Stephen Rees’s blog

Hat tip to Dave Thomson on the trans-action list
Paul Krugman at the New York Times blog has a neat little table that compares a selection of countries.

Unfortunately he does not give the original source for the data or a year. But he does have this observation.

Canada has lots of open space, too — and it doesn’t even have $8 a gallon gas. Yet it still has usable public transit in a lot more cities than we do.

Our gas is currently around $5 a gallon. And while Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster have usable public transit most of the rest of this region doesn’t. Which is why we are not much better than the average for the whole of the country. Given that we are the third largest urban conurbation, nearly everywhere except Toronto and Montreal is in a worse position than we are in terms of size. Bigger places tend to have better transit systems. And while people like to say we are less dense than most cities that neatly avoids the sort of comparisons that show that the developed bits of Surrey are denser than the developed bits of Burnaby. Indeed much of Lulu Island is cranberry bog and blueberry patch. So the developed bits of Richmond - especially the large central area - are actually quite dense too, and getting denser. Not that the Canada Line will actually serve the whole of the city centre, let alone the rest of the city. And it will be next to impossible to extend too.

Who would you most like to emulate on this list?

Vancouver - as an urban region - really needs to catch up to the targets is set for itself back in the early ’90s. By now we should be at 17% transit mode share. And, of course, back then no one expected that the main east west freeway from the eastern edge of the City of Vancouver out to Langley would be doubled - or the Port Mann twinned. Nor that the Golden Ears Bridge to replace the Albion Ferry was the highest possible priority for the agency tasked with care of the transit system.

Photo by Beedle Um Bum on flickr

By Robert Bryce, Public Affairs Books. Posted May 10, 2008.

While energy efficiency is laudable, history shows that it leads to people consuming more energy.

This is a longish piece but worth sticking with. It is more on the arguments that were advanced by Mark Jaccard when he advocated carbon taxes. We have seen advances in energy efficiency in a range of applications, but the energy savings do not tend to go to fatten our bank accounts. In fact we tend to consume more energy than before.

And of course this is not new. I heard about the Jeavons Paradox as a spotty six former.

In 1865, a noted British economist, William Stanley Jevons, published a book that would become his most famous work, The Coal Question. Jevons’ book was the beginning of what is now known as the field of energy economics. After studying coal consumption patterns in Britain and assuming (wrongly) that his country’s coal deposits would soon be exhausted, Jevons concluded that “It is wholly a confusion of ideas to suppose that the economical use of fuels is equivalent to a diminished consumption. The very contrary is the truth.” This observation has since come to be known as the Jevons Paradox.

In fact it often strikes me that the people who prescribe economic nostrums based on the illustrations used in Econ 101 “Perfect Competition” seem not to notice that the real world is nothing like as simple as that abstraction. Though they behave as though it ought to be, which is even sillier.

I have often quoted the remark (though I cannot recall its source) “It they were all Zero Emission Vehicles tomorrow, we would still have the problems”. Yes, hybrids are better cars, just as there may well be better fuels, but it is the car itself that is the real problem. Cities were around for five millennia before the car and though everyone complained about the crowds, and the smell, they still lived in them and benefitted economically, socially and culturally from their existence. At the end of the nineteenth century, as public transport was introduced and later electrified, city life got better and cities expanded. Death rates from communicable diseases plumetted thanks to better science and better drains. People no longer had to live next to the job, which was a big improvement if it was in a rendering plant.

The Garden City movement thought that better urban environments would produce better people - an idea Frank Capra repeated in “Its A Wonderful Life” (a paean of praise for the Savings and Loan business). But neither had imagined what would happen if nearly everyone owned at least one car, and tried to drive it everywhere. Which is where we are stuck now - and where our current leadership seems content that we stay.

In fact it also occurs to me now that the argument about energy efficiency also applies to road building as way to manage traffic congestion. Because roads are not priced, buidling more of them induces more demand . For a brief moment there is some space. But just as when you leave a comfortable safety cushion between you and the car in front, someone pops in to the gap and fills it up. And we end up with more congestion than when we started. They could all be Smart cars or hybrid SUVs - but the results in terms of travel time and sprawl would be exactly the same.

Better cars and better fuels will be made, but we will not produce better places if that is what we rely on. In fact they will get much worse.

This gets top billing in today’s Province news section, although it concentrates on the power lines issue. There is also no coverage of anything that was actually said at the rally itself. However a turnout of 2,000 people is not to be disregarded lightly.

The big feature in that paper today is on housing affordability.

The thing that caught my eye in the Delta Optimist was the design charrette for the Southlands run by Andres Duany and an opinion piece on the development that is not against Smart Growth so much as the removal of the land from the ALR twenty years ago.

