By Jen St. Denis, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
This week — after a marathon three-day session to hear from hundreds of speakers — Vancouver city councillors voted unanimously to “decriminalize poverty.”
Continue reading Vancouver To Decriminalize PovertyBy Carl Meyer, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The member of Parliament for Vancouver East says she “wholeheartedly” supports ending police street checks, as city council tackles the issue amid a push from dozens of prominent organizations calling for a ban.
Continue reading Vancouver MP Supports Ending Police Street Checks
Vancouver’s real estate values have skyrocketed 280% since 1986, while wages have only increased 7%. A new report shows the affordability crises impacts both renters and homeowners. The average westside home was selling for $1.4 million last May. Though 10,800 housing units have been empty for more than a year, [1] only about 337 available as rentals. [2] This suggests that speculators own many of the vacant units. City staff recommend taxing Vancouver’s empty homes.
Continue reading Taxing Vancouver’s Empty HomesBy Roy L Hales
Vancouver just held its’ Eighth Annual Share the Road Challenge. There were 13 teams, each composed of someone driving a car, someone with a bike and someone using transit. They started from different locations throughout Vancouver and North Vancouver, anywhere from 2.4 to 10.4 kilometres from the finish line at the downtown London Drugs. The distance did not matter, as long as each team started from the same point, because this was a race to see which form of transportation moved through rush hour traffic faster. This was the first year in which all the bicycles triumphed over cars and transit .
Continue reading Bicycles Triumphed Over Cars And TransitBy Roy L Hales
Miami based CycleHop is already operating bike share programs in more than 100 communities and universities in the United States and Canada. New programs are currently under development in Long Beach (CA), West Hollywood (CA), Atlanta (GA), Cleveland (OH), and Louisville (KY). However the biggest news comes from across the border where, according to the city’s Manager of Street Activities, Scott Edwards, Vancouver will have North America’s largest smart bike share.
Continue reading Vancouver Will Have North America’s Largest Smart Bike Share
