Looking back on 2014, and looking forward to 2015.

2014 has certainly been an exciting year for me, especially this fall. While I fell short of getting a seat on Langley City Council by 71 votes, I met some great people along the way. I feel even more strongly connected to my community. This fall also saw Leap Ahead – A transit plan for Metro Vancouver, written by Paul Hilsdon and me, become part of the transportation vision that people in our region will have a chance to vote on next spring.

Speaking about 2015, I will be working hard to get the message out about the importance of voting “Yes” in the upcoming transit plebiscite. This plebiscite will determine the future of our region. Citizens will be able to vote for a strong economy, reduced congestion, and enhanced livability; a “No” vote will be detrimental to the quality of life for every person whether in Langley, Lions Bay, or Vancouver. This is the most important campaign that I have ever been a part of; and that includes my run for City Council.

I will also be working on some exciting projects in the City of Langley which I will post about in more detail next year.

I will be taking a break from blogging until the new year, but in the meantime check out some great articles from Todd Litman at the Victoria Transport Policy Institute.

"The New Transit Safety Narrative", by Todd Litman, Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 121-141.

Public transportation is, overall, a relatively safe (low crash risk) and secure (low crime risk) transport mode. Transit travel has about one-tenth the traffic casualty (injury or death) rate as automobile travel, and residents of transit-oriented communities have about one-fifth the per capita crash casualty rate as in automobile-oriented communities. Transit also tends to have lower overall crime rates than automobile travel, and transit improvements can help reduce overall crime risk by improving surveillance and economic opportunities for at-risk populations. Despite its relative safety and security, many people consider transit travel dangerous and are reluctant to use it or support service expansions in their communities. Various factors contribute to this excessive fear, including the nature of transit travel, heavy media coverage of transit-related crashes and crimes, and conventional traffic safety messages that emphasize danger rather than safety. Transit agencies can help create a new transit safety narrative by better communicating transit’s overall safety and security impacts and providing better guidance concerning how users and communities can enhance transit safety and security.

"Playing a CRITICAL ROLE: Author And Researcher Todd Litman On The Future Of Transportation And Why So Much Of It Depends On Parking", in "The Parking Professional," the official magazine of the International Parking Institute (www.parking.org), November 2014. This article discusses ways that more efficient parking management can help reduce traffic problems, support compact development, increase housing affordability, support efficient economic growth, and help achieve other planning objectives.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Transit referendum, now plebiscite, ballot finalized by province

This morning, the provincial government approved the final version of the ballot that will be mailed to registered voters in Metro Vancouver this spring for funding much needed transit expansion in our region.

Provincially-approved ballot. Select image to enlarge.

The first thing apparent to me is that the province doesn’t want to be associated with this referendum which they forced upon the region. If the referendum fails, it will be the province that will have to deal with the aftermath; I believe the referendum will succeeded.

The province is calling the proposed regional 0.5% sales tax the “Metro Vancouver Congestion Improvement Tax.” I actually think it is a good name as it links the 0.5% sales tax increase directly to the transportation improvements that the tax will fund.

The referendum is now called a plebiscite.

Of course, the province also performed some “minor refinements” to the ballot question. The changes made were actually pretty major.

In the mayors’ proposed ballot, the “what” and the “why” of the transportation vision were provided. The province’s final version of the ballot removed the “why” component. This was likely to ensure that the ballot didn’t seem biased.

As an example, the mayors version of the ballot stated:

One million more people will live and work in Metro Vancouver by 2040. The region’s mayors worked together to develop a plan to reduce congestion on roads and bridge and to provide more transit to communities across the region.

The final version as approved by the province states:

The region's mayors have developed a Transportation and Transit Plan called Regional Transportation Investments -a Vision for Metro Vancouver.

Another interesting point is that the list of items included in the mayors’ version of the ballot were simplified in the provincial version. For example, the mayors’ version stated “Build light rail transit connecting Surrey Centre with Guildford, Newton, and Langley”, while the final provincial version says “Build rapid transits connecting Surrey Centre with Guildford, Newton, and Langley”.

