Live Work Units in the City of Langley

A few weeks ago, we sent off a letter to the City of Langley expressing our concerns about the proposed redevelopment on Park Avenue and Douglas Crescent. On main concern was that this development proposal is residential only. We believe that this development, at a minimum, should contain live/work units. We believe this is in the spirit of the Downtown Langley plan which states:

Park Avenue: As reflected in the name, this special design district recommends a higher quality compact 4 storey development fronting on Douglas Park. Park Avenue would be “calmed” for local access so the development is almost an extension of the park and associated recreation activities. The development program will include:
-4 storey residential development built in clusters with green centre courts;
-Retail commercial or office fronting on Douglas Crescent; and
-Retention of historic Federal Building located at the corner of Douglas Crescent and 204th Street.

We are concerned because Page A2 of the Downtown Langley Master Plan Feasibility Study stated that the development at the corner of Fraser Highway and 201A Street would have 16 Live/Work units on the ground level. I do not believe any units where built. They are about 600sq. foot one-story apartments. They do not appear to be suitable for live/work. We are concerned this is happening again on Park Avenue.

Anyway, we received a reply from the City. You can download the letter from the document archive, but I wanted to highlight the following:

The subject proposal is consistent with the high-quality residential character envisioned for the Park Avenue special design district. At the same time, the site’s C1 zoning allows for a range of commercial land users, some of which can be incorporated in a live-work configuration such as in The Muse development at 20238 Fraser Highway. While the integrity of the ground floor retail component is essential to the success of the Core Area on the north side of Douglas Crescent, the City believes that great flexibility is appropriate in the Park Avenue area where the primary goal is to create a desirable residential district in close proximity to Douglas Park.

Looking like we will have to push for live-work at the public hearing...

Transportation Safety Stats

I thought it would be interesting to note that public transit would appear to be the safest form of transportation. It is also interesting to see that bicycling is one of the more dangerous forms of transportation. I would assume it has to do with bike/car conflict. This is why I am such a strong supporter of separated bike lanes.

Deaths per billion journeys
Bus: 4.3
Rail: 20
Van: 20
Car: 40
Foot: 40
Water: 90
Air: 117
Bicycle: 170
Motorcycle: 1640

Deaths per billion hours
Bus: 11.1
Rail: 30
Air: 30.8
Water: 50
Van: 60
Car: 130
Foot: 220
Bicycle: 550
Motorcycle: 4840

Deaths per billion kilometres
Air: 0.05
Bus: 0.4
Rail: 0.6
Van: 1.2
Water: 2.6
Car: 3.1
Bicycle: 44.6
Foot: 54.2
Motorcycle: 108.9

Source: INFORMED SOURCES October 2000: Risk, perception and the cold numbers

Picture Monday

Track Sharing in Perth, Western Australia from Wikipedia
(Light Rail and Heavy Rail)

Vancouver putting cycling first.

No to Road Pricing, MoT

So it would appear that the new Minister of Transportation, Shirley Bond, does not support road pricing according to an article in the Burnaby News Leader. I can understand not supporting road pricing in most of BC as it is not needed , but I really think the Province needs to review their outdated road pricing (tolling) policy. On a side note, I believe that the only three places that would ever see road pricing would be Metro Vancouver, Victoria, and possibly Kelowna.

"We're not contemplating at this point changing our road-pricing policies," Bond said, adding the province's policy remains that any tolled roads or bridges must still offer an untolled alternative.

Road pricing is favoured by transportation experts, who say it offers the best way to control congestion, raise money and steer traffic to off-peak times through reduced rates.

Also in the article is mention of the Province's review of TransLink. To find the kind of money TransLink wants would require one of two things. 1.) The Province releasing TransLink of it debut servicing obligations. 2.) Cut wages at Coast Mountain Bus / Contract out bus service to a company that pays really low wages. I don’t think ether option will happen.

Bond has also ordered a review of TransLink by B.C.'s comtroller general that she hopes will identify potential savings, and look at capping executive and board salaries.
The review is to be complete by the end of September. TransLink's commissioner will also issue findings on the 10-year plan options by the end of August.

A hard look at costs and expenses is something CEO Tom Prendergast has said was already done in the early months of the 10-year plan process.