Monthly Archives: February 2016

Accelerating the Sustainable Built Environment with BC’s Real Estate Foundation

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REFBC Sustainable Built Environment Workshop

I recently had the excellent opportunity to participate in a workshop hosted by the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia (REFBC). Called “Accelerating Progress Towards a Sustainable Built Environment,” the workshop was geared at figuring out which actions should be our united priorities when it comes making our communities more sustainable. I’ve been to many other events that showcase sustainability… Read more »

The High Cost of Three Minutes (+ Thanks)

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It’s been a very busy few weeks here at Connecting Dots… and I wanted to follow up on a few threads. Three Minute Math There’s been lots of great comments and discussion on the post about the “just three minute” requests that make transit planners twitchy.  Much thanks to all who have read the post, shared it and added their… Read more »

Dear Kevin: Welcome. And Good Luck.

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Kevin Desmond

I was interested to see TransLink’s announcement last week that the organization has hired a new CEO, Kevin Desmond. Currently the General Manager for Seattle’s King County Metro Transit, Kevin is set to take on the Vancouver area’s top transportation job on March 21, 2016. The announcement of Kevin’s hiring got me thinking about what I would tell him if… Read more »

Gertie’s a Go! Islanders Vote “YES” to Transit

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The results of today’s vote are in.  Residents and property owners on Gabriola, Mudge and De Courcey Islands have said a resounding “Yes!” to their community bus GERTIE and transit in their community. As reported previously in the post Taking GERTIE to the Polls, Islanders were voting today on whether to fund Gabriola’s pilot community bus system on an ongoing… Read more »

Taking Gertie to the Polls: BC’s Next Transit Referendum (& One You’ve Likely Never Heard Of)

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Gertie lawn sign

We all know what happened with that rather unfortunate (insert additional adjectives of your choice here) transit referendum that occurred last spring in Metro Vancouver. What you may not be aware of is that there’s another transit referendum happening right now on Gabriola Island, BC, a 20 minute ferry ride from downtown Nanaimo in BC’s Gulf Islands archipelago. Between now… Read more »

Why Your “Just Three Minutes” Request Makes Transit Planners Twitchy

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“Oh, but it’s only adds on another three minutes,” is one of those phrases I’ve heard over and over again during my time as a transit planner and scheduler.  And like some evil Pavlovian trigger, I can’t help but get bad flashback twitches every time I hear it. The changes that folks request that “will only take three minutes” sound… Read more »