Motion seeks to expand dedicated bus lanes throughout the city

Good morning,

I don’t usually do this in the intro, but a story caught my eye today.

The organization Volunteer Cancer Driver Society is in desperate need of volunteers in Vancouver to drive cancer patients to their appointments. They’re hoping to find 100 new drivers in the next 100 days. If you have a car, and have time to spare, consider signing up here. 

We’re breaking down a motion before council today about expanding bus lanes. And we’ve got a story from our food newsletter on a new cocktail lounge in the city.

Let’s dive in!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout editor

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

Wednesday: 19 🌡️ 13 | ☁️

Thursday: 19 🌡️ 11 | 🌥️

Friday: 20 🌡️ 13 | 🌥️

CITY HALL

Motion seeks to expand dedicated bus lanes throughout the city

What happened: A motion before council today will seek to expand the number of dedicated bus lanes in the city, to combat slowing bus service times and overcrowded vehicles. Introduced by OneCity Coun. Christine Boyle, the motion seeks to add eight new bus lanes on key thoroughfares in the coming years. 

Background: Bus times are slowing throughout the city and the region, with a 5-35% reduction in travel time. According to TransLink’s most recent Customer Service Performance study, overcrowding was ranked the worst out of a list of attributes, followed by frequency and reliability. 

• The report notes that slow service/overcrowding has shot up as a reason to ride less, from 2% in Q1 2023 to 16% in Q1 2024, the biggest overall change. The good-to-excellent rating for bus service has fallen by 11% in the last year as well. 

The plan: The motion would speed up the implementation of these already-planned bus lanes, with the goal of implementing two of them a year, starting in 2025. It’s noted that these would not take much resources to implement. Offset bus lanes would be used to maintain and preserve existing parking near businesses. Automated enforcement would also be implemented. 

Locations: The streets that would see dedicated bus lanes include the following: 

• Main Street/Kingsway

• King Edward Avenue

• Southeast Marine Drive

• Hastings Street

• 49th Avenue

• Broadway

• West 4th Avenue

• Downtown to the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge

The numbers: TransLink will be dealing with hundreds of millions of dollars in reduced budget capacity in the coming years. Delays of buses are estimated to cost TransLink $80 million per year, according to Vision Zero Vancouver. They also note that only 1% of road space is currently used for dedicated transit lanes. 

• Counter-argument: One argument against dedicated bus lanes is that it could impact travel times for drivers, especially those who commute into the city for work. 

Benefits: One key reason to adopt dedicated lanes is that they increase transit capacity without requiring expensive infrastructure upgrades, like expanding SkyTrain service. In fact, dedicated bus lanes during the 2010 Olympics increased travel capacity fourfold, according to Vancouver is Awesome.

Will it pass: It really all depends on what the ABC majority wants since they control the majority of votes on council. Historically they have been more pro-car than other councils, including removing multiple bike lanes and delaying other road safety measures. 

• What you can do: If this is something you care about, Vision Zero Vancouver has launched a petition to send a message to councillors asking them to support the motion. You can find that here. 

We will update you on the results of the vote on Friday.

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VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🏢 30,000: The square footage of a new French cultural hub, Alliance Française Vancouver, that opened up at 6161 Cambie St. It will provide French-language training and support for Francophone culture. [Times Colonist] 

🔥 13: The number of fires that were put out on Monday, including four that were allegedly set intentionally. [CityNews]

🏒 14: The Vancouver Canucks’ travel schedule was just released and according to the number crunchers, they have this ranking for the heaviest travel schedule next season. [Canucks Army]

🧑‍⚕️ $430 million: The amount that BC is getting from the federal government to invest in supporting more personal support workers and healthcare assistants, as well as to help those dealing with rare diseases. [CityNews]

RESTAURANT REVIEW

In the mood for Meo

Wong Kar Wai’s In The Mood For Love, one of my favourite movies, features a scene of the main actress walking down a corridor lined with luscious red curtains, a colour used again and again throughout the movie. The New Yorker called the movie a “ninety-minute mood piece,” bringing together numerous elements, including “color, light, and form.”

The world created by the director, the framing of each shot, and the intentionality behind each element within the frame, is meticulously designed and controlled, meant to guide you to feel a certain emotion.

One could easily say the same thing about Meo, a new cocktail lounge located at 265 E Pender St. from the same group behind Bao Bei and Kissa Tanto. 

Inspired by Hong Kong nightlife of the 70s and 80s according to owner Tannis Ling — as is the setting of In the Mood for Love — Meo exudes intentionality, the design feels thoroughly thought through again and again, every ornamental cat, juke box and little menu holders meticulously chosen to convey a time and place.

