Vancouver City Councillor

Perhaps the best news for the Vancouver Art Gallery board less than two weeks after the release of its relocation plan is that public opinion is unanimous: no one is opposed to expansion for one of the city’s premier cultural institutions.

But opinions diverge sharply on everything else: the size of expansion required, the best location for that expansion and the future of the existing site at Robson Square. The plan has even been attacked from beyond the grave in a posthumous editorial by Abraham Rogatnick.

Until council receives a staff report on discussions between the city and VAG for its proposed move to Larwill Park, the old bus depot site next to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, I will be doing some careful listening.

One view that has not been previously released, beyond her own e-mail network, is this open letter from long-time city councillor and former VAG member Darlene Marzari, who provides a unique historical perspective on the possibilities for expansion at the current site: [Read more →]

Last week’s Innovative Research poll on 2010 Games public opinion, summarized here, tells us little we couldn’t have surmised on our own:

• the four-in-ten British Columbians who never wanted the Games never changed their minds;
• those who were undecided going into the Games had the time of their lives;
• elsewhere in Canada the mood was more positive;
• by the end, almost everyone was having a good time.

Unavailable in the public opinion analysis I’ve seen, and certainly not commissioned by the city given its budget constraints, are answers to questions like these:

• did you find the transportation shift good, bad, indifferent? Will it change your commuting? Are you more likely to walk, cycle or take public transit?
• for downtown residents: during that wild, crazy time in the downtown were you a) using earplugs and praying it for to end? b) tolerating it because the Olympics are a once-in-a-lifetime event? c) pleasantly surprised at how much fun you found at your doorstep? or d) keen to see the city bring it on whenever possible?
• for residents and civil libertarians concerned about the bylaws: did you find the additional closed circuit TV obtrusive? How do you assess VPD management of demonstrations? Are the two issues linked? How did the city handle ambush marketing? Litter? Information?

The city moved outside the envelope in every respect for that 14-day period. What did people really find the best? What should not be repeated?

Just a new willingness to experiment would be a great Olympic legacy on its own.

Thanks to our outstanding health care system, I was discharged yesterday from VGH without requiring surgery despite two injuries to my spine as a result of Tuesday morning’s cycling accident.

Prompt attention by the first responders and the fact that VGH is home to one of the continent’s best spinal cord centres undoubtedly contributed a great deal to this outcome.

(Those who doubt the value of the helmet bylaw are welcome to view my shattered bike helmet.)

Many weeks of careful recuperation lie ahead, but I want to express my deep thanks to the many people across the city, often total strangers, who sent me their best wishes for a speedy recovery. I’ll be in touch with as many as possible of you as time and energy permit.

Despite its absence from this month’s provincial budget, the long-awaited province-wide U-Pass program is a go in September, according to Transportation Minister Shirley Bond, a big win for student activists across the Lower Mainland.