FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 28, 2015 COPE CALLS FOR REAL PUBLIC INPUT INTO A NEW TRANSPORTATION PLAN ——————————— Plebiscite process a mockery of democracy Now that the people of Metro Vancouver have rejected the transportation plebiscite, the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) calls on the Mayors’ Council to go back to the people and…
Category: Vision Vancouver
Whatever happened to equality?
As we all know, developers make windfall profits every time their property is rezoned by Vancouver City Council to increase density. Many years ago, Vancouver’s City Council of the day wisely decided that henceforth any rezoning over a certain size would come with a very positive requirement — the developer would have to designate 20…
All we’re asking for is a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t
City watchers are still buzzing about a meeting held behind closed doors last month at UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning. It was all about what Michael Geller describes as Vancouver city hall’s “diminishing respect for the importance of urban design and planning.” The biggest deal breaker was the re-zoning application for the contentious…
Never Never Land: Where a boy never grows up and promises never come true
Vancouver’s annual two-day homeless count recently wrapped up, and it’s clear that Vision Vancouver’s promise of ending homelessness this year is something straight from Never Never Land. Critics have missed the point when they say that Gregor Robertson was unrealistic or naïve when he made the promise in 2008, when he first campaigned for office,…
Pay It Forward, City Council
Mayor Gregor Robinson lost no time pushing for a pay raise for himself and city councillors. The same day they were sworn in, he called for an independent review of the benefits and salaries council members receive. In my opinion, our city council is actually well paid. One of the few good things I can…
Support Transit — But the Dice are Loaded
Metro Vancouver Mayor’s Council has determined the referendum question for raising funds for improved transit. The vote will come this spring, and basically it goes like this: Do you support a 0.5 per cent increase in the provincial sales tax in Metro Vancouver to raise about $250 million a year to fund a $7.5-billion, 10-year…
Six Years Too Late
Today Mayor Gregor Robertson issued a vague apology during the CBC debate. We now know what we had been suspecting for a number of days now — Mayor Robertson sees the writing on the wall and is desperate to avoid defeat Nov. 15th. After six years of ignoring community concerns, three days before voters cast…