Disqus - Latest Comments for spartikus

Re: Get to Know Your North American Neighbor Part II: Canada

spartikus — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 17:18:10 -0000

Spouse grew up in the 70s in White Rock - the town across from Blaine - and would cross the border through a gap in the hedge to go buy American candy. The border guards would just wave.

Re: What Was The FBI Searching For?

spartikus — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 12:09:14 -0000

Any chance he took classified material with an eye towards selling it to the highest bidder, or is that too far even for Trump?

Re: SULLIVAN: The North Shore B-Line is like bringing a Magic Marker to a gun fight

spartikus — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 14:01:04 -0000

You are now the second person to breezily dismiss the concept of induced demand by...describing induced demand.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Re: SULLIVAN: The North Shore B-Line is like bringing a Magic Marker to a gun fight

spartikus — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 11:38:22 -0000

You've just literally, if apparently unwittingly, described the concept of induced demand. Expand the lanes and traffic will fill it. You've just said that. As for "other regions of the developed world" - other regions of the developed world deal with it by building extensive transit networks. Except places like, oh, Atlanta.

Re: SULLIVAN: The North Shore B-Line is like bringing a Magic Marker to a gun fight

spartikus — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 12:01:49 -0000

Mr. Sullivan, and his proposal to widen the existing bridge or build a third crossing, would be well-served researching the concept of "induced demand."

Re: Guess which Vancouver bridge counts as N.A.’s top cycling route?

spartikus — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 16:35:17 -0000

What time of year ?

Please read the article carefully, because it gives you the answer you seek.

Re: A Nine-Step Plan to Fix the Vancouver Sun and Province

spartikus — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 11:56:26 -0000

Until there is ownership committed to putting resources back in to operations rather than stripping it for parts, this is all the most wishful of thinking.

Re: Lower Mainland cities learned many lessons from 2008/2009 snowstorm, but not enough to make this round perfect

spartikus — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:15:00 -0000

You mean the suppliers who have...run out of salt.

#headdesk

Re: Lower Mainland cities learned many lessons from 2008/2009 snowstorm, but not enough to make this round perfect

spartikus — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 18:21:46 -0000

You of course mean homeowners and businesses within the City of Vancouver who aren't clearing their sidewalks, as required by law.

As for side streets, most municipalities are experiencing similar situations as you'll note from the anecdotes above.

And those supposedly "agile" private sector stores? They've also run out of salt.

Sometimes Mother Nature is fickle.

Re: Is Vancouver becoming a city where people are ready to ditch the single-family home?

spartikus — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 19:22:41 -0000

We are precisely this. My spouse and I had the dream of the single-detached home in East Vancouver. Even at the time in the early 00's we thought home prices were expensive (of course if we knew then what would happen to property values we might have stretched the budget) so we decided to get into the market with a condo in Fairview with eye to moving up later on.

And then...we liked it. And we stayed and plan on staying until retirement.

Re: Strategy to oust VSB has slightest whiff of collusion

spartikus — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 12:49:03 -0000

Good grief, she wasn't "agitating for the sake of agitating" - she was fulfilling the platform she was elected on. And no, their mandate isn't to serve "the government," it's to serve "the people."

And the people - and parents - handed Patti Bacchus that mandate.

Re: Strategy to oust VSB has slightest whiff of collusion

spartikus — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 13:05:23 -0000

Troublemakers like Patti Bacchus would rather be activists or champions...

FIXED: Troublemakers like Patti Bacchus were elected by the people of Vancouver on a platform of activism to champion students...

Also, the last time a VSB board was "fired" was in 1985.

Re: City selects asphalt for Arbutus Greenway temporary path

spartikus — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 12:02:27 -0000

It's not a "nature path", it's a zoned transportation corridor. This is stated explicitly.

The seawall in Stanley Park, which is the comparable, is in fact that width (if not wider) & paved.

Re: City selects asphalt for Arbutus Greenway temporary path

spartikus — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 16:11:40 -0000

Elvira Lount does not speak for lower Kitsilano or anyone else except herself.

As for "no figures were collected at the open houses to back up support for asphalt" - this is false. Everyone who participated in the open houses was asked to fill out an online survey. I filled out mine.

