Feels like the municipal campaign in Vancouver finally started to pick up some speed today, as the Greens launched their platform and Vision Vancouver had the first news conference with real news, announcing more money for school lunches for poor kids. (And the NPA sniping away at that.)
I mostly covered the Green announcement, as I think they’re interesting to watch. They’re clearly fighting hard to become the third party of choice for Vancouver voters and, from what I hear from people more expert than me, they have a chance because of their ability to attract votes from different parts of the political spectrum.
My story is up just now and in the dead-tree edition tomorrow.
27 responses so far ↓
1 Tiktaalik // Sep 18, 2014 at 8:39 pm
Great article Frances. I think you’re right that the Greens have more cross over appeal than COPE and could pose a challenge to that party.
I didn’t realize that the Greens were in favour of a hotel tax on Airbnb rentals. That makes my decision on whether to vote for them easy. I don’t support that short sighted policy at all.
2 Chris Keam // Sep 19, 2014 at 7:43 am
“encouraging truck deliveries and garbage pick-up to be done at night to reduce congestion, and shifting construction to non-workday hours to minimize road closings.”
I’d say the Greens appear willing to throw blue collar workers under the bus but who are we kidding, there’s hardly any transit available when you work the graveyard shift. The impact of,shift work on an individual’s health is so detrimental that such a proposal must be founded in either ignorance or unfeeling pragmatism. Not to mention the great joy 9 to 5ers will feel when the clatter of heavy equipment intrudes on their beauty sleep.
3 Lewis N. Villegas // Sep 19, 2014 at 8:46 am
The Greens can build on the record written by Councillor Adrienne Carr. However, the political question before us is whether or not we are going to stop the commodification of our neighbourhoods (i.e. trading in property for profit in the global economy, damn the local values) or whether a leader is going to emerge with the capacity to offer an alternative.
The pertinent facts here: http://wp.me/p1yj4U-n3
4 Chris Keam // Sep 19, 2014 at 8:56 am
Please label your self-links as such Lewis. This is a common Internet courtesy. Thanks.
5 Brilliant // Sep 19, 2014 at 12:01 pm
As expected Visionistas are quick to attack the Greens as they see a real threat to some of their council candidates.
6 Chris Keam // Sep 19, 2014 at 12:26 pm
Actually my comment is based on having spent nearly 4 years on a graveyard shift. This rush to judge others and label really speaks to your intent more than anything. Why so afraid of discussing the content of their platform?
7 teririch // Sep 19, 2014 at 12:51 pm
@Chris Keam #2
The City already has workers collecting gargbage at night.
And I didn’t see complaints from you when they were stationed at the now entrance of Pt.Grey Road, 24/7, getting the bike lane built.
Lots of people work shift work – police/fire/health care.
8 Bill Lee // Sep 19, 2014 at 1:10 pm
Some fuss about all the AirBnB listings in Toronto prompted several questions as to legality.
Obviously the hotel and hospitality came out against it, citing all their restrictions that don’t seem to apply to AirBnb. Real bed-and-breakfasts do have to abide by a while bunch of rules including ‘no discrimination’ as a recent BC Human Rights Tribunal decision noted.
And then there are insurance, liability, rental agreements, safety, hygiene and many other issues.
14 Jul 2014 Toronto Star Save on Airbnb, but is it legal in Ontario? by Mark Weisleder Real Estate
http://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/2014/07/15/is_airbnb_legal_in_ontario.html
Long Reddit stream on the Toronto Star article
reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/2as51u/is_airbnb_legal_in_ontario/
and a month before
reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/2938ww/whats_the_legal_status_with_being_an_airbnb_host/
But it’s not just AirBnb but its lesser-known competitors such as Accoleo, CrashPadder, Nabewise, Craigslist, HomeAway, Flip Key, WorldEscape, Uproost, 9flats, Alterkeys, BeWelcome, CouchSurfing, Flat-Club, HomeAway, Hospitality Club, Hospitality service, Pasporta Servo, Roomorama, SabbaticalHomes.com, Servas Open Doors, SleepOut.com, Travelmob, Tripping, Vacation Rentals By Owner, Wimdu and others.
