EDITORIAL – Packing bus exchanges with new high-density housing won’t fly
(Image: BC Transit file photo)
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
ONE OF THE MORE PUZZLING pieces to David Eby’s dictatorial housing plan is the one aimed at constructing more high-density housing around transit hubs.
This is the same concept being pushed by federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre — interesting to see a socialist premier and a rightwing federal party leader agree on something, but they’re both whistling in the wind.
According to the New Democrats, forcing municipalities to do their bidding will result in 100,000 new housing units in so-called Transit-Oriented Development Areas in the next 10 years.
Really? In Vancouver, a TOD Area is defined as land within 800 metres from a SkyTrain station and 400 metres from a bus exchange. Maybe, as SkyTrain expands, and bus transit expands, such land will become available but transit expansion in the Lower Mainland moves at a snail’s pace.
In a city like Kamloops, it’s wishful thinking. Eby’s plan defines a TOD Area as land within 200 to 400 metres from a bus exchange. Land around both the North Shore and Downtown bus exchanges is pretty much fully developed or committed. The exchanges are in commercial areas because that’s where people want to catch buses.
There’s some housing nearby, including apartments, and lots a little further away, so the transit housing scheme isn’t going to fix anything.
The Kamloops system is already designed to take people to and from where they live, largely in the suburbs. That’s what bus systems are supposed to do.
The NDP says the move is needed because restrictive zoning bylaws and parking requirements, and delayed development approvals, slow down the delivery of homes. But the TOD Area plan is more about lifestyle and parking, and maybe even climate, than about housing.
If cities could start from scratch with a clean slate, they could build the Utopia envisioned by Eby and Poilievre. But starting from today, it will take so long to achieve that the housing crisis will likely be over by then.
I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.
Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
The downtown police station hasn’t put a dent in the scandalous activities at the 7-11, bus loop, shoplifting free for all at London Drugs, or the purse snatching and assaults.
I don’t see what benefit proximity to a police station provides in an environment that facilitates and encourages criminal behaviour and reduces or eliminates consequence at every step.
In Kamloops, near the police station, and still concerned as ever, I’m Denny Law.
LikeLike
We need to change the environment, I suggest we initiate a bike patrol in the DT and Tranquille commercial corridors. Just one officer on an electric bike could patrol each area during business hours as a pilot programme. Both stations are within blocks of these corridors and doing so I believe would bring greater comfort in these areas for merchants, shoppers and those living in the area and help ease tension with those living hard on the streets as they’d have more positive/friendly interactions with police.
LikeLike
The land around the North Shore bus exchange is far from fully developed. The Penny’ Pinchers site on 8th and tranquille has been grossly under utilized since the car dealership left decades ago, Cotton Wood site hasn’t been used since North Kamloops Elementary closed 40 yrs ago and the used boat sales dealership site would be far more profitable as apartments than what it presently is. All three are within 200m of the bus exchange and 2 shopping centres, each with grocery stores. Moreover, all 3 sites are within walking distance to elementary and high schools and the TRU Express bus goes from the NS exchange to TRU with only one stop in-between in 13 mins making it convenient for students. Lastly, with regards to social problems, the NS police station is one block away.
LikeLike
Socialist? If Eby’s a socialist then Poilievre must be a fascist! The current provincial NDP are as closely aligned with the federal Liberal party as they are with the federal NDP. Eby is far from a socialist just as Poilievre is far from a fascist, your bias is very well apparent.
LikeLike
What is he then? He’s not a centrist. The genesis of the NDP described itself as socialist.
The BC NDP spouses social democracy, which is a movement under socialism. Arguably it can’t be true socialism while playing capitalism, but they’re damn sure going to play like they are. This is effectively socialism as it can reasonably exist within the current economic global framework and western democratic states.
If it walks like a duck.
Getting everything for free, I’m Denny Law.
LikeLike
The provincial NDP call themselves a centre-left party and their policies exhibit that, they’re origins date back to the CCF but they have evolved to much more of a centrist party similar as to how the BC Liberal, now United party, moved from a centrist party to a right wing conservative party. The Republican Party was once a left leaning party under Lincoln, he’s the guy who abolished slavery, you might of heard about it, it was in all the papers. Whilst this was happening the Democratic Party were the right wing party which opposed slavery and continued to oppose civil rights until after WW2. You see, party’s change, they evolve over time.
Sometimes you get what you pay for.
LikeLike
And could high density housing lead us to more social problems? It easily could.
LikeLike