There’s snow in Vancouver. Here’s how the city is coping

Good morning,

We just passed 2,000 readers, thanks to everyone who’s part of the Lookout and welcome to all our new readers.

I had a good chuckle at The Beaverton’s latest story “Vancouver considers buying a second snowplow.” Sometimes that’s how it feels when the city deals with snow…

Have any photos of the snow? Have your streets been plowed? Send in your photos or comments and we’ll include them on Wednesday.

It was a busy weekend and we’ve got the breakdown on the fire explosion, the explosion of snow and some depressing news about housing affordability (spoiler alert, it’s not more affordable) .

Onwards.

— Geoff Sharpe

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WEATHER

Monday: 6 🌡️ 1 | 🌧

Tuesday: 4 🌡️ -2 | ❄️

Wednesday: 4 🌡️ -2 | 🌧/❄️

THE WEEKLY LOOKOUT

Budget this week: Premier David Eby is signalling what will happen in the B.C. budget speech on Tuesday. While there may not be a large budget deficit, the government is promising investments in healthcare, housing and affordability. [Vancouver Sun]

City budget review: Council will review the 2023 Draft Operating Budget on Tuesday at 9:30 am. The budget includes a 9.7 percent increase in property taxes, as we outlined in Friday’s newsletter.

WEATHER

Yes, this is a story about the weather in Vancouver

It wouldn’t be Vancouver without complaints about the weather. But this weekend’s storm was one worth covering.

What happened: Much of the province was covered in snow throughout the weekend, while Vancouver received a total of 15 cm, according to Global News. It was expected snow in the area could be anywhere between 10-25 cm.

At its peak, 80,000 customers across the province had lost power by Sunday morning, according to CTV. But by midday, 90 percent had been restored. This is a good reminder to stock up on a 72-hour kit in case of an outage.

• At one point, part of Mount Pleasant was without power for more than 12 hours, according to Alanna Kelly from Glacier Media.

Flight status: As of this writing, 88 percent of scheduled flights were operating from YVR, with 201 cancellations over the weekend.

Transit: Service was running normally, including SkyTrains and buses, though buses did run slower due to weather conditions, according to CTV.

• Watch: One Twitter user captured a timelapse of the snow, with around 14 inches in 13 hours.

Don’t forget: The City of Vancouver is reminding property owners and tenants that snow and ice need to be cleared from sidewalks adjacent to your property. You have until 10 am in the morning to do it, otherwise, you may be fined. More info can be found here. 

What to expect: Sadly, this weather won’t let up anytime soon. Today is expected to bring every single type of weather. No joke. And flurries are expected to potentially continue on-and-off until Friday according to Vancouver is Awesome.

But it wasn’t all bad. Some people did manage to capture some beautiful (and cute) photos.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

15 cm: How much it snowed in Vancouver Saturday night and Sunday morning. The forecast had called for between 10 to 25 cm. [Daily Hive]

$231.1 million: How much extra private health care providers billed B.C. residents. The province has the highest amount of illegal extra billing in Canada for healthcare services because of its large for-profit surgery sector. [Twitter]

HOUSING

House prices are falling but (surprise) are actually more unaffordable

What goes up must come down right? Not when it comes to housing affordability.

What happened: Prices in the housing market are falling, but homes are even more unaffordable than ever, thanks to higher interest rates.

Writing at The Hub, economist Trevor Tombe looked into the latest national housing data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, and the news is grim. The country may be in line for the second-largest decline in housing prices, adjusted for inflation, in the country’s history, he wrote.

• A variety of projections have forecast a fall in prices from between 59 percent and 10.7 percent, Tombe wrote.

More expensive: But despite this historic contraction of the market, Tombe said the actual cost of buying a home is higher. A monthly mortgage payment at the national average would cost roughly $4,100 a month, up from about $3,800 a year earlier. The figures are well above pre-pandemic prices which were about $2,300 a month.

• Comparing housing prices to wages, Tombe found the ratio is triple what it was in 2000 and 20 percent above 2019 levels.

Vancouver sales: While prices are getting more expensive, the number of homes sales has fallen dramatically, accordion to Storeys:

• A 21.1 percent decrease n since December for a total of 1,022 homes sold in January;

• A 55.3 percent decrease in the number sales since January 2021;

• And 42.9 percent fewer homes sold than the usual 10-year average.

