matthew
My feedback
15 results found
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229 votes
Transit (and transit fares!) are controlled by TransLink, not the city. Having said that, reducing or eliminating transit fares is an interesting idea.
Unfortunately it’s not very feasible, at least as TransLink is currently funded. Unlike most North American cities, Vancouver’s transit problems aren’t due to a lack of demand but rather a lack of capacity. Anyone who’s ever tried to squeeze onto one of our busy buses or trains knows this all too well — there isn’t enough space even when people have to pay, let alone accommodate the additional demand that would be created if transit were free. Compare this to cities with fare-free zones, which are typically struggling for increase demand, and which typically have (a) less frequent service and/or (b) plenty of extra capacity to accommodate more riders.
In Vancouver, we need to provide more transit capacity to meet existing demand — and a LOT more…
An error occurred while saving the comment matthew
commented
@ Drive More
The issue of lost vehicle/gas tax with this one is a valid point but only if we assume that translink funding is not affected by other departments in government. As the number of cars on the road goes down and the number of transit users goes up the environmental and health benefits will help cut costs in other government departments which would free up funds that are currently needed.
The other thing to consider when comparing a pre-paid fare tax and the current taxation system is that in this case there is an incentive to encourage change. Property and gas taxes currently pay for a significant amount of transit fees but do not directly encourage people to take transit because then they still have to pay a fare. by taking the fare away, this kind of a taxation policy would actually encourage people to change their lifestyle and therefore the other benefits of the plan would become more of a reality.
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An error occurred while saving the comment matthew
commented
Since Translink does not just control transit but also bridges and roads as well, everyone benefits from their services not just those using transit.
In addition, not having to carry around a pile of change to use transit will increase ridership and thus cut down on the traffic for those who have to drive and the wear on the road they drive on.
I agree with some commenters that calling this free is misguided, really the point is that we should all buy into this upfront since it's helping everyone and will be better managed and used without dealing with passes.
A brilliant idea!
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404 votes
A critical challenge for Vancouver. Laneway housing, STIR, the 20% Inclusionary Zoning Policy, and other programs and policies are intended to help increase housing affordability— see http://vancouver.ca/housing. The draft Greenest City plan recognizes the importance of affordability and will review additional strategies, e.g. unbundled parking.
matthew
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394 votes
An exciting idea!
matthew
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669 votes
The draft Greenest City Action Plan will discuss this in a variety of ways.
matthew
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1,002 votes
An ongoing process. Many of the City’s recent initiatives (e.g. downtown separated bike lane trial, additional traffic calming on existing routes) work towards this vision. The draft Greenest City action plan will support this idea, and include directions to help inform the upcoming transportation plan update and new active transportation plan.
matthew
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79 votesmatthew
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78 votesmatthew
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226 votesmatthew
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227 votes
City has already moved beyond the 2,010 (garden plots) by 2010 challenge. Three new gardens were created in the summer of 2010 and others are currently in the planning stage. This is an idea included in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
matthew
supported this idea
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289 votes
TransLink is currently leading a study to determine the best approach to deliver high-capacity, fast, frequent, and reliable rapid transit for the Broadway Corridor from Commercial Drive to UBC. A number of technologies and alignment options are being considered, including rail rapid transit (e.g. SkyTrain), surface light rail transit, and bus rapid transit.
The City of Vancouver is directly involved as a partner agency in the study. In April 2010, City Council endorsed ten principles to guide City input into this process (http://vancouver/ubcline/principles).
Visit http://vancouver.ca/ubcline to learn more about this work, including upcoming public engagement events.
matthew
supported this idea
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176 votes
The City has supported projects that have voluntarily unbundled parking (e.g. Spectrum), and is actively working to gain authority to require unbundling in new development — this requires changes to Provincial legislation. In 2008, the City proposed the Unbundled Parking Resolution to give BC municipalities the authority to require unbundling in new development. This was passed by the Union of BC Municipalities. Provincial response to date: The Ministry of Community Development will review the proposal and refer the issue to the Development Finance Review Committee for discussion.
matthew
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202 votes
The Draft Greenest City Action Plan includes an action to develop a building deconstruction policy. The City is piloting a building deconstruction project and is exploring options for an incentive program to encourage deconstruction.
matthew
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543 votes
Requires support from TransLink. The City will continue to support this idea, through measures including secured rights-of-way (e.g. the centre median on 1st Avenue near the Olympic Village). The recent Olympic Line streetcar demonstration was very successful and helps make the business case for this project.
matthew
supported this idea
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599 votes
This is an evolutionary process. The City of Vancouver is already considered a North American leader in this regard. Current and future plans and projects (e.g. Cambie Corridor Planning Program) will continue to embrace this ideal.
matthew
supported this idea
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770 votes
The City supports Metro Vancouver’s plans to ban food scraps from the incinerator and landfills by 2015. The City will collaborate with Metro Vancouver to develop and implement a plan to ensure apartments, condos, businesses and institutions have access to food scraps collection programs before the ban comes into effect.
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