A core review of Greater Vancouver’s parks

Derby Reach regional park, Langley

Greater Vancouver’s regional authority manages 138 square kilometres of parks and protected zones, an area 30 per cent bigger than the City of Paris. Staff put the number of park visits in 2012 at 10 million. The regional land inventory includes key sites across the region — Pacific Spirit (adjacent to UBC), Burnaby Lake, Lynn Headwaters, Campbell Valley — as well as a growing number of cycling and pedestrian greenways.

Despite all this, the proposed restructuring or dismantling of the regional parks system has attracted little attention beyond a couple of news articles in April, 2013. As the Metro Vancouver Board launched a parks services review, reporter Jeff Nagel quoted prominent mayors as suggesting that the region and municipalities are duplicating each other’s efforts. Continue reading →

Tsawwassen’s “small town” centre

June 16, 2013 By imcleod in Richmond Delta, Urban Villages Project Tags: Tsawassen town centre 2 Comments

A restaurant fronting on mall parking, Tsawwassen, B.C.

Tsawwassen is a cluster of neighbourhoods in the affluent municipality of Delta, in Greater Vancouver. It sits on a peninsula in the Pacific Ocean, warm and dry, getting half as much rain as many other parts of the region. As our waitress said, Tsawwassen lives in its “own little bubble,” away from the big-city mainstream.

Oceanfront housing, Beach Grove, Tsawassen

Oceanfront housing, Beach Grove, Tsawwassen

Newish housing, English Bluff Road, Tsawassen

Newish housing, English Bluff Road, Tsawwassen

The local government’s official plan describes Tsawwassen’s character as “semi-rural” (schedule D1-6); in fact, it’s a 1960s-style suburb with mostly quiet streets and average-sized lots. Construction activity is brisk, though, as the original 60s and 70s homes are knocked down and replaced. Continue reading →

British Columbia’s election: and so we continue

May 22, 2013 By imcleod in Around B.C. Tags: BC election 2013 3 Comments

Walmart under construction, Abbotsford, April 2012

In December 2012, Fraseropolis presented a seat-by-seat projection from threehundredeight.com showing a massive New Democratic Party lead in British Columbia opinion polls. Surveys continued to give the NDP up to a 10-point lead on the weekend before the May 14, 2013 provincial election.

To the astonishment of many people, including myself, and subject to the counting of some mail-in ballots, it appears our new legislature has 50 Liberals, 33 New Democrats, and 2 others. The Liberals enjoyed a five-point edge in the popular vote. Surrey, the North Fraser and B.C.’s southern Interior all showed surprising strength for the Liberals. Continue reading →

Fraseropolis hospitals trail in CBC survey

April 21, 2013 By imcleod in Urban Life and Local Government Tags: CBC hospital survey Leave a comment

An A+ rating: Saskatoon City Hospital (photo from BTY Group)

Based on its national survey of hospitals, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation finds that more than half the lowest-ranked hospitals in Canada are located in Metro Vancouver.

The survey results, released on April 10, 2013, award a grade of “D” to Vancouver General, UBC, Surrey Memorial, Burnaby and Ridge Meadows hospitals. Of 239 hospitals rated in the survey, only nine fall into the “D” category, for performance (says CBC) “substantially below that of a typical hospital of the same size.” Rounding out the “D” category are two hospitals in Alberta and two in Saskatchewan. Continue reading →