December 29, 2009 - 11:36 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
CivicScene is back in the saddle with a holiday diet and a blogging schedule that once again need a steady regimen.
I have returned to the blogging horse, a little more weighty from no less than three holiday dinners within four days – a condition, I might add, that I fully intend to begin working off sometime today.
Today I am struck by two columns by two of Vancouver’s most respected scribes – Rod Mickleburgh of the Globe and Mail and Allen Garr of the Vancouver Courier – that offer assessments on two of Mayor Gregor Robertson’s most prominent and contentious policy directions over the past year.
There can be little argument with the fact that Vision Vancouver’s victory in last year’s civic election was predicated on a strong commitment to tackle homelessness in addition to a stated intention to create dedicated bike lanes on the Burrard Bridge (the former obviously having a far greater impact than the latter).
So if both of these policies were clearly articulated within the context of an election campaign that returned a decisive victory for the party proposing them, then it is safe to say that a majority of Vancouver’s electorate embraced them as something they were willing to see implemented.
This of course didn’t stop certain members of the outgoing regime from doing their damnedest to work up fervour to the contrary.
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October 16, 2009 - 9:43 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
An editorial that now falls flat on its face.
With the three-month anniversary of the Burrard Bridge bike lane trial having occurred on Monday, and in consideration of how well it has gone, I thought that I would post this humourous email that was sent out back in July by CKNW’s Jon McComb from The World Today to one of CivicScene’s regular readers:
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October 5, 2009 - 10:04 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
VANOC is hoping that commuting by car is abandoned during the 16 days of the Games. The City of Vancouver will use it as a trial run for its broader transportation objectives.
“Planning and infrastructure investments are paying off as we prioritize walking, biking, transit and goods movement, while attempting to limit single-occupancy vehicle volumes.”
This statement is not a part of VANOC’s Olympic transportation plan, but rather a quote taken directly from the City of Vancouver’s Transportation department website.
Clearly, Vancouver’s car commuters are going to be hard pressed to continue their preferences for getting around during the Games, as exclusive Olympic traffic lanes, severe parking resrictions and closed off streets will make getting behind the wheel a monumental test of patience. Here are just a few facts and figures:
- No. of vehicles now into and out of downtown: 400,000 per day
- No. of vehicles that will be affected by 2010 security closures: 80,000 per day
- Reduction of vehicles into and out of downtown during the Games: 20 per cent.
- Peak hour capacity in/out of the downtown to/from the east: 13,000 vehicles/hour
- Peak hour capacity on same roads during the security closures: 6,000 vehicles/hour
- Reduction of vehicles on east-west roads downtown roads during Games: 50 per cent.
- No of vehicles per day on Robson: 2,000 (near Cambie), up to 8,000 (near Burrard)
- No. of vehicles per day on Hamiltion: 4,000 (near Robson)
The City of Vancouver, however, will be looking very carefully at the successes and failures of such extreme measures to gauge the next steps towards making sustainability the defining feature of our transportation options.
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