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Life is better on a bike | April 07, 2008
Schools reach out | September 03, 2008
Prairie houses higher and drier? | April 19, 2008
From left, Kevin Koopman of Community Futures, Harvey Bergen, owner of Abbotsford's Life Cycles, and Abbotsford Coun. Dave Loewen all wore appropriate gear for the Bike to Work Week kickoff by City Hall on Friday..
'Life is better on a bike' pedal-pushers promise
The drizzle Friday afternoon didn't deter cycling advocates from Abbotsford and Mission to preview and launch Bike to Work Week, which happens May 11 to 17.
Officials from the two communities, local MLAs and members of the Abbotsford Cycling Advocacy Group, gathered to promote the use of bikes, to see how commuters can load them on to transit buses, and to test what mode of transportation was the fastest.
Harvey Bergen, owner of Life Cycles in Abbotsford, and Kevin Koopmans, an economic development specialist with South Fraser Community Futures, raced their velos against a bus and a car across town and back.
"It was about seven kilometres. We got back in 13 minutes or so, the bus and car were two minutes behind," said Bergen, dressed appropriately in suit, tie, shorts and bike helmet.
"I really believe cycling has a ton of benefits for the community. Life is better on a bike," said Koopmans.
This year's theme for the growing Bike to Work Week Fraser Valley network is "Just try it, you'll love it."
It looks like opportunities for cycling will expand, as eight more bike lane projects are in the works for the Fraser Valley, along with trail networks and a bike link across the Fraser River, said Abbotsford-Mount Lehman MLA Mike de Jong.
"We are really proud of the trail network that is developing here . . . it is becoming a model for other communities. Phase 1 is complete, Phase 2 is underway, and there's funding for Phase 3. I expect a trail link between Abbotsford and Mission anytime now," said de Jong.
That was a sweet sound for dedicated local cyclist Gary Harder, a proponent of road cycling and mountain biking.
"There's a green blowing and it smells and feels good," said Harder, a veteran advocate for two-wheeled transportation.
Abbotsford Mayor George Peary encouraged residents to embrace cycling as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Mission Mayor James Atebe added the working relationship between the two communities is crucial to the longevity of this campaign.
"This is about Abbotsford and Mission working together, [and about] staying connected.
"It's up to us, the locals, to have a futuristic vision," Atebe said.
Bike to Work Week encourages people to commute to work by bike for just one week, to get healthy and to cut traffic and vehicle emissions.
To help riders get comfortable with urban roads, Wenting's Cycle and Mountain Shop of Mission and Phoenix-Velo, a training group sponsored by Wenting's, will lead on-road commuter bike courses on riding etiquette, safety, mechanics and other issues.
Each three-hour road class is free and for adults only. A $35 deposit is required upon reservation, but will be refunded once attendance is confirmed.
Rain or shine, classes start at 6 p.m. sharp. Call to register between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. at 604-870-3764.
For more information, see www.biketowork.ca/fraser_valley/btww.
Schools reach out to young and old
B.C.’s education ministry is reaching out to younger and older students as the decline in the number of school-aged children continues in the province.
Despite a total population that has surged above four million, there will be only 542,500 students going back to class at public schools in B.C. this week. That’s down more than 8,000 from last year and 50,000 fewer than in 2001.
For younger children, B.C. is using excess classroom space for StrongStart early learning centres and studying the extension of kindergarten programs to three- and four-year-olds. The ministry estimates that more than one fourth of B.C. children coming to kindergarten aren’t prepared to learn.
Education Minister Shirley Bond said the research and recommendations should be available by the end of 2008, after which she will decide whether to extend kindergarten. Meanwhile there are to be 200 StrongStart centres operating this year, doubling to 400 by 2010.
A larger issue is adult literacy, with 40 per cent of B.C. adults unable to perform everyday reading tasks according to the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey. B.C. school boards have been renamed boards of education to reflect new responsibility for libraries and community education, and adult classroom or online programs are on the increase.
Bond said B.C. has one million adults with low literacy, “who struggle to read a restaurant menu or a bus schedule.” That rate is high but consistent with other Canadian provinces, she said, and the province has responded by making adult education courses free.
“One of the biggest things with adult literacy is the stigma that’s still attached to it,” Bond said. “We need to continue to work with communities, with post-secondary institutions, and most importantly, to create those opportunities where British Columbians feel comfortable telling someone that they have that challenge.”
For full-time students, the high school completion rate in B.C. has been steady at about 80 per cent in recent years. The ministry keeps separate statistics for aboriginal school completion, which remains below 50 per cent. The ministry now has 42 enhancement agreements with local aboriginal communities, and First Peoples 12 is being offered this fall as an option for English 12.
Bond said B.C. takes the lead in Canada as of this fall for school health indicators. The elimination of junk food is formally extended to include middle and high schools, and new physical activity rules take effect. Students up to Grade 9 will require 30 minutes of physical activity per day, while secondary students need a total of 150 minutes each week.
Prairie houses higher and drier?
Developers building new houses on Abbotsford’s Matsqui and Sumas prairies could soon be left high and dry by a city hall proposal that aims to protect residents from having their homes flooded.
If adopted by council, the policy would require anyone building a residential building or a closed-sided barn on Matsqui Prairie to increase its height from the ground by an additional one metre. On Sumas Prairie, the buildings would have to be an extra half metre higher than current requirements.
The recommendations have been made by the Fraser Basin Council, and the details will be discussed further by city staff before the final policy goes back to council for first reading. Only then will it progress to a future public hearing.
The issue was discussed by city councillors for the first time at their executive committee meeting on Monday, and received a mixed reaction.
Much of the debate focussed on "marginal land" that would still be subjected to the new rules but would not necessarily face the same threat as properties lying directly inside the floodplain.
A city staff report that was forwarded to council pointed out that the proposed increases are "significant" and said that "in some areas people have problems meeting the existing floodplain requirements."
Abbotsford Mayor George Ferguson believed the marginal land should be looked at separately.
Meanwhile, Coun. John Smith wondered whether the city may be "overreacting."
"Right now I see houses that are required to be built up. They are trucking in huge amounts of fill and are raising them high, and now you are saying build them higher?" Smith said to staff.
"You would need oxygen to get into these houses ... there’s a great cost to the property owners."
Coun. Patricia Ross, however, believed that council has a responsibility to implement the changes.
"The first concern has to be public health and safety," she said. "If something should happen then the finger will be placed back to Abbotsford council."
If approved, the new rules would only apply to residential properties and closed-sided barns. Other buildings such as workshops, open-sided barns, greenhouses and non-livestock barns would be exempt.
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