Why is it ‘retired businessman’ running in a municipal election typically means someone who wants to lead his community back to the last century – about when W.A.C. Bennett was Premier, life was good for the Kerry Morris’s, and, they believe, with some business-like common sense it would stay that way. The measure of success: North Shore residents should be able to drive everywhere in free-flowing traffic, with lots of free parking – and no damn bike lanes.
Retired businessman Kerry Morris is running to make the City of North Vancouver drivable.
A few exceptions aside, “There hasn’t been a single investment in road infrastructure expansion in a very long time,” said Morris, who announced his candidacy after narrowly losing his 2014 bid for the mayor’s chair.
Based on the ever-increasing duration of his car trips across the city, North Vancouver’s livability index is “declining at an alarming rate,” Morris wrote on his website.
The problem can’t be fixed by bike lanes and transit, according to Morris, who blasted the plan to “frustrate people out of their vehicles.” …
In the interest of affordability, low-rise rental buildings should only be redeveloped if the new building’s units are the same size and essentially the same rent as the units being replaced, according to Morris. …
In the interest of lowering the cost of government, Morris said he would consider selling city-owned utility Lonsdale Energy Corp., which provides heat and hot water in Central and Lower Lonsdale as well as the Marine Drive area.
“We need to stop compelling users for paying about the dreams of council members,” Morris said. …
Here’s a metaphor: Morris would replace the BLTs (Bike Lanes, Transit and anything ‘sustainable’) on the menu with more red meat cooked over a gas-fueled grill. New development, especially affordable housing, would have to meet a test that would make it completely untenable. Any businessman would know that, and presumably Morris does. But the idea is to stop the change that is antithetical to his way of life and ideology, and to make the North Shore easier to drive for the people already there. Like it was in the good old days.
I guess he’s conveniently forgetting about that quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money the Ministry is spending to make the daily driving commute over the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge a little less crappy a little less often for a few minutes a day for said burdened motorists. It’s interesting talk, if nothing else because people love it until they stop and think about what it means, which they normally don’t do until after they’ve voted. If Mr. Morris thinks he’s getting away with widening Lonsdale, West Queens, Lynn Valley Rd, Mt Seymour Pkwy, West or East 3rd, or Capilano Road, he is as high as a kite.
If the $ quarter billion had been spent on HOV lanes with priority access to both bridges there would be more car pooling & fewer cars trying to cross.
What about “buck a beer”?
He should team up with Wai Young. Working together to get less people riding bikes and more people driving, they would quickly cause complete gridlock.
At least he is being open about his lack of support for transit. Most PRETEND to be transit friendly until they are elected & continue with road use policies that don’t allow buses to run efficiently.