Rob's Ramblings

The StopThePave Earth Day Action has inspired a serious of tweets from Dan at http://bctrucker.com/ Unfortunately these tweets promulgate myths about greenhosue gas (ghg) emissions and transportation.  I guess there is still a lot of work to be done to educate the public around these issues.  And in that spirit here are some of those myths: 1. Building more highways will reduce congestion, fuel consumption and ghg emissions.   There is no evidence to support this idea. In fact, the evidence all points to highway expansion increasing emissions.  The proponents of the SFPR and the other gateway program projects even admit this in their own documentation. The provincial government studies, conducted as part of the Environmental Assessment Process, project an increase of 176,000 tonnes per year in greenhouse gas emissions ( http://a100.gov.bc.ca/appsdata/epic/documents/p247/d24666/1189031210771_a472fd1478e9414c83aed4d70a214df5.pdf ). Gordon Price of UBC has iss...

In the ten years leading up to 2009 Copenhagen reduced CO2 emissions by 20% ( 40% since 1990 ).  During that time the cycling modal share increased by over 19% and the amount of "cycle tracks" (segregated bike lanes) increased by over 9%.  Copenhagen found that adding cycle tracks to a road section resulted in a 20% increase in cycling.

As construction starts on the Dunsmuir separated bike lane it might be helpful to remember a Norwegian study earlier this year found that building cycling infrastructure was one of the most cost effective ways to fight climate change.

Morning commuters were greeted with new messages along Gateway Program construction routes this morning.  The construction announcement signs had been modified to read "Farms not Freeway", "Peatland not Pavement", "Homes not Highways" and "Transit not Truck Routes." The action occurred on the last scheduled day of climate talks in Copenhagen.  Government reports estimate the Gateway program will increase greenhouse gas emissions by over 160,000 tonnes per year.  Independent modelling puts the figure at over 300,000 tonnes. The signs modified included promises that transportation experts have consistently questioned. Some sign promise that the project will be " Reducing Congestion." Yet, Gordon Campbell said in 2003 “You cannot build your way out of congestion”. The signs also promise that the government is "Strengthening the Economy ."  The Provincial and Federal governments have provided massive investments to the Port in...

UBC Professor Patrick Condon speaks at Construction Blockade Originally uploaded by Rob__ Gateway Work Shut Down for Four Hours On Monday December 7th UBC Professor Patrick Condon joined a group of climate activists who occupied a freeway construction site in Vancouver.  Work was stopped at the site for four hours. The protest coincided with the first day of climate change talks in Copenhagen, where Canada received yet another Fossil of the Day Award. The notorious award goes to the country doing the most to obstruct progress at UN climate negotiations. This action was directed at the controversial Gateway Program, a massive freeway-expansion project that would increase greenhouse gases (GHGs) in a sector that is already the largest source of emissions in our region. The province's own assessment estimates the increase at over 160,000 tonnes per year. If the billions being spent on Gateway were re-directed to an emissions reduction program including cost-effective pu...

Today the construction site at SE False Creek appears to be directing cyclists on the Ontario Bike route to use the sidewalk on 2nd avenue as a detour. Asking cyclists to use this narrow sidewalk is both dangerous and illegal. This is clearly in an inadequate cycling facility for a city that claims to be promoting cycling as part of it's “Greenest City” imitative, According to maps published on October 14th the city was supposed have a marked detour in place using 3rd Ave and parts of Quebec street. It is now two weeks later and this route is still not marked. According to the Host City Olympic transportation plan , page 4: “Some bike routes will be temporarily altered during the 2010 Winter Games to accommodate operational and security needs. Wherever possible, bike route closures will be accommodated by safe and well-marked alternatives.” The current route is neither “safe” nor “well-marked”. When will city be addressing this problem? Is the Olympic Transportation plan alre...

With the recent announcement of a 10 lane monster bridge here in Vancouver it might be timely to examine the idea of the efficient car.  Some supporters of the highway expansion project claim that we don't need to worry about greenhouse gas emissions or local pollution because the increased traffic will sometime in an unspecified future be replaced by magical super efficient cars. A recent article in The Progressive, The Myth of the Efficient Car , examines this issue. The article points out that, "...the looming catastrophe of global pollution, including climate change, will never be solved by building more cars – efficient or otherwise." Meanwhile the private partner involved in building the bridge, Macquaire Group, is having problems .

