Column The News: Fewer young people are buying cars

By Jackie Chow - Maple Ridge News
Published: September 12, 2013

Something interesting that I read about this week: according to a survey done in the Netherlands earlier this year, nine per cent of respondents got rid of their cars last year to save money, to cope with the effects of the financial crisis.

Like in many other countries, the car is a bit of a status symbol in the Netherlands, so I think this is quite amazing. But a car is such a money guzzler, and not having one makes a huge difference to your pocketbook. Isn’t it nice if you have options other than the car, like the Dutch do?

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Cyclists forgotten again in downtown

Latest HUB Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows column in The Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows News:

Published: August 16, 2013

Renovations of the next section of Lougheed, between 226th and 228th, have started.

Unfortunately, cyclists will not be getting what we had asked for: bike lanes on Lougheed through Maple Ridge’s town core.

The district feels that the widened sidewalks will adequately accommodate both pedestrians and cyclists, and wants to reserve the road space for the many cars that travel through our downtown. It wasn’t totally unexpected, but it was still disappointing.

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Column: The key word for cycling is separation

Latest column by HUB in The News:

Published: June 14, 2013 

Both Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are working on transportation plans.

The City of Pitt Meadows is conducting an on-line survey to get input on its plan, which builds on the pedestrian and cycling master plan that was completed last year.

Meanwhile, Maple Ridge held an open house on May 22 to get input on an update of its transportation plan, which dates back to 2003.

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Spend on cycling close to home

Latest HUB column in Maple Ridge News:

Published: December 13, 2012
We’ve been warned multiple times in recent months that Canadian household spending is causing us to be ever deeper in debt. But would that warning have any effect on this year’s spending by Canadian families? According to a Bank of Montreal survey, holiday shoppers are planning to spend on average $674 on gifts this year, up from $583 last year. And the average Canadian is expected to spend more than $85 on booze in December, also according to a Bank of Montreal report. Canada is among the wealthiest countries in the world, so it’s probably not a surprise.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadian households spend on average about $11,000 on transportation.

About $10,000 of that is spent on private transportation: cars, vans and trucks, including their operating cost.

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Column The News: Time to think about Complete Streets

Published: December 9, 2011

Two issues clearly dominated the recent election in Maple Ridge. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, cycling wasn’t one of them.
However, it was nice that issues around cycling did get their share of attention during the campaign.

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Maple Ridge News: Timing is right for car-free street

Our latest column in the News. If you like the idea of creating a car-free street between Haney Place Mall and Valley Fair Mall, please write to Maple Ridge Council (mayorandcouncil@mapleridge.ca) to express your support.

Column The News: Nice to See Kids Riding Bicycles

Our second column in the Maple Ridge News:

Nice to see kids riding bicycles

Published: August 12, 2011 7:00 AM

It was quite inspiring to read in last week’s article Hill Street blues: must keep barriers, (The News, July 29) about how residents on Hill Avenue are trying to convince the District of Maple Ridge not to remove the barriers on their street. The district feels it’s desirable to offer their street as an alternate route to cars to the 102nd Avenue and 240th Street arterials.

Understandably, residents worry that traffic will increase on their quiet street once the barriers are gone.

Motorists may use their street as a rat-run, trying to avoid the traffic lights at the 102nd Avenue and 240th Street intersection. They organized a big street party and a petition to show how passionate they are about keeping their neighbourhood safe and quiet.

Only two months ago, the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition did a Bike to School program – the first in Maple Ridge – at Albion elementary, right across 240th Street from Hill Avenue. This program was funded by the District of Maple Ridge. As part of the program, a Family Bike Festival was held. The kids learned about traffic rules, how to manoeuvre their bikes around pylons, how to properly use their helmets, and they decorated their bikes. At the end of the afternoon, a group of about 60 kids biked through the neighbourhood. I was helping out on that day, and I thought it was the greatest sight, all those kids cruising down Hill Avenue. You could see how thrilled they were to be in control. Quite a different experience for a lot of kids from being strapped into a car seat when being driven to school every morning.

I was hoping that this Bike to School program would be the start of an important road to independence and learning for many of these kids. Many kids these days don’t learn much about how to behave in traffic, since their parents drive them everywhere. Once they turn 16, if they manage to correctly answer some multiple-choice questions about the rules of the road, suddenly they’re allowed to be in control of a three-tonne vehicle … and all those years we tried to keep them safe by not allowing them to bike other than in our quiet cul-de-sac or on the sidewalk!

 

I wonder how many drivers have asked the district to remove these barriers. I suspect none. I doubt too many residents – if any –on either side of the barriers want them gone, because everyone wants to live in a quiet neighbourhood. Neighbourhood streets shouldn’t be used for through-traffic if it can be avoided – only for local traffic. Leaving the barriers in place may encourage more parents to allow their kids to bike to school. As more development takes place in east Maple Ridge, sooner or later there will be traffic lights at the Hill Avenue and 240th Street, which would make Hill  an attractive alternative for drivers. And once the barriers are gone, it’ll be much harder, or perhaps impossible, to get them back. So I say: kudos to Hill Avenue residents for standing up for their kids and their neighbourhood!

Other things that I’d like to mention:

• The Summer Cycling Photo Contest organized by the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows bicycle advisory committee. You can find details at mapleridge.ca (click on “contest” under “What’s New”). Check out the awesome prizes!

• Our Discovery Bike Ride for this month will be Aug. 20 to the Greenest Household in Maple Ridge. Suitable for cyclists of all abilities. Check out details on our blog: rmcyclist.info/. Note that our rides are unguided.

• An exciting event is being organized for Sept. 24 by the Golden Ears Transition Initiative, of which the VACC is part. I’ll tell you more about it in next month’s cycling column.

New column on cycling in Maple Ridge News

Here's the first one:

Go Dutch: start riding your bike

The dikes in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge are pretty awesome, built by the Dutch after the Second World War. I think they are one of the best things that ever happened to our area north of the Fraser River.
Apart from the valuable farmland that was created, many people now use the dikes that protect the farmland from flooding for leisurely strolls, bike rides or horseback riding.

It was a smart move by the City of Pitt Meadows and the District of Maple Ridge to build trails on the dikes.
The Dutch have more clever ideas and skills than just building dikes, though. They also design and build great cycling infrastructure.

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