Mulch was not one of the 4 presented options, yet it's made it into the design. That is a very strong indicator of who is actually listening to whom.

Re: Bringing hammer down on Vancouver School Board was clearly politically orchestrated

spartikus — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 12:18:57 -0000

Except Patti Bacchus received the 4th highest number of votes of any civic politician in 2014 and VV trustees were 4 of the top 5 for school board. If "advocacy" (which is what, precisely?) was the problem they would have been in the bottom 5.

Re: As Vancouver’s new chief planner begins his job, architect/urbanist warns about Vancouver’s “toxic conversation”

spartikus — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 11:47:32 -0000

Wow.

Holding an ambiguously defined demographic in contempt is a recipe for continued election losses.

The persistence of this self-defeating attitude never ceases to amaze me.

Re: As Vancouver’s new chief planner begins his job, architect/urbanist warns about Vancouver’s “toxic conversation”

spartikus — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 16:23:36 -0000

Conversely the issue of LED street lights is happening all over the place.

So, once again, I discover a larger issue reframed as uniquely local and due to the malfeasance of politicians when rather it was a good faith effort by city engineers following then industry norms.

By the way, BC Hydro is responsible for installing the dimmers.

Re: As Vancouver’s new chief planner begins his job, architect/urbanist warns about Vancouver’s “toxic conversation”

spartikus — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 12:45:36 -0000

But I won't attribute any particular voice or opinion to represent what might be a majority of what the city felt during the election

I'm sorry, unless your suggesting that 100% turnout + 100% of the vote is the only way a government gains a mandate, the people of Vancouver handed the keys to Vision Vancouver 3 times (by the by the last election had a turnout of 44%. The highest ever was 52% in 1990). You cannot claim they are performing their "social experiments over the wishes of their citizens" with a straight face.

I note too that the main example Bruce Haden chose was that of a New York NIMBY group opposing social housing, something all too familiar here.

Re: As Vancouver’s new chief planner begins his job, architect/urbanist warns about Vancouver’s “toxic conversation”

spartikus — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 10:52:18 -0000

In a post about the City's "toxic conversation" you are now questioning the legitimacy of 3 elections because [REASONS]. I think you've just proven Bruce Haden's point.

Re: As Vancouver’s new chief planner begins his job, architect/urbanist warns about Vancouver’s “toxic conversation”

spartikus — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 00:05:44 -0000

over the wishes of their citizens

Is that why they've won 3 elections in a row?

Re: Second-last gas station in downtown Vancouver put on the market

spartikus — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 12:32:34 -0000

Clearly the objective is Green first, efficient transportation second.

But you just claimed in the previous paragraph that Metro Vancouver's (a different entity than the CoV btw) goal with road pricing (something not implemented) was revenue.

In summary, Singapore, amongst other things:

1. Requires you to justify to the government your need for a car before being issued a permit to purchase one.

2. Has road congestion pricing.

3. Directs substantial funds to public transit.

vs.

The CoV...

1. Re-allocating a small fraction of the total road network to separated bike lanes. Something which the data, contrary to your claim, shows has not "increased congestion" substantially, or in some cases, at all.

Got it!

Re: Second-last gas station in downtown Vancouver put on the market

spartikus — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 16:23:31 -0000

Also, Google: "Singapore" + "Vehicle Quota System."

To claim the City of Vancouver is attempting anything even close to the restrictions Singapore has placed on the automobile is delusional.

Re: Second-last gas station in downtown Vancouver put on the market

spartikus — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 16:15:58 -0000

I don't know what Singapore you're talking about, but the one at the tip of Malaysia actively works to constrain the car in favour of other transport options.

http://www.slideshare.net/P...

Re: Second-last gas station in downtown Vancouver put on the market

spartikus — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 12:47:59 -0000

I'm sorry, please walk us through how the CoV's "ideological actions" led Chevron to sell it's downtown gas stations?

Re: Vancouver picks new head of planning from continent’s other unaffordable city, San Francisco

spartikus — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 15:57:47 -0000

Apologies, I misread the tone of your original comment.