A hidden deficit that Vancouver is attempting to address

Good morning,

Is it summer out there? I hope you all got out and enjoyed the beautiful weather. And you know summer is arriving soon when someone has already been rescued from Wreck Beach…

Today we’ve got a deficit unrelated to a budget, a new encampment and the best cheap eats in the city (yum).

Let’s get to it.

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity newsletter writer

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WEATHER

Monday: 10 🌡️ 6 | 🌧

Tuesday: 12 🌡️ 4 | 🌧

Wednesday: 13 🌡️ 6 | ⛅

INFRASTRUCTURE

The deficit you’ve never heard of

We don’t think much about how water gets to us, or how our toilet waste disappears. But new reporting illustrates the challenges of ensuring our civil infrastructure is prepared for the twin challenges of population growth and the potential “big one” earthquake.

Background: As Metro Vancouver grows, the infrastructure required to service more people needs to also grow. Water, sewers, you name it. With 13 percent of the population, our province absorbs 20 percent of new immigration, according to Business in Vancouver.

Challenges: Just like the rest of Canada, Metro Vancouver is dealing with both a skilled labour shortage and inflationary price increases, which puts a challenge on delivering new infrastructure.

Ever seen overflow from storm rainwater? The general manager of engineering services with the city told Business in Vancouver that this is the most fragile and costly infrastructure to upgrade.

Development challenges: As the city expands and builds new housing, infrastructure needs to match it, with projects like the Broadway Corridor.

• New investments: More than $36 million was announced last week into the city’s rain city strategy (important for a rainy city) to help reduce polluted water runoff into the waterways, and capture more of it in the soil.

The big one: Coupled with normal infrastructure development, Metro Vancouver is investing in making reservoir systems secure in case of an earthquake, according to CBC. Without them, safe drinking water would not be available.

Older infrastructure like this does not meet new building codes designed to protect places from a large seismic event.

• There are 26 reservoirs throughout the Lower Mainland. They usually last 75 to 100 years, according to CBC.

Thought bubble: A challenge with infrastructure like this is the public doesn’t see it, but it’s critical for our city. Investments in infrastructure will always be needed, even if it’s not a visible improvement to the city.

VANCOUVER BY THE NUMBERS

🌊 90%: The percent of rainwater the city hopes to capture in the ground instead of letting it runoff into waterways. [Vancouver is Awesome]

🏒 6-2: Canucks’ goalie Thatcher Demko’s last eight game wins and losses. [Sportsnet]

HOUSING

New encampment in Kitsilano

What happened: A new housing encampment has sprouted in Vancouver’s higher-end Kitsilano neighbourhood, according to CTV.

• Location: The encampment is in Vanier Park, near the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre according to CTV.

The city is aware of the encampment and is “attempting to address possible issues by working with community partners, such as the Squamish Nation.”

Zoom in: Residents in a local Facebook have raised concerns about the impact of the encampment on the biodiversity in the area, according to Global. Residents worried about ducks swimming around propane tanks and eagles nesting areas nearby.

Yes, but: Vancouver faces a housing crisis, so it’s not surprising people are seeking alternative places to live. Places like SROs are notoriously terrible places to live, with the Premier proposing to phase them out, according to Global.

What it means: Stories like this are a symptom of Vancouver’s unaffordable housing market. With a massive housing shortage, delays in construction and neighbourhoods like Kitsilano opposing social housing, people in precarious situations seek out alternative housing options. Opposition to social housing has knock-on effects like this.

NEW JOBS

Ever wanted to work for the city? We’re featuring some jobs we think might be of interest:

• Seasonal parks labourer at the Board of Parks & Recreation

• Emergency planning coordinator with Chief Safety Officer

• Parks ranger at the Board of Parks & Recreation

• Business analyst at IT, Digital Strategy & 311

• Civil engineer - development at Engineering Services

THE AGENDA

🎨 The non-profit art space Beaumont Studio is dealing with rising costs of rent and property taxes, with costs rising to $42,000 a month to service the space for 90 different Vancouver artists, and could shut down without support. [Vancouver Sun]

🚓 Second-degree murder charges have been laid against a man from Surrey who stabbed a man to death in Chinatown on Feb. 6. [CityNews]