9 Bill Lee // Sep 19, 2014 at 1:18 pm
“encouraging truck deliveries and garbage pick-up to be done at night to reduce congestion, and shifting construction to non-workday hours to minimize road closings.”
But much of the truck deliveries are done at night, if anyone is out on the Broadway bike route after 10 pm, stores have ‘coned’ the parking lane for parking semi-trailers from Sysco, Oliver and other wholesalers pushing bulk supply in with their dollies and forklifts.
Reporters who come out of City Hall late a night can see the delivery circus on Broadway and Cambie.
But some has to be delivered during the day. Not a lot, but more visible.
Obviously they are larger than cars, and require more road-space/parking-stalls for a limited time.
Maybe the Greens should emulate some countries with state-run corner stores more scattered about the city for simpler goods delivery.
10 boohoo // Sep 19, 2014 at 1:19 pm
Green platform…at least it’s something to talk about, unlike the meaningless ‘deep thoughts’ we’ve had so far from the NPA and silence from vision.
A lot of aspirational stuff which is good, although extremely vague and without benchmarks or ways to achieve it.
Some other things seem obvious, I wonder why they aren’t happening now… (exit interviews, searchable council records, etc).
Totally agree with initiatives like solar design standards, that should be required for every new build.
Expand new natural parks sounds great, not sure what land they are thinking of?
Not a lot I disagree with entirely, but like I said, it’s a lot of shoulds and think abouts rather than will dos.
11 Chris Keam // Sep 19, 2014 at 1:27 pm
If shift work is so palatable, why do so many people choose to work the same 8 daylight hours? Surely we can differentiate between the necessity of emergency services personnel working shifts and a band-aid solution to single occupant vehicles clogging our roads (the real reason for traffic congestion). Of course a person who gave it a moment’s thought would note that expanded shift work would probably lead to sleepy drivers, sleeping construction workers, more accidents, and the increased costs in both time and money.
But, I’ll be interested to read the background material and research in support of this idea that anyone can provide. A New York study excerpted and linked below. AFAIK, it’s already a tactic being used in some Asian cities with real traffic problems. I wonder how it is working out for them?
“Theses case studies suggest that commercial vehicles are not prone to shift their time of operations as a result of toll increases during the peak hours of the day. The main reason for this is that the receivers tend to dictate the time of delivery, and for the most part are open only during regular business hours. Accepting off-peak deliveries would require establishments to incur additional costs in terms of personnel, security, and utilities necessary to keep the business open. Hence, the success of any off-peak delivery program hinges on the receivers’ willingness to accept it, which would require that they obtain economic benefits higher than the marginal costs incurred.”
https://www.dot.ny.gov/programs/repository/Tech%20Memo%20on_Night%20Delivery%20Incentives.pdf
12 Chris Keam // Sep 19, 2014 at 1:28 pm
sorry, ‘sleepy’ construction workers, not sleeping.
13 Bill // Sep 19, 2014 at 1:34 pm
@boohoo #10
“A lot of aspirational stuff which is…”
Useless. Anyone can be “aspirational” but it is much more difficult to set out a path to achieve the objectives. We continue to let some of our politicians off the hook by letting them get away with aspirational platforms (“we are going to end homelessness”) without demanding to know how it is going to be achieved. Saying you are going to create affordable housing by yet more taxes (even better, taxes on the wealthy) may be appealing but how exactly is that going to work.
14 Bill // Sep 19, 2014 at 4:15 pm
@Chris Keam #11
“Surely we can differentiate between the necessity of emergency services personnel working shifts…”
It is not just emergency workers that work shifts by necessity, Chris, but it also includes a diverse group of workers from manufacturing or other industrial processes to office cleaners. If we are going to pay our municipal workers a premium to be municipal workers then it is not unreasonable to expect that perhaps they could work hours that would be less disruptive to those of us overpaying them.
