Transportation Plan aka "you will walk and be happy". A Budget 'ask' from Counselor Findlay
Tuesday special meeting North Cowichan 4pm
Dear members, there are two meetings this week - Tuesday at 4pm, and Wed at 5pm
(Substack regarding Wed to come - 5G infrastructure to be approved)
Council/staff hired WATT consulting, a firm based out of Calgary, that is hired by municipalities all over the island and Canada, who have finished phase two of the Master Transportation Plan, costing taxpayers $48,890.
$48,890 for a study and only 263 respondents’ feedback? Then they use this stat to say that “73% of the ‘participants’ agreed with the plan to reduce emissions through the Master Transportation Plan presented. Not statistically relevant for real citizen’s needs.
“Purpose: To present the draft Master Transportation Plan to the Committee of the Whole for feedback and direction on the next steps before presenting it to Council for adoption.”
Summery: Remove people from their cars/trucks, have them live within their 15 min cities, where to commute within, you must walk/bike/roll. If you would like to leave your ‘district’ you can take the pathways between your area and another or leave by calling a ride-on-demand or transit. How do these cities get their food brought in, and other needs? Because the 15 minutes only applies to you!
Spend money we don’t have on biking, while citizens are struggling to eat and live, but it may make sense when people are not able to afford to drive anywhere, take their kids to hockey, etc. The whole plan is a cut-and-paste idea we see everywhere, with a few pages of area-specific ‘instructions’ for roads that our local P. Eng. and engineering department could have figured out themselves.
Their stats do not align with the OCP from their population growth numbers to the statistics around “emissions from vehicles”. Multi-millions of tax payer money are being used for these plans through ‘incentives’.
Council has to now admit they are forwarding a plan that is being implemented all over the world to meet SDGs ( as per the UBCM’s pledge to meet the UN SDGs).
Council should be looking to places like Oxford and London which are meeting fierce opposition to these types of plans. One step in the larger agenda is the transportation plan which is then implemented through the ‘enforcement’ infrastructure slowly being brought in through steps we see in a letter sent in for the Wed. meeting (https://pub-northcowichan.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=14418), the slow implementation of 5G to further the ‘network of things’ and 50 in 5 (https://50in5.net/) and more restrictions on our movements.
Notes from the 103-page ‘feedback’ so you don’t have to read it all..if you do - link here:
(https://pub-northcowichan.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=14430) Unsure the cost of this phase.
During their first survey, another one during covid (2021) as most were put through during this time - 448 responses
Phase 2 July 2023 - 263 responses(!) Not statistically relevant, and does not show negative responses.
According to WATT, 73% of our emissions are from driving. These contractors hired to help implement the SDGs do not consult with each other apparently. Whatever fear-based stat they need to use, they do. Last we checked our OCPs across the valley were blaming housing for over 50% of emissions coming from our houses (this stat used to demand retrofitting). Those two stats are well over 100 %. Models and stats are always used to further an agenda.
Looks like a VERY expensive plan, but does not present a budget just ‘direction’ to the council to implement the whole Master Transportation Plan, after passing it by the ‘environmental committee’ (unsure is any in the committee are P. Eng. or have any background in municipal road work infrastructure)
Prioritize transportation budget to walking and biking infrastructure.
Median age 51.2 with largest demographics 60+ and 84% drive. This older demographic is expected to go up in years to come - yet they want to cut driving down to only 45% (and all-electric). Old folks we have interviewed have scoffed at the walk/bike/roll plan.
This plan is sold under “climate equity health”- forgetting the older and disabled..
The projected population growth in this plan is FAR higher than the OCP.
Develop a “traffic calming policy” and “speed limit policy” to name two of the MANY quasi-demands from this out-of-town consulting company.
Separate walkways - sounds nice, and extremely expensive. How many people are killed walking on the side of roads here?
Heavy biking infrastructure, is currently “not safe for kids to go to school”, however, hundreds of kids bike every day in good weather.
‘Purchase smaller machinery to prioritize snow clearing of bike/walk lanes for bad weather so folks can continue to ride a bike.’
“Given low rates of cycling (1%) in the valley the muni should have a skills training program to increase confidence”. ‘ The muni should provide funding to a local cycle advocacy group to target kids k-12’.
Build covered bike parking covered areas.
Make transit “an attractive alternative”. Currently 1% of residents use transit.
Create a digital on-demand service to request a bus, via an app - because you will need some way to get between your ‘15 min cities’.
Reduce allowed parking to “incentivize active transportation”. - time-limited parking/designated residential.
WATT tells the council to create another study for a ‘gap analysis plan for electric vehicles”. From COAP’s basic and free survey, ‘most stations are empty currently’.
“electric vehicles are zero emissions” - another fallacy! indigenous all over the world are having their lands and water poisoned, while using child labour to dig the elements needed, which are then shipped to China to build batteries in their coal-fired plants, only to be shipped here where we have no infrastructure to safely recycle the batteries when they come to end of life (and cost owners 25-50 k to replace). Additionally charging stations do not ONLY use hydro power.
The province is incentivizing “active transportation” with 1 million dollar grants (our tax money used to ‘bribe’ municipalities). Additionally, The Federation of Municipalities ( partner with ICLEI) administered more tax dollars, 1 billion to be administered to councils through the “Green Municipal fund” ( loan and grant).
Scooter program - council needs to look to other areas that tried this - they were stolen, dumped, and not used in the winter.
The ‘asks’ to the council are exorbitant from this out-of-town consulting group:
Councilor Findlay is bringing forward some suggestions to lower the budget.
The amount of money over the years that has gone into Quamichan Lake is out of control…to name one of his good points. Youth outreach!?
Sincerely,
Team COAP.
I guess since this plan seems to provide space for EV's if the green climate plan is the narrative?
I've often contemplated how much these plans go flat when they also create counter narrative to their narrative.
Incidentally, why not just focus on plastics reduction? Reduce, Reuse and Restore you know so we don't end up replacing all those currently functional gas vehicles made from metals and recyclable materials with plastic computerized control bombs.