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Entries from January 2016

Vision + Green councillors approve new Point Grey/Kits “seaside greenway” with many recommendations to continue making improvements

July 30th, 2013 · 340 Comments

Well, after five days and 134 speakers, by my count, city council approved the plan for the Seaside Greenway bike route, parks, pedestrian improvements through Point Grey and Kits. About 30 people came out to hear the final result. I thought they were all opponents, until a few people started hugging each other and congratulating […]

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Vancouver gets a high-rise school downtown to serve the baby boom there

July 29th, 2013 · 32 Comments

It’s strange to see where the children are and aren’t these days. In my Mount Pleasant hood, you could be knocked down any minute by strollers. They’re everywhere. Other places numbers of children are up: Fairview, Riley Park, the West End, Kits, Renfrew-Collingwood. (I’m looking at numbers of 0-4 yrs in the last census, compared […]

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One suggestion for Point Grey Road — take back the city land in front of existing houses and widen the road

July 25th, 2013 · 197 Comments

In just the last few days, I have heard dozens of suggestions from amateur engineers about what would make a better greenway/bike route through Kitsilano. Here’s one, to get the ball rolling among those who agree, disagree, or have a better idea that is neither of the above. I’m happy to put up other comments […]

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Developers to mayors/councils: We give you millions for community benefits, you take the credit

July 25th, 2013 · 29 Comments

One Twitter follower asked if I was writing for the Onion with this story in the Globe, so I guess the snark brigade will be out in full force here. Would be nice to have a more thoughtful discussion about developer contributions — do they deserve more acknowledgement or is their contribution in fact a […]

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Vancouver bike report: Bike-share okayed, bigger battle over bike lane ongoing

July 25th, 2013 · 8 Comments

Speakers (starting at #18, with a list currently going to 204) resume tonight at 6 p.m. to discuss the pros and cons of the “Seaside Greenway,” known to many as the Point Grey/Kits bike lane. A quick recap here of the doings at council on Tuesday.

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Downtown Eastside future development plan gets its first airing: a rental-only district; a goal to get low-cost grocers into the hood; lots of “a variety of new housing forms encouraged”

July 19th, 2013 · 32 Comments

Okay, now it’s the the Downtown Eastside’s turn at the “emerging directions” for their area plan — the last of the four neighbourhoods that are getting new visions for development and services. The open house was yesterday, another one Saturday. Lots in there. (Here is the link to the city’s information boards.) A few of […]

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The new Rize, um, MountPleasant2014 tower: What do you think?

July 19th, 2013 · 40 Comments

I didn’t have a chance to go to the open house. (Big project, still in a post-vacation funk, etc.) Rize/MP2014 doing an energetic job of tweeting out how they addressed all the city demands for changes. The building certainly looks better. But, as I say, I didn’t see it up close. Your thoughts?

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Vancouver bike-news day: Bike-share contract reached; plan for Point Grey Road laid out

July 18th, 2013 · 169 Comments

Oh brother, here we go, the bike debates. But can’t avoid it, as that seems to be the week’s news. Here’s my story on the city report re agreement with Alta Bicycle Share on the new public-bike share system. Still some news to come on this, as we don’t know who the sponsors will be. […]

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It’s not all angst over bike lanes, affordable housing, transit: We have some fun in the city too

July 16th, 2013 · 15 Comments

Cheer up. You can’t afford to buy a place here, but we have some darn good street parties. And other stuff that makes city living all worthwhile. FRANCES BULA Special to The Globe and Mail Published Sunday, Jul. 14 2013, 9:26 PM EDT Last updated Tuesday, Jul. 16 2013, 5:16 AM EDT     Sometimes […]

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The promise of a new approach is damaged after sneak towers appear in Commercial Drive plan

July 16th, 2013 · 50 Comments

As I say in this story in the Globe and Mail, which comes in at the tail end of a debate that Frank Ducote introduced us to a little over a month ago, many observers in the community thought that the city was going to do things differently when it adopted a go-slow approach to […]

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