Of course people who live next to open land are against its development. That is always true in the suburbs. Not so much “after me, no more” but “don’t spoil the view I now have”. If you are lucky enough to own a home that had all the advantages of an urban area but you can kid yourself you live in the country, naturally you do not want that illusion spoiled. And much of the opposition to growth or density in the suburbs is fear of the growth of traffic, although traffic has been growing rapidly in areas which have seen very little development. More trips are being made, and those trips are getting longer - so the VKT increases would happen anyway even if the population wasn’t growing. And of course those terribly expensive large single family homes often have stay at home kids, or grannies in the basement, if not mortgage helpers in “secondary suites” (see Province article cited above). And those big houses have multiple car garages, and plenty of parking spaces too.

But what get people really out of sorts is that not only is transit in this area poor but it is going to get worse, not better, as a result of Translink’s expansion program.

It seems to me that all this is the inevitable result of allowing the region to be developed not in accordance with a well organised, up to date regional strategy that is designed to create a sustainable region (in other words what should have grown out of the LRSP long ago but still hasn’t) but rather in reaction to all kinds of business interests - ports, developers, private sector power providers, private sector transportation companies - who are more concerned about making money than anything else. The people of Delta are upset because no-one is listening to their concerns, and all that is happening in their community seems to be for the benefit of someone else. The consultation and environmental assessment processes are now a very obvious sham - merely a PR exercise to make it look as though someone is consulting and listening, when actually it’s always a Done Deal.

I have found power. Boingo is a rip off. YVR has free wifi - as do most coffee places. I think the margins at airports are better than on coffee. There is just less competition. But airports need to build goodwill especially as other modes for medium distance trips are going to look increasingly attractive. Pearson will be competing with Union Station which not so long ago would have raised a big laugh. Not when oil is north of $120.

People always talk about the New York Subway, but pay less attention to suburban rail. Since the end of the 19th century this has been the way that people from its hinterland get to the urban core. And the positions taken by the big railroads -in the middle of Manhattan - are a demonstration of the wealth and power they wielded. As are the stations. Grand Central has been saved and restored and is still the finest. All I saw of Penn Central was the rabbit warren of tunnels connecting the subway to Amtrak, LIRR and NJTransit. This is a massive state wide operating entity - with mainline electric and diesel locomotives pushing and pulling long commuter trains that operate all day (and late into the night) 7 days a week in both directions as well as conventional electric multiple unit local trains and light rail. None of this is done on the cheap. The equipment and track are well maintained and up to date. Stations are clean and often nicely restored heritage structures. Trains have quite large staffs of conductors selling and checking tickets, and providing assistance and information to passengers.

This extensive network has not however solved traffic congestion any more than it has done in London or Paris, but it does provide a realistic choice for people who prefer not to fight traffic. I do not advocate transit as a way to cure congestion, because the only way I know that can do that is road user pricing. But even that depends on the availability of choice. I think many more people in this region now understand that. (And, by the way NJ Transit is also serious about Transit Oriented Development)

Rising gas prices, as Margaret Wente points out in today’s Globe is good for us. It is making people recognise what has always been true but now is much more sharply pointed. Cheap gas has made us fat and lazy, destroyed our health and our communities. We never needed SUVs really. But at present in our car oriented suburbs we still need some motorised personal device, as there is no really adequate public alternative. What is truly shameful is Kevin Falcon going on the radio to defend his stupid highway expansions. The rest of the region seems to have realised the world has changed since these plans were set. It is time the Minister of Transport did too.

I could sell these computers. I am sitting in Tim’s catching up during my 4 hour layover. And people are fascinated by my tiny laptop. Which may contradict the thesis of “Young Frankenstein” that bigger is “more popular” - and about half the email I get these days.

I enjoyed 2 whole days in New York City, and have lots of pictures. New York also seems to be ahead of us in some respects. For instance, in areas where pedestrian traffic is heavy, entire lanes of traffic are simply taken out of service and devoted to self propelled people. If pedestrian demand is heavy at an intersection it not unusual for a traffic cop to stop the traffic for them. Or they will also simply surge forward and occupy the cross walk. Driver behaviour is loutish towards each other, but generally obeys cross walk signs. What they have not figured out is the box markings in intersections - and thus gridlock does occur. A vehicle with a siren and flashing lights can often have little effect as there is nowhere for anyone to get out of the way.

Suburban electric trains and highfloor highway coaches move huge numbers of commuters in and out of Manhattan every day. It is sad that the congestion charge did not get through as I am sure it would have helped. But buses are one of the major causes of noise - though delivery truck horns are a close second.

This post will get added to when i find a power outlet I can use. If you buy a titchy laptop, get one with a bigger battery!

The LRC has been running polling questions on the issue of the bridge twinning freeway widening gateway progran since 2005. the graph bekow shows that some progress in moving opinion has been made.

I expect that there will be more on the LRC blog when this appears [I am using a WP feature to delay publication until Wednesday]

VANCOUVER – A new poll shows 69 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents support redirecting money away from road expansion projects toward a better public transit system.

The Synovate poll, conducted for the David Suzuki Foundation and the Livable Region Coalition, also showed 60 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents would choose rapid transit to Coquitlam, expanded bus and rapid transit service in Surrey and rapid transit out to UBC over twinning the Port Mann Bridge and widening Highway 1.