15 Chris Keam // Sep 19, 2014 at 4:23 pm
Have you read the linked article or the Green’s platform Bill? It doesn’t sound like it. What they are proposing with regard to non-standard working hours has almost nothing to do with municipal workers. The brunt of the impact will be felt by the working poor.
“The consequences of nonstandard work hours (6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday and anytime on weekends), such as child care and transportation problems, marital conflict, family instability, and health stresses, lie heavily on low-income families, Maria Enchautegui explains in “Nonstandard Work Schedules and the Well-Being of Low-Income Families.”
http://www.urban.org/publications/904597.html
16 PeteFry // Sep 19, 2014 at 4:48 pm
I probably shouldn’t take the time to read/comment on message boards – but a couple of quick clarifications..
@Chris Keam #2
I’m afraid Frances misquoted our actual policies to mitigate congestion (and GHG’s and DPM’s),
neither suggest night work or graveyeard shifts, but rather:
• Look at shifting city construction to weekends and off-peak traffic hours, and minimizing land closures, especially in rush hours, by the construction industry.
• Investigate shifting delivery of goods and garbage pick up to off-peak traffic hours, as we did during the 2010 Olympic games.
@Tiktaalik #1
AirBnB tax is hardly short-sighted. We recently met with chief of staff for Portland housing commissioner Dan Saltzman, where they worked with AirBnB to collect a lodging fee (the first of its kind) – which goes directly to affordable housing. Portland housing analysis has drawn a clear conclusion that short term AirBnB rental are having a direct effect on long term affordable rentals. San Francisco has since followed suit. The levy is collected from travellers, paid out by AirBnB, and has had no demonstrable negative effect on AirBnB rentals (or hotels for that matter). ‘Free money’ for affordable housing – certainly worth investigating for a city with an affordability crisis dontchya think?
17 Frances Bula // Sep 19, 2014 at 6:30 pm
@PeteFry. Hey, sorry about mischaracterizing the night stuff. It’s just that Broadway and downtown are often busy all day long (Broadway especially), so I assumed by off-peak that you must mean at night.
18 Chris Keam // Sep 19, 2014 at 7:01 pm
Hello Pete:
My comments are based upon your policies as stated on your website. I feel my concerns about the impact these policies would have remain valid.
19 Everyman // Sep 19, 2014 at 7:34 pm
@Pete Fry 16
Thanks for coming in and clarifying. I’m glad the Greens are offering a real alternative to the developer funded parties. It’s time the city was run for the benefit of residents, not the real estate industry. I just wish you were running more candidates!
20 Lewis N. Villegas // Sep 19, 2014 at 8:05 pm
Two quick ones from the Roman Emperors…
Rome had standing still traffic jams before the first century. Of course, rather than spewing carbon emissions standing still traffic in those days would defecate and urinate on the spot.
Julius Ceasar resolved to free the streets of Roma for the people once and for all. He decreed that traffic would only use the streets at night. After weeks of sleepless nights due to all the racket, Ceasar reversed himself.
Another important note about the Eternal City—and I am not running to my library to check the exact dates, but—circa the time of Augustus the height limits for building in Rome were lowered.
To put a modern spin on it, in order to attract development, the powers that be triggered a kind of fire sale on land development. However, once a certain level had been achieved they rolled back the limits.
Lessons for Vancouver in all of this.
21 sv // Sep 20, 2014 at 11:28 am
Togas? I’m in.
22 Tiktaalik // Sep 20, 2014 at 12:31 pm
@PeteFry
I’m deeply skeptical that Airbnb is having a significant impact on rental affordability in Vancouver. While some people do rent out their entire homes frequently as a hotel style business, Airbnb’s numbers show that that 80% don’t do this. Most people are simply trying to supplement their income when they’re not using their apartment.
I’d argue as well that most Airbnb’s in town are in condos that aren’t renting at affordable housing numbers to begin with, and so they’re having no impact on the supply of affordable housing. As with all of debates on affordable housing, this discussion really depends on what the definition of “affordable housing” is.
