Tired of not being heard, residents of Strathcona, CityGate, Chinatown, False Creek will make some noise at a rally on the 200 block of Union Street on July 23rd. Residents are fed-up with hearing about City Hall’s hasty plans for their own neighbourhoods and finding out it is ‘too late’ to have a say.
Construction on the ‘bikeway upgrade plan’ for Union Street began on July 22nd without civic consultation with the community who say the current plan will intensify significant risks for pedestrians and small business owners, transplant safety risks to small residential streets, and potentially create new risks for cyclists.
Last night at CityGate, outraged citizens voiced their concerns to members of the City of Vancouver’s Director of Transportation and were told that despite the admitted lack of consultation, construction would continue. City Council was invited to this meeting and did not attend.
“We, a multi-community and stakeholder group are tired of not being heard. We won’t accept bad, rushed planning in our City,” said Elana Zysblat, Strathcona Residents’ Association “This is in violation of the City’s Transportation 2040 plan. This is in violation of their promises. We live here. We work here. We want a say.”
The City’s Transportation 2040 Plan specifically calls for “rigorous analysis, consider alternative routes that meet project objectives, and consult with residents and other stakeholders before returning to Council with detailed recommendations for approval”. Residents maintain the 2040 criteria have not been met with this proposal. A majority of affected residents are finding out about this project by way of construction start notices.
Date: Tuesday, July 23rd
Time: 8 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Location: Green space at the 200 block of Union (grounds and a junction of all surrounding neighbourhoods: Chinatown, Strathcona, False Creek and Downtown East Side)
Image Wayne Leidenfrost/PNG FILES
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