Other housing news

What happened: After many years, the master plan for Metro Vancouver’s regional housing strategy was approved, according to Urbanized.

The plan breaks down how the region will adapt and absorb more than one million new people by 2050. It includes a plan for different housing types, and expects housing units and jobs will grow by 40 to 50 percent.

Key data: Housing on TransLink lines will be key for growing housing supply. The plan states that 28 percent of new housing growth will occur on SkyTrain and major bus routes.

• 15 percent of new housing units will be affordable rental housing.

The need for more rental housing has never been greater. A new report by CBC Marketplace illustrates the horrible conditions of some rental housing in Vancouver and Toronto. Those on fixed incomes and social assistance are increasingly forced to live in crumbling buildings, some even with cockroaches.

NEW JOBS

Find your new dream job in Vancouver:

1. Brand manager at the Canucks Sports & Entertainment

2. Corporate communications at Smart, Savvy + Associates

3. Director of communications at Aviso Wealth

4. Creative producer of market content at CBC/Radio-Canada

5. Director of development at British Columbia Schizophrenia Society

THE AGENDA

🏫 A 111-year-old yellow school in Vancouver’s west side at Maple Street and Cornwall Avenue could soon be demolished. But locals are trying to convince the Vancouver School Board to save the building or relocate it somewhere else. [CBC]

🏒 In what may be one of the more embarrassing moments of an awful season, the Bruins not only beat the Canucks 3-1 but managed to get a goal from their goalie. It’s the first in Bruins franchise history and you can watch it here. [The Province]

🚓 A woman was arrested for stabbing a security guard with a hypodermic needle. The woman has been charged with aggravated assault. [Global News]

👮 Crime is up last year compared to previous years, including violent crime, graffiti mischief and anti-Asian incidents all rising. That comes as Vancouver has the most per-capita spending of any police agency in Canada, with $548 per person. [CTV]

🚍 TransLink’s plan to replace diesel buses with battery-electric ones is facing some headwinds as they will not have the required number of charging infrastructure by 2026. They’re asking Metro Vancouver for $75 million to buy 84 natural gas buses as a short-term solution. [Vancouver Sun]

SAFETY

A great ball of fire

A massive electrical explosion on Friday on Burrard Street between West Hastings and West Cordova is being investigated by B.C. Hydro, according to CBC.

What happened: A loud boom was heard at around 6 pm, along with a massive fireball. Windows were smashed and concrete was damaged. Two people were injured with burns. Both are in stable condition. Vancouver Fire and Rescue described it as a big, “forceful blast.”

• TransLink shut down Waterfront Skytrain station after the explosion.

The cause: Currently the cause of the explosion is unknown, and is being investigated. But Vancouver Fire and Rescue speculate it started in an electrical vault.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Vancouver’s Turkish community came together on Saturday and raised money for earthquake relief efforts in Turkey. [CTV]

• A simulation shows just how bad a tsunami would be for Washington State, with waves over 10 feet high. The effect on Canada would also be terrible. [Urbanized]

• A 14-year-old named Elsa collected 75 signatures from residents in the area to build a light at a crosswalk at East 3rd and Nanaimo. [Twitter]

• Daisy Garden Kitchen in Chinatown, originally opened in 1979, is shutting down because it can’t find enough people to staff the restaurant. You can buy the business for $398,000. [Global News]

GOOD NEWS MONDAY

Start your day off with some good news:

A dog named Callie, missing since Jan. 9 at Mt. Seymour, was found safe and sound! Big thanks to the mountain ski patrol who found her.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Twitter user Denis Agar shared some handy charts from Translink’s new Bus Speed and Reliability Report. It breaks down the percentage of people on streets using transit, the cost of transit delays and where buses are stuck in traffic. If you love maps and data, you’ll love these charts.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

It’s almost too perfect.

Have some snow photos? Send them and we’ll include them in the newsletter.

GAME TIME

Here’s today’s news quiz question: how much did it snow on Saturday night and Sunday morning in Vancouver? Reply with your answer and your name and I’ll include it in the next newsletter.