March 2, 2010 - 12:48 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Robertson's looking for another kind of handshake like this (minus the Conservative propaganda), but is unlikely to walk away with anything of substance from Harper this time around.
I have been delinquent during the Games, as unlike those who transformed themselves into “media”, I took some time away from the blog and municipal politics to enjoy the civic experience of a lifetime.
That being said, I am now back in the swing of things, and will be posting regularly from this point forward. CivicScene will also have some featured pieces coming out in one of Vancouver’s preeminent news outlets in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
Mayor Gregor Robertson has left himself little time to rest in between the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as he has made his trek eastward to Ottawa and Toronto in search of “a commitment to a national housing strategy” and more provincial and federal funding for transit.
Yet on the heels of Premier Gordon Campbell’s government preparing people for today’s budget which will dramatically “cut back on the operating budgets of government” as well as Prime Minister Stephen Harper prefacing his upcoming budget by calling it the “toughest of his career,” I can’t see the Vancouver Mayor walking away with anything at all in terms of financial commitments.
But the trip is significant for the way in which Robertson is graduating from his roles and responsibilities that are most often bound within the confines of Vancouver’s official boundaries.
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January 21, 2010 - 10:58 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
The Evergreen line limbo should be a wake-up call for the City of Vancouver.
Tomorrow, Vancouver’s Special Standing Committee of Council on Planning and Environment will be presented with a staff policy report outlining the suggested terms of engagement for TransLink’s UBC Line Rapid Transit Study.
The study, which is a partnered project between Translink, the City of Vancouver, UBC, the University Endowment Lands, and Metro Vancouver, will identify a wide range of rapid transit options for the Broadway corridor including a preferred route, technology(ies), and general station locations.
Here is what Geoff Meggs told News 1130 about how such a line would already be able pay for itself:
“There already are more people riding on buses, jammed on buses, hanging on straps on buses, watching buses drive by them, than we need to justify the line.”
The evidence to support such claims is concrete and real, and Meggs is doing his job in advocating for Vancouver’s transit needs first and foremost. However, with the spectre of the yet-to-be-started Evergreen Line hanging over Translink and their next steps towards progressing forward on regional transportation, these plans for the city seem extremely premature.
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October 6, 2009 - 9:35 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
If Anton has her way, the City of Vancouver will annex these lands as soon as possible.
On April 15, 2008, Councillor Suzanne Anton proposed a motion regarding a reformation of the governance structure of UBC, which unbeknownst to many, is a part of the nebulous Electoral Area A.
Electoral Area A is made up of the following unincorporated areas:
- the west side of Pitt Lake
- the northern portion of Indian Arm
- a portion of land between the District of West Vancouver and Squamish Lillooet Regional District (excluding the Village of Lions Bay)
- the islands of Bowyer, Passage and Barnston
- the University Endowment Lands (including Pacific Spirit Regional Park)
- the University of British Columbia
The area is currently a part of Metro Vancouver (formerly the Greater Vancouver Regional District), and has a variety of tax-supported, regional services that are provided like any other member municipality, including:
- 9-1-1 emergency telephone
- Air quality
- General government
- Labour relations
- Regional parks
- Strategic planning
There are also a number of local services provided within the area encompassing building permits and inspection, local planning and general administration services.
Anton is determined to annex the area and bring it into the fold and responsibility of the City of Vancouver, even though there is no desire from the perspective of the University and/or residents to do so and in spite of the significant amount of costs involved in making such a shift.
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