🔌 Two electrical vaults are being decommissioned after it was discovered that the large explosion that injured two people in February at the Marine Building have similar equipment installed. [CBC]

🏨 After initially saying staff did nothing wrong, the downtown Vancouver Hyatt-Regency apologized to an Indigenous organization after one of the group’s members was subject to anti-Indigenous racism. [CBC]

✖️ After a spate of financial and legal challenges, the downtown Vancouver private school The Westside School is closing and 130 students will be affected. [Vancouver Sun]

🏢 A Globe and Mail opinion piece is raising concerns about potential cost overruns with the developer of the new Vancouver Art Gallery building, saying that the proposed cost per square footage is far too low for a building like that in the downtown core. [Globe and Mail]

THINGS TO DO

BOOM! Pro Wrestling | 2205 Commercial Drive | March 25, 8 pm-11:30 pm | Get ready to scream, yell and have a great time at Vancouver’s top source for wrestling entertainment | Tickets $31.

Pop-up Latin Dance Classes | Vancouver Civic Theatre | Friday | Learn how to dance the Argentine tango | Tickets $11.

Festival du Bois | Mackin Park, Maillardville Coquitlam | March 24-26 | Celebrate francophone culture with musical performances from francophone artists all across Canada | Tickets $28.

2023 Bloom Exhibition | Federation Gallery on Granville Island | March 21-April 2 | Spring art exhibition of beautiful floral paintings | Free.

The Pied Piper | Metro Theatre | March 25 | A theatre production of the classic tale of how to deal with rats | Tickets $25.

Board Game Night | Container Brewing | Tuesday, 6 pm-10 pm | Drink beer and play board games, eat great food, what’s not to love? | Tickets by donation.

Vancouver Career Fair | 777 Columbia St., New Westminster | Wednesday, 1 pm-4 pm | Come find a new job with companies like Air Canada, Dawson City and many others | Free.

VANCOUVER FAVOURITES

Where to find cheap eats in the city?

With inflation raging out of control, the community over at Vancouver Reddit has a deep dive on cheap eats throughout the city. Which one is your favourite?

Kent’s Kitchen: Set to close, but get over before it does.

House of Dosas: $5.99 for a dosa on Monday.

Costco food court: Of course we have to include this one. The inflation busting $1.50 hotdog!

Mary Browns Chicken: A chicken leg and thigh for $4.99. Also taters!

Banh Mi Saigon: $8 for a banh mi, so one reader suggested. Sadly it used to be $5.

On TikTok user I love following is kokujinda who breaks down all the cheap eats in Vancouver. He even put together a massive spreadsheet and a helpful map.

Have some suggestions? Send us your suggestions and we’ll feature them.

SPORTS

🏒 Canucks’ goalie Thatcher Demko is having a great stretch lately, powering the Canucks to their sixth win in seven games by beating the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in a shootout. The win moved them to 24th in the standings. Of course, this doesn’t help with improving their potential lottery picks… [Sportsnet]

⚽ The Vancouver Whitecaps are still looking for their first win of the season after the team tied L.A. Galaxy on Saturday night. Vancouver is in 11th place out of 13 teams. So far the team has two losses and two draws. [The Province]

🤕 Defenceman Dylan Anderson unintentionally stopped a puck with his face, helping preserve a 3-0 game for the Vancouver Giants against the Everett Silvertips on Saturday. The team sits in seventh place in the WHL Western Conference standings. [The Province]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• If you like history, you’ll love this story on Vancouver’s first city archivist. [CBC]

• Love hiking? After three years, North Vancouver’s Quarry Rock Trail has reopened. [Global]

• As a person who dislikes spiders, I will not be visiting this mysterious new sculpture. [CBC]

• The early pandemic period produced some wild before and after photos of Vancouver. [CBC]

• A bunch of artist tour dates for Vancouver have been announced. [Georgia Straight]

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Reddit user phizool captured this lovely shot of Harbour Air at dusk. Makes me want to fly into the sky!

VANCOUVER MEME

Definitely true.

GAME TIME

Friday’s Wordle answer was SPIRAL.

Today’s quiz question - how many water reservoirs are there in Metro Vancouver? Reply with your answer and name and we’ll feature it in the next newsletter.