Land-use, parks, and indoor public space: a day in Snug Cove on Bowen Island

This weekend, I visited Bowen Island for the first time. Bowen Island is a 20-minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay. The island has always had a strong connection to the rest of Metro Vancouver. Post-colonization, Bowen Island was used for farming and other resource-based economic activities such as forestry and mining. During the first half of the 20th century, the island became a resort destination operated by the long defunct Union Steamship Company, providing an escape for people from Vancouver.

Today, the island is home to around 3,700 permanent residents. Many people commute to mainland Metro Vancouver whether for work, high school, or accessing “big city” amenities. Bowen Island is unique as it is part of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, the Islands Trust, and is the only island municipality in the province.

Metro Vancouver’s most visibile presence on the island is Crippen Regional Park which wraps around Snug Cove, the main village on the island. I had a chance to explore Crippen Regional Park with my friend Patrick. One of the things that we noticed was that the park’s trail network wasn’t only recreational, but also acted as the main way to get around by foot in the area.

Crippen Regional Park. Select image to enlarge.

As part of the Islands Trust, Bowen Island Municipality isn’t required to have its land-use policies be consistent with our Regional Growth Strategy. It must however ensure that its land-use:

• Foster the preservation and protection of the Trust Area's ecosystems
• Ensure that human activity and the scale, rate and type of development in the Trust Area are compatible with maintenance of the integrity of Trust Area ecosystems
• Sustain island character and healthy communities

Patrick and I were given a tour of Snug Cove by Bowen Island Councillor Sue Ellen Fast. One of the things that she noted is that Bowen Island is encouraging mixed-use development in Snug Cove, and that was certainly evident. She also noted the informal shared-use nature of their main street, Bowen Island Trunk Road, through Snug Cove. It is used for ferry lineups, parking for businesses, walking, and cycling. Because of its various uses, people tend to drive with caution. In the future, I could see this road transform into a more formal shared space.

Mixed-use development in Snug Cove. Select image to enlarge.

New development in Snug Cove. Select image to enlarge.

Ferry traffic on Bowen Island Trunk Road. Select image to enlarge.

Like other municipalities in our region, affordable housing is a challenge. She pointed out that there is currently a “Grafton Lake Lands” re-zoning application which would see 120 market-priced units, 45 affordable housing units including rental units, and an 18-unit “spiritual, cultural, education, and wellness centre” built if approved.

Councillor Sue Ellen Fast also gave us a tour of Cove Commons, a new community space that was celebrating its grand opening while we were there. The $1.2 million dollar facility includes a 1,200 sq. ft. arts space, and a significant addition to the current library with much needed flexible use space. 69% of the funding to build Cove Commons was provided through private sources, with 25% of the funds coming from the federal government. The facility will be jointly operated by the library (which is funded by the municipalities) and the Bowen Island Arts Council.

Entrance to Cove Commons. Select image to enlarge.

Bowen Island Arts Council gallery space. Select image to enlarge.

New library space inside Cove Commons. Select image to enlarge.

Bowen Island was a great day-trip, though I was only able to see about one-sixth of the island. I look forward to exploring more of this unique place in our region in the future.

The opioid crisis and its impact on Langley City Fire Rescue Service

One of the things that I’ve noticed since being on council is the rapid increase in incidents that Langley City Fire Rescue Service has responded to over the last four years. The largest increase has been due to medical incidents. This is not surprising giving that there is an opioid crisis in our province.

The Internet Archive saves a point-in-time copy of most websites online. I decided to look up Langley City’s old website, and found Langley City Fire Rescue Service Statistic from 2000. I put together the following chart comparing 2000 to last year. Keep in mind that Langley City’s population has only increased by 9% over the last 17 years.

Langley City Fire Rescue Service Stats: 2000 and 2017. Select chart to enlarge.

The MESA category which includes responding to motor vehicle crashes and medial incidents has seen a 2000% increase since the turn of the century. Other categories of incidents have also increased faster than population growth, but it is the MESA category that stands out.

The opioid crisis is having a profound impact on people in Langley City and throughout our province. It is our first responders who are bearing the brunt of this crisis, and that is not sustainable. Prevention is key. This will require the provincial government and its health authorities to take the lead. Local governments cannot do it alone.

