Vancouver City Councillor

Waste concrete became a "natural feature" in the Strathcona Community Garden.

Even at 10 a.m., the official opening time for the Strathcona Community Garden’s 25th birthday party, people were lined up 30 deep to buy a container of honey from the garden’s own hives.

Plant sales were booming, the crop is ripening nicely in the espalier heritage orchard and people were walking in from all directions to enjoy the beauty of community project that literally transformed a wasteland.

As someone whose family had one of the original plots in the garden, back when we lived in Strathcona, it’s a near-unbelievable change.

But a picture of those early days posted in one of the garden buildings confirms my recollection: a patch of abandoned land, no water supply, soil riddled with waste concrete and debris. [Read more →]

Bill Picha supervises transfer of swarming bees to their capacious new hive.

(UPDATE, July 11: since this post, Mario Lee has advised that 311’s actions were consistent with the relevant protocols, but he’s not available to assist on weekends.)

My neighbourhood’s encounter with swarming bees this morning suggests the city’s 311 helpline still needs some tuning up.

The humming of the arriving swarm was audible inside the house at about 11 a.m. and pedestrians walking through the neighbourhood were scattering. There was a ball of bees the size of a World Cup soccer ball hanging from a nearby oak.

First call went out to Allen Garr: no answer.

Next we tried 311. Absolutely the city could help, said the affable 311 receptionist. He promptly put us through to the voicemail of Mario Lee, the social planner who wrote the report on city beekeeping. Not likely to find help there.

A quick check on Google turned up Bill Picha, a Delta beekeeper who picks up swarms at no charge when he can. (They’re valuable to him.) His voicemail box was full, but a text message brought him to our door in 30 minutes.

Fifteen minutes later, the swarm was beginning its move to capacious new quarters in Picha’s hive. Once they’re all settled down, he’ll pack them off to earn their keep elsewhere, perhaps a Fraser Valley orchard.

These are hectic days in the bee swarm pick-up business. Picha had 38 calls yesterday alone.

Where did these bees come from? Garr, who called later in the day, speculated they may be a colony that left the new hives on the City Hall roof. If so, they’re in the private sector now.

Driver traffic violations on the Ontario bike route.

The war of words between drivers and cyclists shows little sign of abating.

In the wake of cyclist outrage about a “crackdown” on riders by ticket-issuing members of the VPD, a group of cyclists has staked out the Ontario bike route at 10th Ave. to monitor drivers for violations.

The results, distributed to media outlets today, were unsurprising. Citizens for Safe Bikeways claimed to have documented 18 dangerous incidents in a few hours.

(No doubt a similar stakeout by driver could produce worrying results for cyclist.)

As I learned late last month, when I brought together several VPD officers responsible for traffic enforcement for a discussion with some leading members of the cycling community, it comes down to resources.

My mailbox receives demands daily, from both motorists and cyclists, for a crackdown on the other side. To crack down on everyone, everywhere, would require a second police department. [Read more →]

Some weeks at council are more productive than others.

By Tuesday evening, Vancouver City Council had completed an in-depth look at the environmental risks posed by massive increases in oil exports from the Port of Vancouver, approved a strategy to increase public safety during extreme hot weather and gave former Mayor Art Phillips the Freedom of the City.

(Apart from the glory that accompanied his appointment, Phillips received a scroll, a medal and a decal entitling him to free parking. Phillips was most appreciative of the decal, which replaced one apparently cancelled by former Mayor Sam Sullivan.) [Read more →]