Public barred from Gateway Announcement Originally uploaded by Robs__ Residents of Surrey and Vancouver were blocked from entering the site of an announcement regarding the controversial Gateway Program on Monday. The announcement was held on private property behind barbed wire fences. Some in attendance speculated this was a deliberate attempt to keep the public from attending an event about the project which is becoming increasingly unpopular. The announcement was billed as the official launch of construction on the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) portion of the program. But it contained little new information. The Federal government promised support but did not offer any specifics in terms of funding. The Prime Minister painted the project as part of his government's economic stimulus package. But opponents pointed out that transit projects create seven times as many jobs as highway building. Dozens of protesters turned out to meet the federal and provincial government of...

Surrey Residents "Cancel" Gateway Originally uploaded by Rob__ As part of the International Day of Action on the Climate Crisas, residents of Surrey, BC modified a sign advertising the Gateway program . Light duty vehicles are already the largest source of ghg emissions in the lower mainland and the the Gateway program is projected to increase those emissions. Two signs on either side of the Pattullo Bridge were modified.  The banner added to the signs reads, "CANCELLED, Funding Diverted to Transit Improvements by LiverSmater BC, www.livesmarter.bc 'helping the Province go green'" The group also created a new website, www.livesmarter.bc , which parodies an official government program designed to help citizens reduce their ecological footprint.

World Changing has an article about few roads can result in less congestion.  To bad Kevin Falcon isn't reading this.

There will be a rally for sustainable transportation in Surrey on Saturday, Sept. 24th. In our region transportation is the largest contribution to green house gas emissions and this is an event that directly deals with that issue. Some of us will be cycling to the event. View the proposed route here or below: <br><small><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;" href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=104443166972154694208.0004579717a05eb4331a7&ll=49.224173,-122.930973&spn=0.052352,0.26039&source=embed">View Larger Map</a></small>

I just read this rather frightening account of a NY State Senator almost crushing a cyclist and then threatening him .  It reminded me of a similar experience I had on Pacific Boulevard in Vancouver.  An SUV driver veered into the cycling lane, hit my arm which I had instinctively stretched out and then yelled at me not to touch his vehicle. But there is also a much more heartwarming account on No Impact Man's Blog where a confrontation ends with a handshake.  And that too reminded me of an incident here in Vancouver.  I was legally using the new bike box on the Carrall Street Greenway.  A delivery van driver started shouting and swearing at me because I was in the bike box.  I tried to explain what the bike box was but he just continued to yell at me telling me that what I was doing was wrong.  I followed him to his next stop and started to phone the number on the side of his truck.  He suddenly became much more resonable and I was able to explain to him how a bike box works.  ...

Some interesting quotes from this morning's Metro Vancouver Sustainability Breakfast : “We have today the most road and parking capacity that we will ever need” - Bryn Davidson, Executive Director, Dynamic Cities Project "We need to redesign Gateway...[if we continue with the current design]...we will have wasted that money...we will have sunk it into a design that was inappropriate." - Anthony Perl, Professor and SFU Director, Urban Studies Program

Milan, Italy has instituted a congestion charge . It joins other cities that already have implemented or tired congestion charges such as London , Singapore (the first scheme in the world, started in 1975, upgraded in 1998), Rome , Valletta , and Stockholm . With all the talk about Vancouver being a leader in sustainability why are we falling behind the rest of the world on this very effective measure? Peter Ladner has an interesting post on why we might want to follow Singapore's example. Powered by ScribeFire .

I recently had a conversation with a friend ( Nancy Callan , author and environmental food activist ) about the expansion of highway one . I mentioned that freeway expansion rarely solves the congestion and often during peak hours congestion returns to previous levels in a matter of months. This occurs because of triple convergence (also here ). At the time I had forgotten what the three convergences were but after a little research here they are: many drivers who formerly used alternative routes during peak hours switch to the improved expressway (spatial convergence); many drivers who formerly traveled just before or after the peak hours start traveling during those hours (time convergence); some commuters who used to take public transportation during peak hours now switch to driving, since it has become faster (modal convergence)