Airbnb has provided dramatically cheaper accommodation options that never before existed, and this has made travel more accessible for low income travellers. The biggest impact of this policy will be to make accommodation more expensive. Hotels I’m sure love the idea.
If there’s publicly available research that draws a connection between Airbnb and affordable housing stock I’d be interested to see it. If there is indeed a connection, and more importantly, a substantial negative impact on affordable housing vacancy, I’d switch my opinion.
I think at this stage the Green Party is rushing into this policy that’s going to negatively impact a lot of people without first confirming that we actually have a problem that needs solving.
As an aside to those unfamiliar with Airbnb, here’s a good article on this issue by the Tyee:
http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/06/27/Airbnb-Displacing-Vancouverites/
23 tedeastside // Sep 20, 2014 at 9:01 pm
vancouver is a poor opportunity place with no industry…thats why so many people become fraudsters, drug pushers or serious dopers
let me see your wallet
24 PeteFry // Sep 21, 2014 at 10:39 am
@Tiktaalik #22
I appreciate you are personally skeptical about the impact of AirBnB-style rentals, but the policy is hardly one “rushed into” in fact I specifically travelled to Portland to meet with city staff and discuss this and a number of innovations (full disclosure, I stayed in AirBnB’s while there, all rooms/suites in private homes not condos – you should check out some of AirBnB’s listings in Vancouver – lots of rooms and basement suites in houses are on offer).
You are correct that there has been no research in Vancouver that correlates affordable housing and AirBnB – but like the issue of global capital skewing our market, just because city hall hasn’t done the research doesn’t mean we can ignore the issue, or not investigate it.
San Francisco, which is set to now join Portland in assigning an AirBnB levy has found a direct correlation between AirBnB and loss of housing stock. http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/item/window-into-airbnb-s-hidden-impact-on-s-f-30110.php
Anecdotally – a house for sale by me is offering an outbuilding/cabin specifically as an AirBnB rental to offset the mortgage on the main house. While in Portland, one most my hosts admitted feeling guilty about making more money renting short term AirBnB for a suite in a house that was once affordable rental. So if AirBnB is a panacea for offsetting housing affordability for some owners – it stands to reason that it will effect supply and demand for housing in the city.
To be clear this isn’t an attack on AirBnB or the sharing economy – it’s a great tourism generator and mortgage helper for many. Portland collects their (14%) levy directly from AirBnb, there’s no identifying of the hosts or how often they rent and the money is collected from the traveller, not the host. AirBnb reports it has had no effect on PDX rentals, which grew this year. Portland expects the levy to put about $500,000 directly into building affordable housing this year.
more
http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2014/07/airbnb_acting_as_portlands_lod.html
http://publicpolicy.airbnb.com/home-sharing-in-portland/
25 teririch // Sep 21, 2014 at 1:54 pm
‘If shift work is so palatable, why do so many people choose to work the same 8 daylight hours?’
***
Most people aren’t given a choice of working hours. They are dictated to.
26 boohoo // Sep 22, 2014 at 7:54 am
@13.
Aspirational stuff is important. You need it to guide your decision making etc… but, without actionable steps to achieve it, it is pointless. At this point in this silly process we are still waiting for those actionable steps.
27 Kirk // Sep 23, 2014 at 11:29 am
I’m going to the talk on Wednesday night. Hope to see some of you there. Don’t forget we’re doing beer (or soda if you don’t drink) night on Thursday, October 2 at the Craft Beer Market at the Olympic Village.
http://www.sfu.ca/sfuwoodwards/events/events1/2014-2015-fall/andy-yan–vancouver-in-the-21st-century.html
Panelists include:
Peter Ladner, author of The Urban Food Revolution: Changing the Way We Feed Cities and former Vancouver city councilor
Vanessa Timmer, Executive Director of One Earth
Matt Hern, author of ‘Common Ground in a Liquid City’
Moderated by Globe and Mail civic affairs journalist Frances Bula