Pouring rain marked the start of Vancouver’s Bike to Work Week (May 11 – 17) this year, but those who braved the weather conditions are being rewarded with a beautiful sunshine for the ride home. Bike to Work Week is an annual event organized by the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition, which aims to raise the [...]
Entries Tagged as 'transportation'
Bike to Work Week and our transportation culture
May 11th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Climate change, Economy, Environment, resources & sustainability
Planet Before Politics
May 11th, 2009 · Marc Lee · Comments Off · Climate change, Environment, resources & sustainability
I signed the following open letter published in the Globe on the weekend. I cannot take any credit for organizing or writing the letter (hat tip to Ian Bruce of the David Suzuki Foundation). On the other hand, I can say that I have co-published with David Suzuki! It’s time to put the planet before [...]
Tags: cap-and-trade·carbon tax·cycling·David Suzuki·global warming·greenhouse gas·passenger rail·public transit·Suzuki Foundation·transportation
BC’s economy and the Liberal platform
April 29th, 2009 · Marc Lee · 1 Comment · Economy, Energy, Provincial budget & finance
With my oped last week on the NDP platform making me less than popular over at NDP HQ, today the Sun published my take on the Liberals’ platform, thereby guaranteeing that the list of Christmas parties I get invited to dwindles to next to nothing. BC’s Economic Challenges and the Liberal Platform By Marc Lee [...]
Tags: carbon tax·deficit·green infrastructure·greenhouse gas·inequality·Liberals·oil and gas·platform·Port Mann·recession·transportation
Is funnelling money into shovel-ready projects the best strategy for infrastructure development?
March 27th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Economy, Provincial budget & finance
I often get asked: “Shouldn’t we support the Olympics or the Port Mann bridge (or any of the multitude of poorly handled infrastructure projects in our province) despite their substantial cost overruns on the grounds that they will create jobs and benefit the economy?” The problem with this question is that it allows for two [...]
Tags: passenger rail·Port Mann·recession·stimulus·transportation
And Another Thing About the Port Mann non-P3
March 4th, 2009 · Marvin Shaffer · Comments Off · Privatization, P3s & public services, Provincial budget & finance
Now that the government has abandoned private financing of the Port Mann, it’s time to make the bigger but equally sensible leap and abandon the concept of a cost recovery project toll. I’m all for tolling. Unless you are a fan of the queues inevitably created by what can only be described as our current [...]
Tags: Canada Line·P3·Port Mann·transportation
Cancelled P3 saves $200 million
February 27th, 2009 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Privatization, P3s & public services
Wow. Things can change pretty quickly in a day. Apparently the Port Mann Bridge P3 was just too ridiculous. Jeff Nagel already has a very interesting article in the Surrey Leader on the cancellation of the public private partnership. He includes the following quote from the Partnerships BC boss Larry Blain. Critics have long said [...]
Tags: P3·Port Mann·transportation
Death of a P3
February 27th, 2009 · Marc Lee · Comments Off · Privatization, P3s & public services, Provincial budget & finance
And so the P3 financing deal for the Port Mann Super-Bridge died, conveniently right when it will get the least media coverage. Here’s the breaking news from the Sun: The province has been unable to reach a finance-arranging deal with the consortium that was to build the new Port Mann Bridge, transportation Minister Kevin Falcon [...]
Tags: P3·Port Mann·transportation
They don't pay taxes in Surrey? Who knew?
February 12th, 2009 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Privatization, P3s & public services, Taxes
Transportation Minister Keven Falcon had letters to the editor this week in both the Vancouver Sun and the Times Colonist saying, “The new Port Mann Bridge will not cost taxpayers a dime.” He was saying that the bridge will be paid for by tolls but he seems to have forgotten that people who cross the [...]
Tags: P3·Port Mann·transportation
