Charlie Smith at the Georgia Straight has picked up on where things seem to be going: Why Christy Clark’s bridge to Delta threatens the Agricultural Land Reserve.
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The B.C. government has produced a video showing a new 10-lane bridge replacing the four-lane George Massey Tunnel. …
Now, there’s word from the B.C. NDP that the B.C. Liberal government has included the Agricultural Land Commission and the Agricultural Land Reserve in its core review of government services.
According to NDP agriculture critic Nicholas Simons, the province has ignored two previous reports, including one from the auditor general, on how to improve the ALC.
Simons worries that the B.C. Liberals’ “goal is…more cuts that will undermine agricultural land protection in B.C.”
.. it’s entirely plausible that her plan for a new bridge—along with the core review—are designed to undermine the ALR.This would open the door for a real-estate rush on Delta farmland similar to what’s occurred in Richmond over the past 25 years.
This massive increase in urban sprawl would likely please many of her party’s financial supporters. And it comes as the founder of the ALR, former NDP premier Dave Barrett, is ailing and not in a position to defend his legacy.
As the pieces are put together, will British Columbians care? Perhaps we don’t realize how this looks to those outside the province who see our regional vision – “Cities in a Sea of Green” – as a place that, to quote Mike Harcourt, mostly got it right. And what a disspiriting loss it would be if that vision was overturned in a sea of Motordom.
An Australian friend forwarded me the above article and asked: “What is going on over there, Gord, the ag land reserve under threat, the Referendum?”
What would you say to him?
The People of BC voted her in 2 terms in a row, what did you think was going to happen? This is what the people of BC want whether you like it or not.
Did anyone expect the liberals to win? They were given a free pass by the media. No one took Christy Clark’s Massey Tunnel or transit referendum plans seriously because she didnt stand a chance of winning, or so we were lead to believe. Sucks.
So Now What? People on this blog love to complain about it and think of the next great response to show off in front of their Urban design colleagues but where is the activism? Get the creative business sector on board (i.e. Hootsuite, Electronic Arts) the companies employing millennials that rely on this great place as a livable transit orientated region, tell the premier how the future is based on them and not 8 lanes of commuter travel via TV adds during the news hour. Organize Facebook pages, petitions, marches on Victoria. hell the residents of Chinatown/Strathcona did it in the 70’s why can’t we? I want 3 action items listed by tomorrow by the readers of this blog to stop the 10 lane Massey Bridge and prevent the reversal of the ALR. Lets get it done!