Our Air is Cleaner Than Ever, Saving Lifes

Sometimes, it seems that all we get is bad news regarding the environment, but there is a lot of good work going on, such as cleaning up our air, water, and land. One area where we have made a lot of progress is cleaning up the air. Metro Vancouver is part of the Lower Fraser Valley airshed, and the Metro Vancouver Regional District completes a comprehensive inventory of air pollutants every five years.

They recently shared trends of air emissions from 2000 to 2020. The bottom line is that “today’s cleaner air saves the lives of approximately 580 Metro Vancouver residents each year, compared to air quality in 2001.”

The following tables show the reductions of certain emissions types.

Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions Trend in the Fraser Valley 2000-2020. Select the chart to enlarge.

Nitrogen Oxides Emissions Trend in the Fraser Valley 2000-2020. Select the chart to enlarge.

Except for fine particulate matter emissions from wildfires, PM2.5 emissions are also declining.

Fine Particulate Matter Emissions Trend in the Fraser Valley 2000-2020. Select the chart to enlarge.

Of course, more work needs to be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

GHG Emissions Trend in the Fraser Valley 2000-2020. Select the chart to enlarge.

What Does It Cost to Build an Apartment Parking Spot?

Parking is one of those topics that people can feel very passionate about, whether people believe we have too much or too little parking. In Langley City today, most of our community north of the Nicomekl River does not have minimum parking requirements for residential use per provincial law as they are within provincial designated transit-oriented areas.

Building residential parking, especially in apartments, is expensive. Many numbers have been used over the years to quantify the cost of underground parking. The Metro Vancouver Regional District recently commissioned a study to determine the cost per stall.

The cost ranges from $117,382 to $137,721 per apartment stall. It might seem surprising initially, but parking is more expensive per stall in communities with higher per-unit parking requirements. This cost does make sense. Building a two-storey underground parkade is far more expensive than a one-storey parkade. With new six-storey wood-frame apartments in Langley City, parkades range from one to two stories.

The regional district also updated its apartment parking utilization study. Below are the results for South of Fraser Communities.

Municipality	Residential Stall/Unit (Sampled)	Residential Stall Utilization	Visitor Stall Utilization
Delta	1.39	72%	47%
Langley City	1.27	75%	57%
Langley Township	1.37	63%	41%
Surrey	1.31	70%	40%
White Rock	1.8	59%	35%

The parking utilization for residential parking demand was surveyed between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am, and visitor parking demand was surveyed between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm.

While Langley City Council does not control residential minimum parking requirements in most areas designated for apartments, there are still a few small areas outside the provincial designated transit-oriented areas that we do. A reduction in our residential parking to one parking space per unit for apartment buildings in these areas could reduce per-unit costs around $30,000, helping with affordability while providing adequate parking based on actual utilization.

To clarify, the study did not look at parking costs or utilization for townhouses, 'plexes, or detached homes.

Bring History to Life in Langley City: James Douglas Plaques

It was a hot day yesterday, so I decided to ride my bike down to McBurney Plaza and grabbed a cold brew coffee and a cookie from Oldhand Coffee. It is one of several excellent independent coffee shops in Downtown Langley City, along with Coastal Coffee, Cozy Bean Bakery, Cup O' Cafe, Red Velvet Cafe, and Twins Coffee.

Anyway, I was talking to the barista, and I think I mentioned that Langley City used to be called Langley Prairie. She thought it was interesting and said that people always ask her about the area's history.

I mentioned that McBurney Plaza exists because, in 1995, the historic Oddfellows Hall caught on fire twice. The plaza is where the hall used to be. I then pointed out some of the other century-old buildings in our downtown.

Our community has so much history, but I fear that it will be lost if we don't share that history.

Langley City's Arts, Recreation, Culture, and Heritage Committee has been busy bringing that history back to life along with community members.

You'll notice that there are many things named Douglas in Langley City. They are named after James Douglas, the first Governor of the Colony of British Columbia. I've posted about his connection to the historic Black community in BC. He was of mixed descent.

Unveiling of plaques about James Douglas and Black History in Douglas Park. Select the image to enlarge.

A few weeks ago, some Arts, Recreation, Culture, and Heritage Committee members officially unveiled new information plaques about James Douglas in Douglas Park. Be on the lookout for them, the next time you are at the park.

You'll notice signs about Langley City's railway history along Michaud Crescent and Grade Crescent that we rolled out earlier.

Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway Sign at the south entrance of Sendall Gardens.

There is much more history to tell, and I'm excited that we are starting to bring that history to life.

June 23 Council Notes: Presentations from BC Nurses Union and Discover Langley City. Annual Report Approved.

As I posted last week, Langley City's 2024 Annual Report is now available. Municipalities must provide an opportunity for people to provide official feedback on an annual report, whether written or at a council meeting. On Monday, Langley City Council provided an opportunity for people to speak to Council about our annual report. No one spoke, and we received no written feedback. Langley City Council officially approved the annual report.

Council received a presentation from the BC Nurses Union on how local governments can support nurses moving to and staying in our community. Munipciliaities need to support the creation of affordable housing (such as BC Builds projects where rents are 20% below market rates), build a variety of transportation options, expand childcare options (Langley City is considering expanding locations where childcare facilities can open as part of our new zoning bylaw), and provide recreation opportunities.

Later, Council received a spring update presentation from Discover Langley City, our tourism marketing organization that is primarily funded through a hotel room tax. Council learned about Discover Langley City's "Experience the Wonderland" winter campaign to attract people from BC and Washington to spend a night or two in Langley City to explore our community. We also learned about an upcoming sports tourism package they are putting together, as sporting events are big in Langley. I was able to attend a part of a FAM tour hosted by Discover Langley City. The tour included travel professionals and media and was an opportunity to show what our community offers.