Author: corey.burger

BC Transit talks UVic options

Tis the season for new plans at BC Transit and UVic isn’t being left out. With the Victoria Regional Rapid Transit and 25-year Transit Future plans well in the works, some of the smaller parts of the system are getting attention, such as James Bay earlier this year.

BC Transit has more than a few challenges up at UVic, space being one of them. The reason why the 15X doesn’t stop in the exchange is lack of space and although the planners in 1994 did a good job with the then-new transit exchange, the truth is that they couldn’t anticipate something like the U-Pass driving ridership through the roof.

Although the need for space started the process and it isn’t clear from the boards (PDF), BC Transit is planning on more than just a potential new exchange or exchanges at some point down the road. In the near future they are looking not only to re-jig where buses stop, possibly taking over more space in the old exchange or in front of the old counselling building, but also a fundamental re-routing of buses.

Spurred by the recent budget crisis, there is also talk of a fundamental re-think of bus routes could affect nearly every rider today, changing major routes such as the 11, 6, or the new 10. This would be the first major change of routes within my lifetime if it does come to pass.

BC Transit is early in this process with UVic, so they are still looking for comments, wehich can be emailed to uvicplan@bctransit.com, taking the online survey, or one of likely several upcoming open houses in June and September of this year. More information can be found at the Get Involved page.

For the election geek, ThreeHundredEight

If you are an election geek like me — I have voted in every election I have been eligible for, save possibly one early municipal election — ThreeHundredEight is exactly what you need for this federal election. Describing itself as “inspired by the fantastic FiveThirtyEight (a US polling blog run by Nate Silver, now under the wing of the august New York Times), ThreeHundredEight “provides projections for Canadian federal and provincial elections in a non-partisan manner, and focuses primarily on the topic of political opinion polls.”

Run by Éric Grenier, the name comes from the number of seats in the House of Commons, following the convention of its namesake, which refers to the number of seats in the US House of Representatives. Despite the name, the site actually covers provincial politics as well, as this recent post on BC Liberals vs BC NDP shows. With seven elections this year guaranteed (Federal, PEI, NWT, Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland & Labradour, Saskatchewan and Yukon) and a possible BC election, Éric looks to be busy.

http://threehundredeight.blogspot.com/2008/10/introduction-to-threehundredeightcom.htmlÉric Grenier

Johnson St. Bridge closes to rail

Although the City of Victoria hasn’t yet released the press release, John Luton announced this morning via Facebook update that the recent inspection of the bridge revealed that it is no longer safe to carry rail traffic. Given the recent pictures John posted on his flickr stream (one of which you can see below), this doesn’t surprise me.

Steel peeling like a flower on the Johnson St. Bridge. Photo credit: John Luton
Steel peeling like a flower on the Johnson St. Bridge. Photo credit John Luton

John’s full Facebook update:

It’s official. The Johnson Street Bridge is no longer safe to carry rail. Until the Island Corridor Foundation took over the railway, the bridge was maintained (or not), by CP Rail. It will remain open for cyclists and pedestrians but other arrangements will have to be made for rail until January when the structure comes down. The city’s road bridge has been better maintained and remains safe, for the time being.

Random links o’ the morning

The Mayor says goodbye (sort-of)

With Mayor Causton taking a short break to run for Liberal candidate in the Victoria riding, he took the opportunity to say good-bye Monday night. At what may be his last council meeting ever, he brought up a lot of unresolved business that he wanted to see put to bed.

Unsurprisingly, the first thing he mentioned was the town hall meeting, something he promised to the protesters from the the other day. What he promised was a meeting without an agenda, and he promised that he would facilitate that However, he wanted to have it during April, which means that somebody else will need to chair that. Causton ended up suggesting the acting Mayor — Nils Jensen for the month of April — as a suitable substitute. As for a date, there are a few being kicked around, all in April: 12th, 14th, 19th, or 20th.

Second on his agenda was “improved communication”, which apparently just means the website currently, something Tara Ney is taking over. As an aside, I see a pattern emerging here; prospective mayoral candidates being asked to get involved in high profile issues (although neither have said anything either way).

Lastly was the giant hot potato known as secondary suites. Causton has pushed hard on this issue recently, prompting one councillor to ask “What’s driving this issue?”. My suspicion is that council is going to shelve this until after the election. We are only eight months out (Nov 19) and nobody wants to commit to such a polarizing issue right now.

