ignoramus. 

Two maps I worked on recently to show you. First off, here’s the ALR in Surrey. Sure, it’s nature I suppose, despite the fact that none of it is public land (meaning the nature is inaccessible to most people), and that very few of these places actually make any edible food for our region. Still, it’s good for containing sprawl.

Secondly, here’s the other green spaces in the City - basically areas that were densely green on the aerial map (mostly forests and whatnot). Some of this greenery is parks (i.e. you can see Tynehead, Green Timbers, and Bear Creek), other areas are sections like the grass along the power line corridors.

Nature truly is the arteries of our cities. It’s too bad politicians and developers don’t understand this.

Not much of a “city in a sea of green”, is it?

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.

1. Sustainable Development
2. Green Spaces
3. Transportation Alternatives
4. Vibrant Communities

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 :)

These are all taken from the Provincial Transit Plan

Rapid Transit

• They are including the Canada Line under the Plan. Completion is set for 2009.
• $1.4 billion for the Evergreen Line by 2014.
• $2.8 billion for the UBC Line from Broadway to UBC by 2020
• $3.1 billion to double capacity on the Expo Line - major improvements at stations starting 2009, and 6km extension in Surrey by 2020. Station improvements include:
  • Lengthening platforms to handle 6 car trains
  • Vehicle storage depots
  • Maintenance facilities
  • Adjacent transit exchanges
• $1 billion for new rail cars

RapidBusBC

• Frequent, reliable service with regular intervals
• Express service with few or no stops
• Priority movement in traffic by dedicated/HOV lanes, signal priority, and queue jumping
• Contemporary, conveniently located bus stations with nearby amenities
• Seamless integration with other transit options and coordination with cycling and walking infrastructure
• Effective security measures
• 9 lines across BC
  • Westbank to UBC Okanagan in the central Okanagan
  • Douglas Street in downtown Victoria to Langford on the West Shore
  • Highway 1, connecting Lougheed Station to exchanges in Surrey and Langley across the Port Mann Bridge
  • Hastings Street from downtown Vancouver to SFU
  • 41st Ave from the Canada Line to UBC
  • Highway 99 from White Rock to the Canada Line in Richmond
  • King George Hwy from Surrey Centre south to White Rock
  • Fraser Hwy connecting Langley to the Expo Line in Surrey
  • Highway 7 from the Evergreen Line in Coquitlam across the new Golden Ears Bridge

Buses

• $1.6 billion in 1,500 new clean energy buses
• Clean technologies include
  • Hydrogen
  • Hybrid
  • Electric
  • Natural Gas
  • Low emissions diesel
• Customized sizes and types of buses
  • Community shuttles
  • Custom transit
  • Para transit
  • Articulated and double decker buses
  • Conventional buses

Cycling

• 1000 new bike lockers at key transit locations by 2020
• Comprehensive cycling strategy to be released in the next few months to complement the Provincial Transit Plan

Security

• Installing electronic gates and closed-circuit cameras at rapid transit stations
• Launching a smart card system for rapid transit and buses that users can reload at vending machines or on the Internet
• Taking action against people who do not pay fares with on-the-spot fines and other measures
• Increasing security personnel in and around rapid transit stations
• Improving safety for bus drivers

BC Hydro has a mini site released for the holidays. Just drop a virtual quarter into this Rube Goldberg holiday machine (eerily reminiscent of Science World’s), and everybody’s favourite crown corporation will donate the money to BC Children’s Charity. It’s a win win for everyone, plus it’s fun.

Although, if you read the fine print, it says they will donate a maximum of $5000. Considering each quarter is $0.25, and there was  already 231887 coin drops, that amounts to $57, 972. Who knew it would be so popular?

[via Stephen Rees' other blog]

• BC Grade 4ers are among the best readers in the world, but that doesn’t stop a good 10% of them from attempting suicide a few years down the line.
• The Tories have two seemingly opposing bills coming through the house. The first will regulate our cell phone market to ensure at least 40% of an upcoming spectrum sale will go to new bidders - that means no Telus, Rogers, or Bell. Meanwhile, a new copyright proposal in on it’s way, something Cory Doctorow calls, “the worst copyright law in the developed world.” (Yes, that means worse that the distratrous DCMA from the States)
• For those that liked the recently unveiled mascots, they can happily pick one up now at The Bay - for $25 minimum. But, if you’d rather wear Quatchi than hug him, you can always try and get a free Olympic pin at any Bell store this morning (just remember to clip out the coupon from The Province).

The death of Robert Dziekansi, and more recently Robert Knipstrom, possibly due to the use of Tasers, would obviously make any sane person question the use of the stunning weapon. And considering the following numbers, it seems like the public is being reasonable:

• 52% say Tasers are a good alternative to guns; police should keep using them while a safety study is done
• 46% say they want Tasers banned until a provincial public inquiry issues it’s report
• Confidence in the upper management of the RCMP remains steady at 59%
• Credibility of the RCMP’s regular forces has dropped 22 points from 83% in April to 61%

If I were the RCMP, an organization with quite a bumpy history and diminishing support from the public, the answer is quite simple: Put a simple temporary moratorium on Taser usage until the inquiries are completed. And yet, they continue to support it’s usage - apparently oblivious to what such a decision is doing to the RCMP’s reputation. I do not see why they can’t suspend the tool’s usage for a while… After all, it’s just one piece of the arsenal, and they’ll still have batons or pepper spray - tried, tested, and true police instruments.

That’s without even mentioning the UN’s recent announcement that Tasers are a form of torture and are against Universal Conventions.

Why are public official so stubborn? Why can’t they fess up to their mistakes and do the right thing for once? Heck, they might seem more human and actually have a better connection with the public in the long term.

Check out this deleted scene from Michael Moore’s Sicko.   In the mid to late 90’s, Canada was #1 on the Human Development Index - aka. we were the best country in the world. Yes, we’re still doing pretty good, with a rating of 0.950 at #6. It’s only 0.025 points difference to Norway. In comparison:

• 3. Australia: 0.957
• 8. U.S.: 0.948
• 18. U.K.: 0.940
• 21. Germany: 0.932

As you can see just from the clip, Norway is obviously doing a number of things right. Heck, as most would agree, almost all of Western Europe as some of the best countries around. So, why don’t we learn from them and adopt some of their policies. As the country sways more conservative, isn’t it intriguing we continue to drop on the HDI? We seem to be going backwards. Doesn’t anyone else have a problem with this?

Yes, bask in the hyperbole. But really, how is it any different than naming the new emergency services at Surrey Memorial Hospital after Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism?

That’s great that the South Asian community of Surrey is raising money for this much needed expansion. So are many other people, inside and out of the city. Why should the South Asians be singled out, first off, and if they are going to be, why was a religious name chosen? Whatever happened to freedom of religion? Why is the government naming a hospital unit after a religious leader?

I’m not against it because it’s the Sikhism founder. I’m against it because it’s religion in, and on, a public facility. Not in my day and age, no sir. Canada is a secular country, and such a stupid act in naming this facility completely overrides that ethic.

I know it’s just a name. But it represents so much more.

Your thoughts?