Putting those three concepts together, I came up with an idea that I think would alleviate parking stress on the waterfront.

Imagine this: a public transportation service that requires no staff operators, responds to the weather, has very low maintenance costs, upfront capital costs in the tens of thousands — not hundreds of thousands or millions, and requires no large fleet service or storage facility.

This is my vision… Six-seater electric vehicles driven by independent entrepreneurs ferrying passengers between far-flung parking lots and along the waterfront. Drivers are registered with the City. They choose when they want to check out a vehicle. They pay an hourly rental fee for the vehicle. Passengers pay a small fee (such as $1) for the service, perhaps purchased from the City’s parking meter. The driver collects tickets from passengers and redeems them with the City. Their only overhead is their time and the vehicle rental rate. The City gets more efficient use of its existing parking lots and expanded capacity for the waterfront commercial district.

I figure a pilot project could be run this summer for maybe as little as $15,000.

There are all kinds of problems that are easy to think of, but I think the solutions are just as easy. If a pilot project were successful, there are some technologies that could be applied to greatly improve security, streamline the payment process, and create a system where a driver can be notified of a ride request.

If nothing else, this concept has potential to solve the employee parking problem. Merchants with staff working late night could use a shuttle to get their staff safely home or to their vehicles in the Semiahmoo lot.

This is an innovative experiment that we can do now to expand the capacity of our waterfront using parking spaces that already exist.

There are plenty of ways to save money. We spend more than we need to on sewer treatment, litter cleanup and garbage collection. If residents used low flush toilets and other water efficient appliances, picked up litter when they see it on the street or in a park, and recycled everything they could, we would all save a lot of money. Those funds could then be invested in better roads and sidewalks.

But there are also opportunities to make money. Cities are uniquely positioned to create energy utilities and extract commodities from our waste. We should be making money by generating electricity from the water in our pipes, gasifying our dry carbon-based garbage, composting our wet organic garbage, and ensuring all saleable commodities are recycled, not buried. This would not require White Rock to be all that innovative or inventive. We would be following the lead of local trailblazers like North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Squamish.

Sure, it would be very environmentally friendly, but it would also make lots of money. Let’s stop wasting the resources we have available to us and start converting it into money. That revenue could be used to advance projects to make our community an even better place to live without having to raise property taxes to pay for it.

I suspect there would be consensus on this statement in the community. Where we find conflict is in 1) how we define those adjectives, 2) the different visions each conjures, and 3) how to achieve them.

The first requires a process or system to facilitate effective communications. Leadership on this is probably best assumed by local government, but for it to work well, ratepayer groups must participate as partners.

The second is entirely subjective. To reach consensus, compromise and open-minded, respectful dialogue are essential. While this must be encouraged and modeled by local government, it is the personal responsibility of each citizen.

The last requires a critical awareness of assumptions and trust in expertise. Those with academic and empirical expertise must engage and be willing to be educators for the community.

The worst thing any of these parties could do is become defensive and insulate themselves, disengage or not participate. We all need to be in the conversation and keep our minds open, listening with empathy, willing to question our own assumptions. Citizens being actively engaged constructively and productively is absolutely necessary.

Each of us has responsibilities in this process. Mine is to listen to your ideas, experiences and persepctives, to share with you what I’ve learned from others, to watch for potential points of consensus and build upon them. Talking with open minds and working together, we can achieve our vision.

These changes are inevitable anyway, and there is really no reason to wait. The technology already exists; the only impediment to acceptance is attitude and inertia. Our fleet would have a much smaller impact on the environment and cheaper to operate. The greatest investment will simply be the effort of getting used to something different.

The City’s fleet should use electric, hydrid, or biodeisel powered vehicles and equipment whenever possible.

Imagine what an incredible place White Rock’s waterfront would be if those acres of asphalt were grass fields, meadows, bicycle and rollerblading lanes, picnic tables,… imagine it were a place for people instead of cars.

We need a transportation solution that brings people to and from the beach without their cars.

Some people say the commercial district would shrivel up without an abundance of parking right outside their door. I don’t believe them.

Some of the best, most vibrant places in other local cities are not set up like strip malls in a lake of asphalt… Steveston, Robson Street, Kits, even big box stores are starting to get it. When you visit any of these places, you know it’s not realistic to expect to park right outside the door of your destination. But you go anyway and then walk.

Is what we offer in White Rock of such weak value that people would be unwilling to do the same? Any reasonable person would agree not. Even now, people visiting the beach are already parking a distance from their intended destination then walking.

What I think is unfortunate is that we have them walking through/past a vast, never-ending parking lot along their way. This eyesore should be somewhere else. It is a tragic waste of incredible potential for a beautiful park worthy of its setting and fantastic spaces for recreation and leisure.

I don’t know what the answer is, but I suspect we could all agree that what we have now isn’t working. There are options. I think we should look at them without getting defensive or dismissing them without consideration. Sometimes by looking into a bad idea you can find a good idea behind it.

Let’s work toward a more clean, green, pleasant, and safer waterfront.

It’s not just that I want to have lots of trees within the city, what I want is for it to feel as though there is a city within a forest. Rather than the trees appearing to be imposed upon a street, I want it to feel as though there are buildings and streets inside a forest.

Not only is this what is perfectly natural for this corner of the coast, it is perfectly in keeping with the ‘green appeal’ that drew so many people to live here in the first place. The green character of this community is valued by almost everyone who lives or visits here.

An important part of how to retain and enhance that character is to
• protect existing trees;
• plant more trees;
• plan redevelopments around existing trees;
• plan for significant stands of trees in new developments.

Let’s honour the natural appeal of White Rock by protecting existing trees and planting more. Let’s see the trees for the forest. Let’s be an enchanting city within the forest, by the sea.

II. Be more effective in my role as a City Councillor

III. Communicate with clarity to infect people with optimism

IV. Learn lots

V. Get fit

VI. Have more fun

VII. Establish greater financial stability and confidence

VIII. Create a comfortable and impressive home environment

• expand the Leisure Guide to become a City Guide city newspaper or magazine;

• install community bulletin boards so that people can read City notices and post notices in public places;

• open-agenda town hall meetings for people to ask questions and learn about things they want to know more about;

• televised department reports to give City managers a chance to talk about things that are working well or show progress on past issues;

• televised question and answer periods would allow people watching at home to hear the answers to question period inquiries, which are currently normally provided in writing;

• stronger communication links with local community and government agencies so the City can ensure its services are well-coordinated or cross-promoted.

Yesterday, the Social Committee recommended to City Council that smoking be not permitted at the entrances to public facilities and on patios of bars and restaurants. I was hoping to have parks also be smoke-free, and wanted to have tobacco products hidden from view of minors in corner stores and pharmacies. But one member of the committee noted that society needs time to adapt and making incremental change is progress – better than where we are now. They were concerned about going further than the community is ready for and then having problems with compliance.

They stated that it is the committee’s vision that White Rock become a smoke-free city and that their recommendation should be seen as another step towards that goal. Hopefully council will share that goal and that intention.

2006 • patios declared smoke-free, signage at city entrances and key locations stating that White Rock will be a smoke-free city by 2010

2007 • smoking areas designated

2008 • all public places declared smoke-free – no smoking permitted anywhere in the city except in designated smoking areas

2009 • enforcement begins – up to this point the smoke-free spaces and designated smoking areas will have been recommendations

2010 • tobacco products required to be hidden from minors