Actions speak louder than words

A large and motivated audience in Burquitlam. (Photo by me)

We have just returned home from the Burquitlam all-candidates meeting, at Banting Middle School, where most of the questions centred on the many changes the area is undergoing because of densification and the Skytrain.
It was a well-attended affair: almost 200 were in the audience. All the mayoral and council candidates showed up except for Mr. Mandarino and Mr. Kopahi. A big thank-you to the organizers and volunteers who made the event such a big success. Here are the notes for my opening, one-minute speech:

I know that Burquitlam residents are worried about the rapid rate of change here – the densification and the arrival of the Evergreen Line.

Everyone at this table will tell you that they are concerned, too. But I’ve always believed that actions speak louder than words.

And that’s why I was one of only three council members who voted last summer AGAINST a plan to turn Como Lake Avenue-- from Mariner to Clarke -- into a full truck route for at least two months.

Our GM of engineering opposed it, and the public had not even been consulted on a move that would have steered more heavy-truck traffic into the very heart of Burquitlam.

Thankfully, after a public outcry, council finally listened to reason and voted unanimously stop the experiment in its tracks.

I can assure you that there will be MORE of this kind of independent-minded and principled decision-making if you return me to council for a second term. That's my promise, and you can count on it!

Crime and the Evergreen Line: No new Transit Police

Evergreen Line construction. (Photo by Terry O'Neill)

Today's Vancouver Sun and Tri-City News each have stories about an interesting report, prepared for the Transit police, about the possible impact of new Evergreen Line SkyTrain stations on crime rates around the station. In short, the study predicts no increase in crime rates.
That's fine as far as it goes, and I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the report. However, neither the stories nor the report itself tell the whole story.
First point: Even though the Evergreen Line will add six new stations to Metro's rapid-transit system, and even though an additional 70,000 riders will use the system once the line opens in the summer of 2016, the Transit Police force will not add a single new officer to its force in response to the opening of the new line.
Chief Officer Neil Dubord confirmed this fact with me in a telephone conversation I had with him earlier today. Instead, the force will realign its services to establish what Dubord calls "hubs of safety," at "high-visibility points" at which Transit Police, Transit security personnel, and SkyTrain attendants can cluster, and from which they can quickly respond to reports of problems.
For the Evergreen Line, the "hub of safety" will be at the Lougheed Station. "It's almost like a hub and spoke [system]," Dubord told me.
Fair enough, and I'm sure these hubs will be staffed with high-quality professionals. But I hope this doesn't mean that Coquitlam RCMP will be forced to respond to incidents that have heretofore been handled on existing lines by Transit Police. If Coquitlam Mounties are, indeed, called into action in such circumstances, it will undoubtedly increase the City of Coquitlam's costs and will thereby represent a downloading of costs onto municipal taxpayers.
Second point: Note that the report talks about crime rates, with an emphasis on rates. Given that populations are already increasing rapidly around planned Evergreen Line stations, and that the populations will continue to increase once those stations are open for business, we will undoubtedly see an increase in the real number of actual crimes committed in and around those stations if the rate stays the same--which it is predicted to do.
Moreover, experience with other rapid-transit systems suggest there will be a high number of quasi-criminal or near-criminal disturbances in and around Evergreen Line stations.
Bottom line: the number of real crimes will increase because of population growth around Evergreen Line stations, 70,000 new riders a day will use the Evergreen Line, but authorities are adding no new Transit Police officers to the system.

Never Evergreen for Skytrain line?

Evergreen Line construction tour. (Photo by Terry O'Neill)

What's in a name? Well, when it comes to the name of the Evergreen Line, there's a lot. A lot of importance, that is. It's a name that Coquitlam has embraced, that has inspired our residents and that even a few property developers have borrowed to describe their condominiums.
However, I learned several months ago that Translink might abandon the Evergreen name in favour of something else, but I didn't discuss it in public because the decision was not final and I didn't want to do or say something that might hurt the chances for the Evergreen name to remain.
However, now that the Tri-Cities Now has broken the story about the possible change, the coast is clear to delve into the issue.
The problem began when the Evergreen Line changed from being a spur off the Millennium Line to a continuous service with the Millennium. Under the old model, eastbound travellers from Vancouver to Coquitlam would have had to disembark at Lougheed Station and board a distinct and separate line from Lougheed into Port Moody and Coquitlam. Having a separate name--Evergreen--made ultimate good sense under that model.
But at least three years ago, the model changed to one that would see the Millennium and Evergreen lines merged into one continuous whole. Folks travelling, for example, from Broadway-Commercial to Coquitlam's Lincoln Station would enjoy one continuous, uninterrupted ride. And that's good, of course! (But not so good for commuters used to travelling with no transfers from, for example, Broadway-Commercial to Braid in New Westminster; they'll have to disembark at Lougheed and get on a new eastbound train to get to Braid.).
When, about two years ago, I confirmed the new configuration, I said in public that it would provide a great service to Coquitlam residents but that it would also create a naming problem for Translink. This is because it would be very confusing for commuters riding eastbound on the Millennium Line to, once they had passed Lougheed station, suddenly find themselves on the Evergreen Line. The new, merged and continuous line would have to have one new, merged and continuous name, I told Translink. (This discussion took place in an open council meeting called to provide council input into the name of the Coquitlam stations -- input that Translink took to heart, by the way.)
Given that both the Millennium and Evergreen names were quite firmly established, I suggested a compromise: turn "Evergreen" into an adjective to describe the "Millennium," and name the entire Vancouver-Coquitlam line the Evergreen-Millennium.
The Now story suggests that Translink thinks the name is too long. And there would undoubtedly be extra costs involved in changing all the existing Millennium Line signs to make them read "Evergreen-Millennium," but I think it's the best option we have. Otherwise, I fear that we'll be stuck with the "Millennium Line" along the full length of the Vancouver-Burnaby-Port Moody-Coquitlam service.
You can let the Translink board know what you think by clicking here. And you can contact the the provincial government's Evergreen office by clicking here.
AUGUST 25 UPDATE: The Vancouver Sun is reporting that the Evergreen Line will keep its name after all! Read the full story by clicking here.