Will the Broadway Subway face further delays?

Good morning,

It was a stressful day yesterday, as I sent out the first Insider edition to paying members. So far, the response has been great (or readers are keeping their negative opinions to themselves). A big thank you to everyone who is helping fund this newsletter!

But enough about that. In today’s newsletter, we’ve got:

• 📔 A big list of city hall news

• 🚆 The Broadway Subway delay?

• 🌳 Sobering news on Metro Vancouver ecosystems

• 📅 A list of over 15 events this weekend

Let’s get to it!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout newsletter writer

CITY HALL

Hearings, fee hikes, a pier and childcare — it was a busy week at city hall

Fee hikes incoming: City staff have recommended a number of fee increases to prevent property tax increases, including increasing costs on business license fees, short-term rental licences, parking permits, pet licences and ride-hailing apps. They’ll need to generate $15.2 million to cover the needed property tax increase.

• Key takeaway: Council is getting creative, but it might be worth looking at what other cities are doing. Toronto just brought in a luxury home sales tax on any property sold for over $3 million for example.

Pier be gone: Staff recommended that the parks board remove the Jericho pier due to the cost to replace it and as a way to embrace reconciliation, according to the Vancouver Sun. The pier would cost $25 million to replace or $3.6 million to demolish.

• Yes, but: According to Urbanized, the cost to fix the pier after the 2022 wind storm that damaged it would be $350,000, after contingency costs, insurance repayment and outside funding.

Mayor speaks: As the city gears up for public hearings over allowing multiplexes on single-family lots, the mayor says he’s keeping an open mind, but wants to do everything possible to build homes faster, according to CityNews. Meanwhile, Upper Kitsilano Residents Association co-director Evelyn Jacob dismissed a poll showing 77 percent of people support this policy. She also worries about the removal of trees and home design with the new policy.

• Key takeaway: If you’ve read this newsletter consistently, you’ll recognize similar complaints every time a new development is proposed. The question is will the city reduce the scope of the changes to satisfy some groups, even though the vast majority of people support it. You can read more about the multiplex policy at Vancouver Needs More Housing.

Construction childcare consternation: The cost to build childcare facilities has skyrocketed by 24 percent in two years, which will force municipalities to make some hard decisions, according to the Vancouver Sun. Costs of labour and fees from municipalities are to blame.

• Thought-bubble: You cannot have families living in Vancouver without childcare spaces. And reducing fees charged by municipalities would mean fewer services. It’s a real catch-22.

What it all means: It’s going to be a busy fall, with consequential decisions and policies that will shape the city for years to come. ABC will need to balance the escalating costs for locals and the needs of homeowners versus the rest of the residents.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

❌ $76,000: The value of fines given out in four weeks for illegal watering. Remember, it’s currently illegal to water your lawn. [CTV]

🏠 $400,000: The amount of equity detached homes have increased by since 2018. Seems unsustainable! [Business in Vancouver]

🎤 $20: You don’t need to break the bank to see Coldplay in Vancouver. The band is releasing a limited set of tickets for this price. [Vancouver is Awesome]

TRANSPORTATION

Broadway Subway delay incoming?

What happened: Good news and bad news. The good news is that the Broadway Subway project is likely to stay within its budget of $2.83 billion. Bad news? The completion date has been removed from documents, according to Business in Vancouver, indicating there could be more delays with the launch date.

Delays on delays: The start date for service was scheduled for Dec. 27, 2025, but was previously shifted to Feb. 7 2026, with a full completion date of March 30, 2026. Now, that date is gone from the most recent documents.

Zoom out: Shifting timelines are very, very common for transit projects across Canada. The much-touted Eglinton LRT in Toronto has no open date, after 12 years of construction and multiple delays, according to CBC. The western line extension to Ottawa’s light transit system has been delayed by an additional 17 months, according to Global.

What it means: Many large infrastructure projects deal with escalating budgets, so the lack of budget overruns is a good sign. Delays like this are sadly to be expected and it would not be surprising to see more delays in the future.

THE AGENDA

🌉 If you plan on taking the Pattullo Bridge this weekend, think again. The Northbound side of the bridge coming into New Westminster will be closed from 9 pm to 5 am on Friday and Saturday. Luckily, you can still walk or bike over it. [CTV]

💰️ A new survey from Angus Reid and Community Savings Credit Union shows that low-income BC households are dealing with an RESP gap, where they cannot contribute enough to their child’s education. Polling also showed that 59 percent of BC parents support the government providing funding to every child regardless of RESP contribution.