As you walk in, a pink hue imbues the entire lounge, from the floral carpeting, the fan-shaped dusky flamingo-coloured lamps, and the subtle sunset-tinged pink menus. Like a movie, the restaurant's lighting takes centre stage, shadows creeping into the corners, spreading out into the restaurant. 

While In the Mood for Love creates a sense of yearning, framed by lost love and loneliness, Meo evokes something different, a yearning yes, but a yearning to stay as long as possible in the space. It’s hard to feel lonely when it’s so busy, bursting with conversations, laughing couples, and dates on their third or fourth cocktail.

One eccentric choice was to place mirrors on the ceiling above the bar. Like the rest of the design, it feels wholly intentional, to see the bartenders work, see people talk, see people seeing the space. Being seen and seeing, judging by the cocktail attire of the visitors, is more than half the fun.

To read the entire review and subscribe to our food and drink newsletter, click here. 

THE AGENDA

👮 Two women’s bodies have been found in English Bay. One was discovered on Sunset Beach, while the other was discovered near the Kitsilano Yacht Club. Police have not determined a cause of death, nor if there’s any connection between them. [CBC]

📉 Bad time to be selling your small condo — the price per square foot of a downtown unit fell in 2024. But larger homes were up, with East Van seeing an 18% rise.  It’s part of a trend as people seek out more space to live. [Vancouver Sun]

👮 A man who stabbed three different people in three separate incidents near Granville and Nelson on Monday has been arrested. Police say there was no connection between the victims and the alleged perpetrator. [Vancouver Sun]

🎆 Police say there were no major incidents at English Bay during the Vancouver Celebration of Lights. They also said while there was no way to accurately measure the number of people at the beach, it was fully packed. A reminder that streets will be shut down to non-residential traffic during the next two fireworks shows. [Vancouver Sun]

🗳️ The BC Conservatives nabbed a well-known former councillor to run for them in the next election. Melissa De Genova served with the Non-Partisan Association as Vancouver councillor and park board commissioner for three terms. She’ll be running in the riding of Vancouver-Yaletown. [CityNews]

💰️ According to a Freedom of Information request, Metro Vancouver threw a $64,000 wine and cheese event in Toronto during a Federation of Canadian Municipalities. It has hosted this type of event for many years. The organization is facing criticism about how it spends money. [Global News]

🔥 It’s summer so that means wildfire season is back, and it’s getting really bad out there. Hundreds have been forced to flee in BC and Alberta due to numerous wildfires. Elevated temperatures, including record-breaking highs, and lightning, are to blame. Williams Lake had to declare a state of emergency. [Times Colonist]

🧑‍🚒 Fires on Monday in the Shaughnessy Park area left six people displaced after it affected two homes. There were no injuries reported. [CityNews

HOME OF THE WEEK

Well, this isn’t that bad! Today’s featured home certainly fits the bill of affordability.

You’ve got a spacious (for a one-bedroom) 635 square feet of space, a nice little enclosed balcony that could be used as a second balcony. Oh and the building has a car wash. Nice!

You get all of this for a reasonable price (for Vancouver).

House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labeled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Volunteer Cancer Driver Society: The organization says it’s in desperate need of drivers based in Vancouver to help drive cancer patients to their appointments, and have a goal of finding 100 new drivers in 100 days. You can apply here. 

Volunteer Puppy Raiser: Volunteer with CNIB Guide Dogs to teach the animals good social behaviours and obedience. No experience is necessary. Learn more. 

Vancouver Food Runners: The orgnaization delivers surplus food to nonprofits in Metro Vancouver. They even have an app so you can schedule your own availability. Check it out. 

Big Brothers Community Mentor: Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver pairs you up with a little brother to build a one-on-one relationship based on trust and fun. Two or more hours per week. Complete an application form. 

The Dance Centre: The organization is looking for a board member to help out, the role is focused on governance and fundraising. Learn more. 

Have a volunteer opportunity? Reply to this email with the details.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Now that’s what I call a stunning picture. Amazing what you can do with a telephoto lens.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Do you think BC Ferries doesn’t have enough bike racks? Apparently, many bikers think so (as do I after, having taken my bike a few times). [Urbanized]

• Easy tips and advice for personal finances with Dollarwise, a free newsletter. Try it out today and get control of your money. [Sponsored]

• Speaking of biking, this Vancouver man visited over 40 countries on his bike, after only planning a two-week trip! [Vancouver Sun]

• The owners of Published and Bar Susu are opening a brand new Mexican-style cocktail bar. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• I am saddened to report that one of my favourite Japanese stores in Vancouver is closing. No more cheap t-shirts and tastefully designed home items! [Urbanized]

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