Congratulations to Marc Dalton on his re-election in Maple Ridge – Mission and to Mike Bocking for running a good campaign.

I am excited about the fact that Andrew Weaver got elected in Oak Bay-Gordon Head so the Green Party will have a voice in our Provincial Legislature. I am confident he will do a good job representing his constituents, and the Green Party.

There is disappointment, though, in our low voter turnout. I think this may reflect on the fact that voters are being asked to vote out of fear, rather than hope. I believe that the future success of the Green Party depends on effectively delivering that message of hope to those voters who are currently feeling disengaged. If we can find a way to capture the attention of those people, we will see a breakthrough at the polling booth.

I enjoy being a part of our democratic process and intend to continue to stay involved in politics.

So, I suspect, just maybe, our politicians and governments aren’t doing anything about this problem because not enough young people have been showing up to the polls to vote. Check out the Voter Participation by Age Group – May 12, 2009 Provincial General Election (pdf) from the Elections BC website. Only 26.88% of eligible voters aged 18-24 voted, compared to 71.53% of those aged 65-74.

What can you do about this? Well, if you’re under age 45, take the time to vote on Tuesday, May 14… and then phone a couple friends under age 45 and tell them to do the same thing. It doesn’t matter who you vote for (although you could consider voting for me), the point of this is to see a better voter turnout in the younger age groups. If younger people show up at the polls in significantly greater numbers then all political parties will be more likely to pay attention to them.

By the way, if you’re older than 45, you should vote too… the stats say a majority of you already know that, so you don’t need me to tell you.

This week in the Maple Ridge News and the Maple Ridge Times:

Links:
Profile on Green Party website
Facebook Page
Donate to Campaign
Request A Sign

Abbotsford Times:
Apr 25: Campaign gets Greener in Maple Ridge – Mission
May 01: Maple Ridge-Mission candidates face off
May 07: Alex Pope, Green Party, Maple Ridge – Mission

Maple Ridge News:
Apr 23: Green party announces Maple Ridge candidates
Apr 30: Candidates make pitches to seniors
May 07: Former teacher skips election education forum
May 9: Riding in focus: Maple Ridge-Mission

Maple Ridge Times:
Apr 23: Campaign tidbits: Libs draw camp fire
Apr 25: Rematch
Apr 30: Candidates spar in round one
May 02: Seniors put candidates in hot seat
May 02: Quest to be involved lands avid cyclist on ballot

Mission City Record:
May 01: CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS: Maple Ridge-Mission riding
May 08: CANDIDATE PROFILE: Avid cyclist running for Greens
May 10: Numerous issues discussed at all-candidates meeting

From the BCCC Cycling Strategy for BC:

The British Columbia Cycling Coalition (BCCC) and its member cycling organizations recommend that the Province of B.C. invest $75 million annually towards a Comprehensive Cycling Strategy that enables residents and visitors of all ages and abilities to safely and conveniently cycle for transportation, recreation and tourism.

This strategy should include:
• accelerated investment in cycling infrastructure and improved standards for maintenance & hazard removal on roads and paths used by cyclists;
• the implementation of a comprehensive cycling tourism strategy;
• improved cycling education and amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act and;
• legislation that gives municipalities & TransLink the authority to implement new funding sources for cycling, walking and transit improvements.

The Green Party of BC is committed to creating and supporting clean, affordable, and efficient transportation modes for all British Columbians. Greens want to limit urban sprawl while increasing cycling paths, maintaining and creating more walkable neighbourhoods, and providing affordable transit systems. Encouraging cycling is one of the ways in which Greens will contribute to a more cycle-friendly BC. The BC Greens will also provide tax breaks and funds that support cycling and other clean modes of transportation.

Funding for increased biking infrastructure will come from the use of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies, such as road pricing, congestion pricing and parking pricing. BC Greens would also increase the carbon tax and use some of this extra revenue to fund transportation alternatives. Being dedicated to a healthy and clean lifestyle for all British Columbians, BC Greens want to see an increase in the accessibility of current biking infrastructure, while continuing to improve and expand it.

Increased cycling is sure to provide many benefits to British Columbians by decreasing health care problems that are a result of physical inactivity, increasing revenue by creating ‘green-collar’ jobs, and decreasing pollution from car emissions. Greens recognize the potential that cycling has in contributing to an overall cleaner environment. This is why the BC Greens are dedicated to providing British Columbians with easier and greater access to safe cycling infrastructure and encouraging them to live more active and healthy lifestyles.

Even with the amount of funding suggested by the BCCC, complete cycling networks will take quite a number of years to complete. I would suggest that we should prioritize those cycling projects that will provide all-ages cycling pathways that provide connectivity to schools and transit hubs. These pathways are the most likely to see the greatest uptake in use so will provide the greatest benefit to future cyclists.