🏗️ The architectural designs have been released for the new Vancouver Aquatic Centre at Sunset Beach, replacing the old facility that is at the end of its lifespan. [Urbanized]

🏢 At the corner of West 49th Avenue and Vine Street in Kerrisdale a rezoning application has been submitted to build 150 purpose-built rentals. [Urbanized]

🥾 Bad news for hikers. The Lions Bay hiking trails will continue to be closed until Sept. 18 as councillors voted to keep the ban in place. The Mayor called the decision disappointing. [CTV]

🛥️ If you looked out on False Creek yesterday, you may have seen billowing black smoke. Three boats caught fire, and one person suffered injuries. [Global]

🔥 Firefighters managed to prevent a fire at an SRO at 968 Main St. from spreading more widely. The fire is considered suspicious and investigators are looking into it. [Globlal]

🦠 Dr. Bonnie Henry has warned that COVID cases are creeping back up. Other cities are seeing similar issues. [Vancouver Sun]

ENVIRONMENT

Ecosystems under threat in Metro Vancouver

What happened: A new report by Metro Vancouver shows that the area lost the equivalent of six Stanley Parks, or 250 square kilometres, of natural habitats such as wetlands and forests, according to the Vancouver Sun.

• According to an expert, the current strategy has not been effective enough to preserve existing land.

By far the biggest impact on forest loss is the expansion of residential home building. Riparian land — the area where land and rivers meet — was lost due to agricultural land expansion.

Zoom out: B.C. is dealing with a major loss of ecosystems, the second worst in Canada after Ontario, according to the Vancouver Sun.

• Yes, but: Preserving land is coming up against the need to build homes for people to live. We’re in a weird situation where there’s lots of space in the form of single-family homes, but ecosystems are being destroyed!

Looking ahead: Metro Vancouver’s goal is to protect 40 to 50 percent of the land by 2050.

Speaking of the environment..: B.C. continues to sound the alarm over droughts, with the government saying the province has never faced conditions like this, according to CityNews. The government says B.C. could face similar challenges in 2024. But flooding is also possible if we get too much water too quickly.

WEEKEND GUIDE

Vancouver Latin America Film Festival | Cineworks, Cinematheque and other spots | Today to Sept. 17 | Explore Latin culture through film with multiple showings of award-winning moves | Various prices

Light Up Chinatown | 500-Block Columbia Street | This Friday, 11 am-10 pm | Come see Chinatown come to life at night with live performances, food trucks and other special promotions | Free

Speakeasy Stand-Up Comedy Show | 130 West Hastings Street Vancouver | Saturdays, 8 pm | Come see some of the best comedians who’ve performed on some of the top shows in North America | Tickets $22

Portobello West 3rd Annual Summer Outdoor Street Market Saturday 10 am-4 pm featuring 44-local BC artists, designers + producers! Free admission! Rain or shine!*

Traditional Turkish Ceramic Painting Workshop | 3567 Commercial Street Vancouver | Saturdays, 6 pm-9 pm | Learn about the history of Turkish ceramic paintings, and pickup new skills to start your own project | Tickets $96

Woofstock | 215 Slater Street, New West | This Saturday, 12 pm- 3pm | A woofing-good time at New West’s largest pet festival, with dog photos, and lots of activities for your pet and your family | Free

Car Free Vancouver | Commercial Drive, North Grandview Highway to 1st Avenue | Saturday, 12 pm-7 pm | Happening the next few Saturdays in spots around town, come experience your favourite areas in Vancouver without vehicles | Free

Japan Market Fall Festival | Robson Square Ice Rink and UBC Sunroom | This Saturday and Sunday, 10 am-5 pm | Discover locally made and imported Japanese products and food | Tickets starting at $4

Vancouver Creative Experience | VanDusen Botanical Garden | This Sunday, 7 am-10 am | Connect with Vancouver’s creative community and capture images of summer gardens transitioning to fall | Tickets $12

Nikkei Garden Farmers Market | 6688 Southoaks Crescent Burnaby | This Sunday, 10 am-2 pm | Discover Japanese-inspired food, vegetables, plants, and handmade crafts at the market | Free

Mango & Coconut Mochi from Scratch | 1450 W. 7th Ave Vancouver | This Sunday, 11:30 am-1:30 pm | A gluten-free and vegan event where you can learn to make the popular Japanese dessert | Tickets $74

Coastal Jazz presents a big band musical extravaganza Tuesday, October 10 featuring Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis at the Orpheum.*

*These are community submitted events. Submit yours to be included here.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• This Vietnamese restaurant is worth visiting just for its tomato seafood vermicelli soup.

• What a rascally rabbit! An emotional support bunny was reunited with its owner after it fell down into the SkyTrain tracks and a passenger retrieved it. [The Star]

• The full lineup for VIFF has been released. Be sure to check out Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest, The Boy and the Heron, Priscilla and The Pot-au-Feu. [VIFF]

• Here are some funny changes made to signs in Vancouver with graffiti. Caution, many are NSFW! [Reddit]

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HISTORY

There’s something about old cars that are just very cool. Here’s a couple at Robson & Thurlow in 1978.

GAME TIME

Congrats to Mary, Noah and Paula for correcting guessing yesterday’s VancouverGuesser, which was the Stanley Park Rose Garden.

Today’s Vancouver Wordle should be easy if you read the newsletter. Can you guess it?