Should people be able to live near clean, rapid transit?

That is the question at stake when the future of the Broadway Corridor will be decided this Wednesday, May 18th.

The Plan calls for up to 30,000 additional homes over the next 30 years. It is a small but key step towards building the estimated 136,000 more homes needed by 2032. And being beside the coming Broadway Skytrain will allow tens of thousands of Vancouverites to live a sustainable, low carbon lifestyle. The plan also enacts some of the strongest renter protections anywhere in Canada.

The city needs your help! The well-heeled opponents are out-organizing those of us who want to see progress on affordability and the sustainable economy. They even have veteran lobbyist, and anti-carbon tax crusader Bill Tieleman working for them. He is using every trick in his book to fight the homes that we all need. 

You can help fight this attempt to halt progress on combating the housing shortage, and building a greener city by signing up to speak or writing in support.

The plan isn’t perfect. Some possible improvements worth mentioning and including in your statement:

• There is a dire shortage of both below market and market-rate apartments in this city and the plan should do more to address this. More height was supported in the engagement surveys.
• The plan should be more flexible to adapt to changing circumstances. The economic testing shows that the redevelopment proposals are mostly not viable today, and this could easily get worse over time.
• Ensuring that displaced tenants can move back into new apartments at no more than 30% of their income is a good idea.
• The mayor's proposed amendment to ensure tenants can move back at the same rent should be approved.
• The latest IPCC report states that dense, connected, transit-oriented urban areas are key to our clean energy transition. Metro Vancouver has gotten slightly less dense over the last 20 years. The plan could do more to support short commutes and public & active transit, e.g. adding protected bike lanes along Broadway.

You can let Council know you would like to see these added to the plan. But if the plan doesn’t pass any improvements to the Broadway corridor will die with it, and people will continue to be displaced by the lack of available housing.

This is your chance to let Council know that you support more housing, building homes where they are well served by transit and the improved tenant protections!