I’m happy that the final version of the ballot contains the wording “revenue and expenditures would be subject to annual independent audits and public reporting.” People need to know that the 0.5% tax will go 100% to improving transportation in Metro Vancouver.

The province stated today that the 0.5% sales tax “would be applied as a sales tax to the majority of goods and services that are subject to the PST and are sold or delivered within the region.” This leads me to believe that more items will be exempt from the new regional sales tax than the provincial sales tax.

The plebiscite will require 50%+1 regional support to be approved.

With the ballot now finalized, the work begins to let voters in Metro Vancouver known that a small increase in tax will provide a large increase in transit service throughout all of Metro Vancouver. The South of Fraser is set to receive about half of this investment if the plebiscite is approved.

Enhanced Lighting Coming to Langley Centre Transit Exchange

The Langley Centre Transit Exchange has been the site of increased criminal activity over the last year. This is no surprise as the major tenant of the strip mall that the exchange is located by closed down, leaving the mall derelict. As a result, there are no “eyes and ears” on the street. The lighting is also poor at the transit exchange.

RCMP patrolling Langley Centre Transit Exchange

The long-term solution will be the eventual relocation of the transit exchange. You can read more about this in a previous post. The relocation will not be happening anytime soon.

This past April, Langley City Council was asked to spend $11,500 to upgrade the light bulbs at the exchange from 150 to 250 watts. Council at that time declined. Council Martin didn’t want to spend the money until a funding partnership was establish with TransLink.

An article in the Langley Times appeared earlier this month about a man who was beaten and robbed at the exchange. Since that article was publish, I’ve noticed that the RCMP and transit security have been more visible at the transit exchange.

Last Friday, funding became available from TransLink to spend $54,000 to upgrade not only the power of the lighting, but also install new lighting at the transit exchange. At Monday night’s council meet, council approved $29,000 as its contribution to this $54,000 project. TransLink will be funding the remainder.

Mayor Ted Schaffer said that he wants to “light that place up like an airport runway.”

While lighting and increased police presence will help reduce crime at the transit exchange, the root cause of the issues with the transit exchange is that the transit exchange is around a poor built environment. If the City or Translink are not moving the transit exchange anytime soon, the City needs to look at ways to encourage redevelopment of the derelict mall, bringing more positive activities to the area.

City of Langley applying to feds for 203rd Street bridge widening and bike lanes

When I ran for Langley City Council this fall, one of the things that I heard from people in the community is that they are concerned about the volume of automobile traffic flowing through their neighbourhoods. People were resigned to the fact that 200th Street and 208th Street were major thoroughfares, but people wanted safe streets in the rest of the community: streets that are safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists; streets where children could ride their bikes or walk to school; streets where seniors don’t have to worry about being mowed down.

At the last council meeting, City Council unanimously passed a motion to apply to the Federal Build Canada fund for various projects along 203rd Street. The Build Canada fund is the major federal infrastructure funding program for local governments in Canada. This federal program could cover up to one third the cost of the projects the City has submitted.

The City of Langley will be bundling $2.6 million in projects which include:

-Upsizing Watermain - 203 Street from Grade Crescent to 49A Ave to support re-development
-Rehab and add capacity by widening 203 St Nicomekl Bridge – widen for the multi-use pathway (MUP) including bike lane
-Paving 203 Street – Grade Crescent to north approach of Nicomekl Bridge
-Adding bicycle infrastructure on 203 Street from Grade Crescent to 56 Ave/Douglas Cres
-Decommission/abandon 965m of AC Watermain
-Replace AC Sewer on 203 St from Grade Crescent to 49A Ave

While I’m excited to see that the City is working toward putting cycling infrastructure along 203rd, I’m hoping that they will be separated bike lanes. Regular curb bike lanes have not been found to be effective in encouraging the majority of people to cycle. This would be a great chance to provide a much needed north/south bikeway in the City. I hope council doesn't squander this opportunity if they get federal funding.

I’m also concerned about what widening the Nicomekl Bridge means. I’m sure people along 203rd won’t be too thrilled if their street becomes a 4-lane thoroughfare.