The fog of city

From Boston.com – The Big Picture – 2008 in Photographs

Transit versus trucks and cars in Metro Vancouver

Earlier this month, a report by Bruce Schaller, New York’s deputy transportation commissioner for planning and sustainability, showed that the influx of residents there embraced mass transit, as opposed to automobiles.

So how does New York City’s success with transit compare to Metro Vancouver?

To compare, TransLink provided me with a document called Transport 2040, released in October of 2007, and containing “key information, statistics and forecasts related to Translink’s 30-year strategy.”

A future at the farm for urban youth?

Terrie’s Take, a weekly look at business issues in Japan, reports (along with Nikkei.co.jp) that the country’s government is recruiting urban youth to take up rural jobs — in farming, forestry, and fishing. It’s part of a masterplan to revitalize rural communities in Japan through subsidies.

The biggest challenge will be finding youths who are willing to do manual labor and live a harsh rural life. Unless recruited in China or SE Asia, our guess is that the recruitees will have to be those given a choice of either remand school or rehabilitation through rural work…! We’re not sure how Japan’s elderly
farmers will take to such rookie employees.

Here in North America, this concept has already played itself out in a Paris Hilton reality TV program.

Metro column: Vancouver transport at centre of stimulus debate

Transport at centre of stimulus debate

22 December 2008

John Baird, Canada’s Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, was in the Lower Mainland last week to collect funding wish lists from regional government leaders.

He and his boss, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, want to breathe some life into the national economy with major stimulus projects that will create jobs and bolster consumer confidence.

Not surprisingly, Baird’s appearance on the West Coast attracted plenty of fanfare. And like toddlers at the mall lining up for their two minutes with Santa Claus, politicians and lobbyists were quick to make their respective cases for the loot presumably coming out of Ottawa.

It’s hard to blame them. They are wise to the fact that amidst the bleeding from this financial crisis, there is unprecedented opportunity — opportunity to address Canada’s “infrastructure deficit.”

Can John Baird save Vancouver from “Total Gridlock”?

The arrival of the federal Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities John Baird in Vancouver — and his musings about stimulus spending in the form of infrastructure projects from coast to coast — has captivated a number of special interest groups locally.

This includes Get Moving BC, an organization that has made some waves for its aggressive support of the B.C. government’s Gateway program — and the controversial bridge-building that goes with it.

Here’s what they had to say in a news release issued this week:

Get Moving BC spokesperson Michael McBratney says he’s pleased to hear that Minister Baird is talking about accelerating the Evergreen Line and says Get Moving BC fully supports such stimulus spending on transportation projects – not only for the immediate social and economic benefits they bring but also for the long term benefits.

“The province has made a great start modernizing our transportation infrastructure with projects like the Pitt River Bridge, the Canada Line and theGolden Ears Bridge,” McBratney says. “But now we have the opportunity to stimulate the economy and catch up on some of our other badly-needed transportation projects at the same time.”

McBratney says several economists have recently indicated that public dollars spent on infrastructure like roads, bridges and transit systems, among other forms of public infrastructure, provide the best return on investment when it comes to stimulating the economy during a recession.

Get Moving BC, you’ll recall, released a study in September which predicted “total gridlock” in Metro Vancouver if “steps are not taken to correct the bridge infrastructure gap due to a rapidly expanding population south of the Fraser River.”

Needless to say, it’s a sentiment that is not universally embraced on either side of the Port Mann Bridge.

Metro column: David vs. Goliath, or fog of bureaucracy?

15 December 2008

Last week, while TransLink was talking up expansion plans and funding needs for the future, it was also taking some heat on a very different issue, and from an unlikely source.

An upstart ferry service is crying foul over the way it claims it is being treated by Metro Vancouver’s transit authority.

Coastal Link Ferries, which operates a walk-on service daily between Bowen Island and Coal Harbour in downtown Vancouver, wants to pick up and drop off passengers at an unused dock at the Waterfront Station SeaBus terminal.

The prime location would allow its customers to link up with SkyTrain and buses, not to mention the popular SeaBus service.

The problem is, despite its persistence in trying to iron out a deal with TransLink for the space, Coastal Link — which plans on expanding its service to the Sunshine Coast and Port Moody — has so far heard nothing.

Transit trumps traffic in NYC population boom

The years between 2003 and 2008 saw an employment and population boom for New York City. But that didn’t translate into a crush of vehicular traffic.

A report released this week by Bruce Schaller, New York’s deputy transportation commissioner for planning and sustainability, shows that the influx of residents embraced mass transit, as opposed to cars, trucks and SUVs.

According to the New York Times, the study is the first of its kind to analyze the city’s mid-2000s era, which saw New York adding more than 200,000 jobs and 130,000 new residents.

As the Times article points out:

…virtually the entire increase in New Yorkers’ means of transportation during those robust years occurred in mass transit, with a surge in subway, bus and commuter rail riders.

The city’s sprawling public transportation system was able to handle such a surge because of vast improvements in service in recent years, Mr. Schaller said, as well as the advent of the MetroCard, which made using the system more efficient. A steep drop in crime made people more willing to use the system, and the construction of housing in areas well served by subways also brought in many more riders.

Metro column: Robertson should play nice with rivals

08 December 2008

Gregor Robertson is on quite a roll these days. The mayor-elect in the city of Vancouver, who takes office today, has parlayed a successful entrepreneurial background into high-profile political stints at the provincial and municipal levels.

Already, some of his biggest fans are touting the photogenic Robertson as a future leader for the provincial NDP.

But while Robertson’s career is firing on all cylinders, he would be wise to back away from the partisan sniping and political points-scoring that was part of last month’s municipal election campaign — no matter how tempting.

Rather, he needs to find a way to work with old adversaries from the B.C. Liberal government on critical issues like the 2010 Olympics, the homelessness crisis, and Vancouver’s transit woes.

Burrard Street Bridge: Here we go again.

With the Vision Vancouver-dominated council about to be sworn in within days in the City of Vancouver, the controversy over bike lanes on the Burrard Street Bridge is already heating up.

This time, it seems, a plan is in the works to close down one lane of traffic for bikes; while a second would serve as an alternating lane, much like the middle lane of the Stanley Park Causeway.

So, will this fly? Perhaps I’m being pessimistic, but in my opinion probably not. The battle for the bridge has been going on for years, and in the end, the status quo almost always reigns supreme. That’s because the issue is so politically contentious — especially with commuters who claim the bridge is already congested with traffic. Some argue that the bridge controversy was the issue that put Sam Sullivan over the top in his mayoral contest against Jim Green earlier this decade (Sullivan was against a plan to dedicate two lanes of the bridge to bike traffic).

MLS in Vancouver: Shoe-in or longshot?

A great update from Robert Wagman of SoccerTimes on Vancouver’s bid to be one of two chosen expansion franchises for Major League Soccer (MLS).

Montreal, for reasons that are still somewhat unclear, has been removed (or removed itself, depending on who you believe) from the bidding, and that opens the door for the Vancouver and Ottawa bids — at least if you believe that the MLS wants to award at least one franchise to a Canadian city.

But given the current economic climate, it seems that all bets are off. Not only is Montreal out of the running, but Miami is making new demands in its bid.

None of this is helping Vancouver, however.