I am participating in the “Coldest Night of the Year” walk in Maple Ridge, on the Golden Ears United Church and Friends team, in support of The Salvation Army Caring Place.

The Coldest Night of the Year is a non-competitive 5- and 10-km winter-walk fundraiser supporting select Canadian charities that serve the hungry, homeless and hurting in cities and communities across Canada. Held on Saturday, February 23rd, 2013, the walk provides participants the opportunity to experience a hint of the challenges faced by those experiencing homelessness by walking for a few hours during a cold Canadian night in the dead of winter.

Please get involved: sponsor or join our team, sponsor me, or start your own team.

From MLA Marc Dalton’s offical press release:

MAPLE RIDGE – The B.C. government is providing a total of $588,956 in funding to support new bike paths in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. In partnership with the provincial government, the municipalities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, as well as TransLink and the BikeBC Program, will contribute additional funding toward these projects.

Details:

Lougheed Highway Multi-Use Cycle Track in Maple Ridge-$488,956

This 655-metre cycle track from Laity Street to 216 Street provides a vital east-west link, as there are no internal local roads. Designed with a buffer and a track width of 3-4 metres greatly improves safety for cyclists.

TransLink will provide $269,875 in funding.

City of Maple Ridge will pay $488,957 toward the rest of the funding.

Kennedy Road Multi-Use Pathway-$100,000

This new separated bike path in Pitt Meadows will run from Lougheed Highway to Ferry Slip Road and will provide a safe connection to an existing pathway that links downtown to the dike system along the Pitt River. It will allow cyclists to avoid using Kennedy Road, where truck traffic is high and the shoulders are narrow.

City of Pitt Meadows will pay $115,000.

Additional information:

Since 2001, the B.C. government has committed over $148 million in cycling infrastructure, creating new bicycle lanes and trails in over 75 communities.
Last year, the B.C. government committed $7.25 million in BikeBC funding throughout the province.
Cycling 10 kilometres to and from work every day would reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by 15,000 kg a year.
Cycling eight kilometres is equal to 30 minutes of moderate exercise.
Learn more:

For more information about Bike BC, visit: www.th.gov.bc.ca/BikeBC

The Maple Ridge project is a multi-use pathway beside Lougheed Hwy that allows cyclists to travel between Donovan Ave/216 Street at the east end to Laity Street/117 Ave at the west end without having to share space with motorists on Lougheed Hwy. This is a much-needed missing link to allow cyclists to make their way more safely between downtown Haney and 203 Street.

The Pitt Meadows project, which is now mostly complete and rideable, is a multi-use pathway that connects Ferry Slip Rd and the dikes to the previously-existing multi-use pathway on the south side of Lougheed Hwy. Cyclists coming over the Pitt River Bridge can loop back under the bridge, along the dike to Ferry Slip Rd and use this new connection to get to the Lougheed Trail without having to mix with motorists. The Lougheed Trail extends as far as Meadowtown Mall on the east side of Pitt Meadows.

Local Media Coverage:
In the Maple Ridge News: Missing link filled in Maple Ridge cycling network
And the Maple Ridge Times: Province, municipalities fork over money for cycling

Ed Reiskin: Director of Transportation, San Francisco MTA

Much of what we love about San Fransico and about our cities we would lose if all those people come in their own cars. Because then our streets are going to be clogged with traffic and our air is going to be clogged with pollution and instead of being able to enjoy living in, working in, visiting our cities, people are going to be angry in their cars.

What we see as the way to do this… is not to tell people who are in San Francisco or coming to San Francisco that cars are bad, you need to strap on a bike helmet, you need to get on the subway; but what we need to do is make public transit accessible and reliable and safe and attractive and, god forbid, even enjoyable, we need to make people feel safe in terms of getting around the city on their bike, or on foot, people want to take a taxi, you need to be able to get one… when you do need to drive a car we want people to be able to access a car share vehicle so that the desire to use, and maybe even own, your own vehicle is really the last resort…

The most cost effective investment we can make in moving people is bicycle infrastructure… it’s much cheaper to put in a bike lane than to put in a subway.

Rina Cutler: Deputy Mayor of Transportation and Utilities, Philadelphia

In my world, every single person is a pedestrian… at the point you get out of your car, at the point you come out of the train station, at the point you park your bike at a bike rack, you become a pedestrian and so, for me, that ought to be the loudest voice in the world because everybody has a vested interest in it…

Rick Halas, of the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows HUB Committee, and myself decided to try making a short video to increase awareness of the trail in the community. So last weekend we met at the trail and shot some video with Rick’s iPod – no script, no preparation, just shoot the video and see what we end up with. We discovered that in that situation, I come across as being a little bit serious…

Thanks go to Rick for doing the video editing and posting it on YouTube. We’re thinking about doing a few more videos, increasing awareness of local cycling infrastructure, routes, and issues. Hopefully we’ll get a little bit better with some more practice. What would you like to see in future videos?