“The poll clearly shows there is a real need and a desire for better public transit across the Lower Mainland,” said Ian Bruce, a climate change specialist with the David Suzuki Foundation. “Investing in public transit will help make our transit system faster, more convenient and more direct. Widening highways and bridges simply puts more cars on the road, and makes the current traffic congestion problems worse.”

The poll comes at a time when drivers in the Lower Mainland are seeking relief from painful prices at the gas pumps. It also comes during a push by the provincial government to cut B.C.’s greenhouse gas emissions 33 per cent by 2020.

But, in direct contrast with its plan to go green, the province wants to twin the Port Mann Bridge and widen Highway 1.

Experience from around the world has shown that building more highways can actually lead to longer commutes, more sprawl and more time spent in cars, and eventually worsens traffic congestion instead of relieving it.

“Public transit is a critical part of a long-term sustainable growth strategy,” said David Fields of the Livable Region Coalition. “Investing in public transit will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, ease road congestion, reduce commuting time and municipal infrastructure costs.”

for a few days to New York, New York.

My ability to blog will depend on a number of factors but I am assuming that I will be able to find many free wi-fi spots.

In the meantime my thanks to The Tyee for adding me to their blogroll. And to the reborn VancouverIAM which is linking to me on a regular basis.

In the inbox is an email from regular reader Brain Day who has found this post on induced traffic in The Atlantic. Since this was also the journal that published the Chris Leinberger article, it is obviously a source I need to keep up with. I also liked their choice of image

which is from the creative commons bit of flickr and is one of my favourite sources these days. This image is by Ethan B who is a lawyer who calls himself gmonster25

Langley Times

Maybe I need a new category called “retrofitting the suburbs”. If Langley - and especially the dreadful 200 St - is going to become human something like this is essential.

Why is 200 St dreadful? Because it was turned over to the developers for Highway Oriented Development, which of course is the easiest option if all you want to do is make money. But it does not have a human scale, and is inimical to walking and cycling. It screams at you that only people in cars are worth considering - actually make that oversized pick up trucks.

Jordan Bateman is proposing a new mass transit option for Langley’s 200 Street corridor

Turn 200 Street into San Francisco, with streetcars running up and down the hill, taking travellers to shopping, sporting and business parks, says Township Councillor Jordan Bateman.

I don’t think he means the cable cars.

Photo by “Blende8″ on flickr

Though I think these could find a useful home in North Vancouver and New Westminster

UPDATE

Here is his slideshow

and here is that image of a streetcar climbing a hill in Lisbon

Image from John Mariani

Anthony Perl and Richard Gilbert add some weight to my recent comments about the future of the airline industry.

Last week, the chief financial officer of American Airlines Tom Horton said “there really is no playbook now for $110 a barrel oil.”

They argue that we are going to need to use buses and trains a lot more. This idea will not sit well with the “business as usual” folk but it is inevitable that the days of the cheap airline ticket are over. It is going to take time to get all this organised, and we should already be moving. But governments, chambers of commerce and boards of trade are still talking about airport expansions and better road connections for them.

It is not just here either. One of the really big issues at present in London is the proposal for yet another runway at Heathrow.

Sadly our political elites are still behind the times. Their idea of planning is still based on “previous trends recover and continue” not that we have entered a new era, that demands fresh thinking. Although to be fair, the idea that Canada needs decent passenger trains is hardly new. It just has not occurred to the governments and railway operators yet.

This image was taken in the early evening around 6:30. The rush is long past.

The mountains are, it goes without saying, magnificent. The urban fabric much less impressive. There is a lot more of this. And you need to bear in mind that it is supposed to look like this. It is not the result of unhindered private sector decision making. There is planning, a building code and zoning, traffic and transportation standards - and public sector parsimony. The wirescape is actually quite restrained - I have seen far worse, I am sad to say.

Note the number and size of parked vehicles. Most of the businesses in this part of town seem to be tire stores. I did not see any pedestrians - or cyclists, come to think of it - from the window of the White Spot where I had supper last night. The only walking is from car to front door. Though the intersection behind me did have a pedestrian push button.

This is not really suburb. It is a free standing town beyond the Vancouver region - though the main flow of commuting from here is to Langley and Surrey. Abbotsford did not want to be a commuter suburb for Vancouver so it opted out of West Coast Express - though it is quite a short run on existing CP track from Mission. Much attention now focusses on the old BCE Interurban line used by SRY for four short wayfreights a day.

Abbotsford has five freeway intersections - and spreads along Highway 1. You do not have to go very far north or south to find yourself back into countryside. And oddly familiar, too, since the roads are forced to acknowledge the topography. Unlike the wide, straight grid of arterials further west.

What will happen to this place as gas prices rise? The widening of the freeway stops at Langley, and there are no commitments to transit expansion either from the province - well not any time soon anyway.

There is a lot of talk about Abbotsford Airport too - as though somehow it is immune from the impact of rising aviation fuel costs.