Commute by bike it's not as bad as you think

 Often controversial, interesting, and thought provoking. Letters to the Editor are a vital part of the voice in our community.This one appeared in Friday's North Shore News:

Commute by bike it's not as bad as you think

 Dear Editor:

Coun. Lisa Muri said, "In Seymour, you need a car, you can't wait
for the bus." Why not? Millions of people do it every day around the
world. Based on this attitude I am sure she could also easily say,
"In Seymour, you need a car, you can't ride a bike." Tens of
thousands of North Shore residents must share the same opinions towards transit and cycling. This is where the problem sits.

I see a bike-based future. I presently commute by bike from Lynn
Valley to downtown Vancouver in less than 35 minutes, five minutes
faster than transit. My commute home is 45 minutes. I commute
by bike year-round to the tune of 2,500-3,000 kilometres each 
year. I don't have a gym membership or a transit pass and I
wouldn't have it any other way. I would never commute by car
even though my family has two of them. It is a shame that the
transition from car to bike commuting has always been a struggle 
for people.


Excuses, excuses. It's not nearly as bad as the masses think.

Matt Henderson North Vancouver

© Copyright (c) North Shore News

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Link to letter

What is the Blue Ribbon committee on Amalgamation and whom will serve on it?

The Blue Ribbon Committee will by definition consist of 5 to 10 distinguished citizens with the skill sets and talent to assist in the analysis of the cost inefficiencies of combining all three North Shore Municipalities. It will have a time limit of six months to accomplish its goal of studying the potential cost savings to the citizens of the North Shore. No staff or politicians will sit on this committee. Once the findings are complete the question of Amalgamation would go to a referendum in the 2014 Municipal Election. District Clr. Doug MacKay-Dunn is the driving force behind the Blue Ribbon Committee and he recommends that a Provincial Municipal Auditor assist in the process. MacKay-Dun will be bringing forward the Blue Ribbon Committee idea at a regular public council meeting sometime in March 2012.

District of North Vancouver sees car-based future

Traffic is only going to get worse on the North Shore.

Despite aiming to concentrate density in transit-served centres, District of North Vancouver planners say the car will be the community’s dominant transportation option for decades to come.

Doug Doyle, acting district manager of engineering services, told a Monday night council workshop that by 2030, staff hope that 35 per cent of all trips would be made either by walking, biking or taking transit, up from the current 21 per cent.

The district hopes that TransLink will provide frequent bus service — seven- to 10-minute intervals — from Lynn Valley to Lower Lynn, Capilano University and the Lower Capilano Area. Express buses are hoped for from Lynn Valley and Lower Lynn to Lonsdale, Park Royal, and Dundarave.

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Longboards should be banned on roads

The following was the Province Editorial for February 2, 2012.

It should come as no surprise in these self-centred times that District of North Vancouver officials find themselves in serious, yet totally whack discussions with longboarders over their professed "right" to use public streets as they see fit.

The district is considering raising fines for reckless riders and giving police the power to seize dangerously rid-den longboards - long skateboards used to coast at high speed down hills, often controlling speed by swerving back and forth across several lanes. Some North Van residents say many longboarders ride in a dangerous manner.

Since there has already been one longboard fatality in the district and there is no safe way for longboarders to share the roads with motor vehicles, given the on the edge way most of them are ridden, the district should boot them off the streets.

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