Posts from — November 2011

A long-buried draft fisheries department report on the discovery of a deadly salmon virus in BC waters has set the stage for a dramatic end to the Cohen commission’s long investigation of the decline of the Pacific salmon.

Uncovered by salmon campaigner Don Staniford, the report discloses the discovery of infectious salmon anemia, a disease never before found in BC that is associated with salmon farming, with many samples taken as far back as 2002. The new information will no doubt dominate a special two-day final hearing scheduled by Cohen later this month.

How serious is it? John Werring, of the David Suzuki Foundation, says someone should go to jail for the cover-up.

Columnist and radio host Stephen Quinn probes the outer reaches of the Georgia Viaducts proposals today with an intriguing mention of unicorns that he never develops.

Can unicorns swim? They would have to if  one of the more fanciful re:CONNECT ideas for the Viaducts — a very long open air swimming pool — was ever realized.

When you think about it, the unicorn idea is no more far-fetched than tax-funded radio without ads. And that seems to work.

Whatever.

I should point out, however, in response to a few messages, that an earlier post on reconnecting Georgia and Dunsmuir was not an endorsement of that particular proposal, just a note that such connections are possible.

Nor did it violate the double-blind judging competition, which I had no part of.

Craig Henschel, the person who submitted that concept, brought his work to my attention well after judging closed and noted that it had not been eligible for review because it missed the deadline. It is not in consideration for people’s choice awards, as far as I know.

So I am not endorsing one of the competitors, just pointing out that Henschel’s ineligible submission supports one of the findings of the first phase of this process: there are other ways to ensure Stephen Quinn gets to work, maybe even faster, provided unicorn traffic remains light.

As media interest heats up in the re:CONNECT competition to re-imagine the Georgia Viaducts and East False Creek flats, more people are wondering how they’ll get downtown if the Viaducts are gone.

Phase 1 of the city’s study confirmed that there are no “deal-breakers” to worry about — traffic is declining anyway, will continue to decline as transit is built and new connections are relatively straightforward. Removal of one viaduct in five years would produce little traffic impact.

One submission focuses on just this point. Although architect Craig Henschel missed the deadline and is not in contention for a prize, the former appointee to the city’s development permit board  advisory panel shows one way Georgia and Dunsmuir could be connected to existing roads on the ground. There are other options, but this is one.

OMG, you will get downtown!

The city’s latest report on building permits, issued in the dying days of the election, confirm what is obvious to any door-knocking politician: Vancouver’s neighbourhoods are changing rapidly as builders upgrade homes — and add laneway houses — in every part of the city.

Just three years ago, as voters headed to the polls to elect Gregor Robertson for the first time, the global economy was in free fall. The October 2008 numbers reflected the end of the city’s long building boom. A few months later, building permit activity had dropped by at least half and the new Vision council was scrambling to find $50 million in savings to balance the 2009 budget.

Four hundred and twenty-eight residential units were approved in October this year, compared to 130 three years ago. (By January 2009, the number had dropped to 34, of which 18 were replacements)

Today it’s hard to find a city block in many parts of the city without new construction or renovation. Vancouver specials are being tossed out for a 21st century update: much larger, centre-plan, two-storey homes with full basements, quality stucco exteriors and much finer finishes. (The granite front steps on many of these homes are notable for the observant canvasser.)

Laneway homes, a controversial aspect of 2008 campaign, are routine now: 162 have been approved so far this year, but they weren’t even listed in 2008.

The global economy is still in deep trouble and the US housing market is so grim that cities like Cleveland are bulldozing foreclosed homes to “save” neighbourhoods. Here, in Lotusland, we’re still building, but fewer and fewer residents can afford to buy. It looks like existing homeowners are responding with a quiet housing expansion program right under our noses.