paulhillsdon.com

Yes, I have decided, that I will run in this year’s municipal elections for a seat on Surrey City Council.

Over the past year or so, as my projects have come and gone, I’ve become frustrated. I developed policies and plans to fix many of the problems I encountered in daily life. I created the South of Fraser Transit 2011 proposal because transit is lackluster out here. I created the Surrey Cycling Initiative because biking anywhere wasn’t a safe or viable transportation alternative in my city. I created the Transit Metropolis Vancouver vision because I wanted to be able to move around the region quickly, comfortably, and cheaply.

But, without political will behind any of my, or any other person’s ideas, they are worth nothing. It is for this exact reason that I have chosen to enter politics. We need more creativity and idealism in our politicians - I think those are two qualities I possess in mounds.

Sustainability is the cornerstone of my entire platform. I am part of the generation that will inherit this planet from the baby boomers. It is imperative that Surrey take a leadership role in protecting our environment, developing green transportation, and providing equal opportunities for all citizens to succeed in life.

My platform revolves around four pillars: Sustainable Development, Green Spaces, Transportation Options, and Vibrant Communities. They all interconnect and create a much larger vision of the livable lifestyle - complete walkable communities with close access to sustainable transportation options, affordable housing, and green spaces.

It is time for Surrey to become all that it is capable of being and step up to the plate. To do so, we must take the lead in developing a city that will become a sustainable urban hub of Western Canada for the 21st century.

London, Curitiba, Dongtan, New York, Copenhagen, Freiburg, Paris, Dubai, Melbourne, Bogota, San Francisco, Sydney, and Vancouver can do it.

Why not Surrey?

I think with my vision and optimism, I would be an ideal councillor to help usher in the political will needed to make this transformation.

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?

After 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

• Raccoons
• Coyotes
• Possums
• Mice
• Squirrels
• Chipmunks
• Herons

Vancouver

• Skunks
• Raccoons (in Yaletown no less!)
• Herons

Burnaby

• Squirrels (they’ve taken over Central Park!)
• Ducks
• Rats

This 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:

• SHARP: Salmon Habitat Restoration Program.
• SNAP: Surrey’s Natural Areas Partnership.
• Surrey Youth Stewardship Squad
• Adopt-a-Street
• Releaf
• Bulbs for Beauty
• Friends of the Forest

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.