"The true measure of any society
can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members" - Ghandi
It's
a 'no'. The people have spoken. Loud and clear.
In
Maple Ridge, more people (77%) voted against the proposed 0.5% increase in
sales tax to pay for transit, road and bike improvements than anywhere else in
Metro Vancouver. Would that have anything to do with the fact that we rely more
on our cars than anywhere else in Metro Vancouver? It's quite possible. 72% of
Pitt residents voted against.
Voter
turn-out for the plebiscite in Maple Ridge was 51%, Pitt Meadows 49%. Compare
that to the significantly lower 2014 municipal election turn-out of 31% in both
Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
Whatever
message people felt they needed to give, whether to Translink, to the BC
Liberal Government, or to their Mayors, or all of the above, this vote was
obviously extremely important to them. There's been an abundance of smug post-victory
facebook posts about this great achievement, and many people apparently have
been doing happy-dances.
Great.
So the no-side won. And now what?
The
real problems - worsening congestion, lack of transit options for many and poor
cycling infrastructure - are now even farther from being solved, and seem to be
on track to make our commuting lives more miserable in years to come. Call me
negative. I call it being realistic.
On
to the next referendum? Forget that!
Let's
also consider this: while many blame Translink for all that's bad in the
transit world, how can Translink be blamed for the way Maple Ridge has made many
rather unwise land-use decisions in the past that now make it pretty darn difficult
for Translink to provide cost- and time-effective transit for all in our area?
Somehow
the powers that be should, hopefully, come up with a new funding source,
eventually. Despite the no-side's victory, fought for with so much passion and
dedication, many won't be so happy in the end, 'cause they're gonna get stuck
in traffic, big time. After all, even
though many thought this was just about teaching Translink a lesson or two, we
just chose the car as our solution to carmageddon, make no mistake about it.
In
the meantime, we cycling advocates will continue to give our feedback when road
construction is being planned. Life goes on.
I
just want to say this. I am convinced that the only way a city can be successful
is by being inclusive. A city should work for all. It should be inclusive of
people who take transit, people who walk and people on bikes. It should be
inclusive of the young and the elderly, many of whom don't drive. It should
also be inclusive of those on a low income, many of whom can't afford a car.
A
successful city should even be inclusive of street people, many of whom tend to
get around by bike. Do you honestly think that if we just don't build bike
lanes and install bike racks for them, they'll eventually just magically
evaporate from our streets? Just like they need a place to live, they need to
be able to get around safely, cheaply and efficiently, if those who are able to
work are ever going to be able to get and hold a job.
Cycling
facilities should not be seen as optional, as they often still seem to be today
in Maple Ridge.
When
a brand new, massive intersection appears such as the one at 112th/Kanaka Way
and 240th, or so-called 'road improvements' are implemented at 240th by Albion
Elementary, we're told we'll just have to wait for our bike lanes until the
entire area is built out, which can be many years from now. Until then, we'll have
to be content to be biking with the sharks, or stay on the sidewalks. So much
for the pride our city takes in its so-called 'multi-modal' transportation
system that supposedly works for all.
Seeing
so many people speak up in this plebiscite, with such passion, about whatever
it is that they felt was so important to them, makes me wish that those same
people would speak up with the same passion when it comes to their vision of
the kind of city that they want to live in.
Although,
you have to wonder, what is their vision of the ideal city?
Many
people just seem to want to get from point A to point B fast, and how their
speedy, and often noisy and dangerous travel affects others and our city in
general seems of no concern to them.
Through
our car addiction, we've created a lot of places that apparently aren't worth
caring about. The way a lot of drivers speed through our neighbourhoods attests
to that. They drive through them as if they don't care about them and the
people that live in them.
In the end, it all
depends on what we, the people, want. Here's hoping that the many people that cared
so much about Translink's governance problems and wasted tax dollars, will start
caring enough about our streets and our neighbourhoods, about our kids and
their future, and about our seniors, our poor, and our street people, to start
demanding proper funding for transit and bike lanes! Call me naive. I guess I
am.