Notes on other categories:
Rescue – Responses including for extrications, water rescues, and confined spaces rescues
Hazmat – Responses to hazardous materials and items incidents
Fire – Responses to building, vehicle, and outdoor fires
Alarms – Responses to fire alarms where there is no fire (such as a fire sprinkler burst)
Other – Responses including to smells/orders, floods, electrical hazards, and burning complaints. Also includes mutual aid.

Metro Vancouver residents support protecting farmland and preserving industrial land

Two of the tenets of regional land-use policy in Metro Vancouver is to protect farmland and preserve industrial land. There is a healthy tension between municipalities and the regional district when it comes to land-use. Municipalities tend to push towards development with the “highest and best use” at a given point in time, while the regional district tends to look at a longer timeframe when it comes to the best use for land. The regional district is a federation of municipalities in Metro Vancouver; each municipality agreed to be bound by the regional district’s land-use policy.

Metro Vancouver recently polled people who lived in our region, asking them if protecting farmland and preserving industrial land is important. They also asked people under what conditions would they consider allowing farmland or industrial land to be developed for residential or commercial uses.

The poll revealed that people believe^† that agricultural land:

1. Provides a local source of fresh food
2. Offers environment benefits such a providing green space, clean air, flood management, and habitat for wildlife
3. Supports future generations with options for local food production and food security

People in the poll believed^† that industrial land:

1. Supports a significant number of jobs in our region
2. Provides suitable locations to meet the day-to-day needs of the region such as warehousing, repair, and manufacturing
3. Attracts companies to do business here

People in our regional strongly believe in protecting farmland. The only case where the majority of people polled would support converting farmland to other uses would be if the land was not suitable for farming or other agricultural uses. People polled strongly support keeping residential growth within existing urban areas.

When it comes to converting industrial land to other uses, the majority of people polled would only support conversion if industrial land was vacant, not being used for industrial proposes for over half a decade. The majority of people polled also believed that industrial activities should have priority access to certain locations such as rail corridors, waterfronts, and highways.

Industrial uses along the waterfront.

This poll confirms that people support protecting farmland and preserving industrial land. It also confirms that people want to see residential and commercial uses (such as offices and retail) built in current urban areas.

In Langley City, we are doing our part. Current industrial land is protected as is our limited amount of agricultural land in our Official Community Plan.

The full poll results can be downloaded from Metro Vancouver’s website.

^†Top three responses.

Bus, SkyTrain, and West Coast Express reliability increased in 2017

With any transportation system, reliability is a critical metric. Being stuck in stop and go traffic can really get the blood boiling for most people. The same is true for transit users, with the added expectation that transit service arrives and leaves within a few minutes of its scheduled time.

The SkyTrain network runs in its own right-of-way and is automated. This means that the system should be extremely reliable. SkyTrain reliability has historical been extremely high, but reliability drop in 2014 as a result of some serious breakdowns. This led to an independent review which made 20 recommendations to improve reliability. Since that time, reliability has improved.

TransLink recently released 2017 year-end reliability statistics, and it is good news for SkyTrain. In 2017, 95.3% of trains arrived within 3 minutes of their scheduled time.

SkyTrain and West Coast Express on-time performance between 2011 and 2017. Select chart to enlarge.

West Coast Express commuter rail has historically also been extremely reliable, but on-time performance started dropping in 2015 due to scheduling challenges between commuter and freight trains. In 2017, on-time performance increased with 97.2% of trains arriving within 5 minutes of their scheduled time. This increase in performance was due to reduced freight traffic on the commuter corridor.

Ensuring the reliability of bus service is extremely difficult as buses share lanes with other vehicles for the most part. This means that buses are susceptible to both time-of-day congestion, and congestion caused by crashes. That being said, TransLink was able to make some modest improvements to on-time performance on its bus network.

Bus on-time performance over the last two years. Select chart to enlarge.

As a transit user, one of the most frustrating things is when a bus leaves early from a stop on an infrequent route. TransLink and its subsidiaries have been working to reduce the amount of buses that leaving early from stops. For example on the Fraser Highway corridor, bus operators now wait at certain stops if they are running early.

TransLink’s operating subsidiary, Coast Mountain Bus, has added “on-time performance discussions” to operators’ annual performance reviews, looking at each operator’s early leave and late arrival metrics.

It is encouraging to see that the overall on-time reliability is increasing for all modes within our region’s transit network.