Thankfully, the Mayor is not shirking all of his duties as he runs federally: the children of Willows in Grade 1 and 2 are going to get a visit by him to, as he put it, “explain a federal election without getting political”, as well as chairing the local Mayor’s lunch and one final Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities’ AGM and conference up in Sidney.

And so we (possibly, although I think not very probably) bid adieu to the Mayor of Oak Bay for the past 14 years. Emperor Frank (of Saanich) he was not, although he is equally long standing. Now the speculation will turn to what councillors are going to run again this year and who will replace him.

A visit to the new Oak Bay Bistro

After Monday’s council session I got the chance to visit the new Oak Bay Bistro and try out the food, and I came away favourably impressed. As the Times Colonist reports, they have taken over part of the old Blethering Place, on the corner of Monterey and Oak Bay Avenue.

We were seated promptly, although there seemed to be a great deal of staff on for such a small space. I suspect they are running larger shifts than normal so that they have some leeway if a huge crowd comes in. On the way in I did notice one jarring detail: the door. It is a very modern design and it really doesn’t fit with the rest of the faux-Tudor building. They could have done something a bit more in keeping and still let plenty of light in.

To drink, I ordered a Driftwood Fat Tug India Pale Ale, something you can’t get in most liquor stores, and it came, although it did take a bit of time. Glass was chilled and beer was at a good temperature, which is nice. Brand-new equipment certainly makes a difference, although it was clear the bar tender actually knew how to draw a pint, as the head was perfect. For dinner I ordered one of their small plates, an albacore tuna seared in a bed of greens. It was tasty and it food came out quickly. The dish was also cold, but that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. This would make a good appetizer for someone more hungry than I was the other night.

Anyway, it was not a bad place to go. The food was good but not spectacular and the service likewise. Prices, $6 for the pint and $8 for the small dish, were in line with what you would pay at any other place. Overall, a good addition to the community. But don’t just trust me. Check out their Urban Spoon review page, their Facebook page, or their Vibrant Victoria thread.

Arrowsmith Rotary combines service with beer

The Arrowsmith Rotary club in the Alberni Valley is joining two of my favourite things: beer and volunteering. The 2011 Alberni Valley Hops Festival:

Ten Breweries highlight some of their specialties, while 6 food tables provide the food that one normally aligns with “beer drinking”. The night also features a silent auction table and entertainment will be provided by musician – Kevin Falkenberg.
Brewery Representatives include Granville Island Brewery, Howe Sound Brewery, Lighthouse Brewing Company, Longwood Brewery, Mark Anthony Distributors, Molson Coors, Pacific Western Brewing Company, Phillips Brewing Company, Vancouver Island Brewery, and Whistler Brewing Company.

Time for the event – starting at 6:00 pm for Industry Representatives by invitation, and then at 7:00 pm for the General Public.

Event to be held at Echo Centre – 4255 Wallace Street, in the Cedar Rooms.

The following local businesses will be providing the food samples for the evening: Harbour Pizza Factory, Pete’s Mountain Meats, Polly’s Pub, Port Pub, Westwind Pub and rounding out the evening is Serious Coffee.

ADSS Dry Grad will be on hand with their designated driving program, offering a Drive Home Service.

Ticket price: $30.00 per person.

full details  at http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/story/StoryDetail.aspx?accountid=683&sid=194328&stid=

(h/t to the Beer of the Rock blog)

Oak Bay council sets dates for budget meetings

Oak Bay has finally set the dates of its estimates meetings, where council decides on what projects are going to be funded in the 2011 fiscal year.

The first meeting is the joint Parks & Recreation Commission and Council meeting on March 30th at 7pm. I don’t know what big ticket items are in play for this year, save that the Rotary Waterpark money (almost $30,000 for upgrades) has already been approved.

There are two further general estimates committee meetings on Tuesday, April 5th and Wednesday the 13th. Both are at 5:30pm. All three meetings are held in the council chambers in the municipal hall on Oak Bay Avenue. As with council and committee of the whole meetings, these meetings are open to the public to listen.

CRD seeking EcoStar nominees

The CRD is seeking people or projects as nominees for their annual EcoStar awards, which this year was expanded to seven categories: Community Environmental Leader,Youth Leader, Water Stewardship, Waste Reduction, Climate Action, Land Stewardship, and Integrated Watershed Management. 2010 winners included municipal governments like the District of Central Saanich, individuals such as Caleigh Inman or Debra Morse, and businesses like the Truffles Group.

The deadline is April 7th, and you can check out more at crd.bc.ca/ecostar.