Parking rates and hours to increase [Archive]

Vansterdam

12-02-2009, 06:26 AM

http://www.news1130.com/more.jsp?content=20091202_094754_5120

Downtown parking will cost $6 an hour

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The City of Vancouver's budget woes could mean it will cost you more to plug the meter while parking on the street. We're acting as meter maid this morning, breaking the news to drivers.

The reaction is not so pretty among people in the downtown core about raising the rates to six dollars per hour and extending the hours until 10:00 p.m. This man tells us he already tries to avoid parking downtown, if he can help it, and will opt for transit, "I did that last week and saved quite a bit of money. I mean, are we any less or more expensive than other cities?"

Charles Gauthier with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and he actually likes the proposals, "It's a commodity and it needs to be priced accordingly and we'd much rather see user fees than an increase in property taxes." He doesn't think the rates will keep people from downtown. Street parking is supposed to be short term, with plenty of other parking and transit options. The proposed hikes would cover the $1.8 million lost during the Olympics due to parking restrictions.

feel free to fail me if you agree this is total BS, up till 10pm are u fucken kidding me?
'

looks like its either this or increased property tax

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-02-2009, 07:25 AM

man as if it aint expensivve enough

LiquidTurbo

12-02-2009, 07:35 AM

Oh well. Bring an extra friend to help chip in for parking.

StylinRed

12-02-2009, 07:42 AM

u gotta be fukn kidding me, its like they're leading a path of destruction with housing/parking/transit prices skyrocketing the area is going to end up like Chicago

carisear

12-02-2009, 07:53 AM

*waits for impactx to post*

"alright, so who of you voted for gregor?"

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-02-2009, 07:57 AM

a person making minimum wage can barely afford to park there for one hour
lol

this is sad
:(

shenmecar

12-02-2009, 08:02 AM

Extend the parking meters until 10:00PM? Bull!!

Although they still can't beat Shaw Tower for $6 for half an hr.

ilvtofu

12-02-2009, 08:34 AM

park at oakridge and canada line to DT FTW!

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-02-2009, 08:35 AM

Extend the parking meters until 10:00PM? Bull!!

Although they still can't beat Shaw Tower for $6 for half an hr.

right now its what? 8pm i think?

taylor192

12-02-2009, 08:36 AM

Just means I'll go downtown even less, and when I do I'll use my bike even more.

I have found a great trick for free parking downtown:
Some lots have numbered spots and "no display" paid tickets. So as long as you pay for the space, you don't need a ticket....

Think about this: For places like ScotiaTheatre where the parking underneath is $7 for all-night. People see the first movie, pay for parking, then leave. If you take their spot, its paid for the entire night. Just wait for someone to leave, or park on the top level where there's usually more turnover.

Same applies to Costco. There's so much turnover in that lot, and most pay for 2 hrs, that you can park anywhere and never get a ticket.

If you know of other lots like this, please post them.

bengy

12-02-2009, 10:33 AM

They should increase property taxes. If you want to live in the most busiest part of the city, you should pay for it.

taylor192

12-02-2009, 10:41 AM

They should increase property taxes. If you want to live in the most busiest part of the city, you should pay for it.

This won't happen. There's still many old-school owners in the nicer areas of town, who's houses have tripled in value, and they cannot afford the property tax increase. Those old-school owners actually vote in elections, unlike the young yuppies in BMW driving downtown, so politicians will tax voters accordingly. If you don't like it, vote.

MR_BIGGS

12-02-2009, 11:11 AM

With meter parking possibly going up, my natural inclination is to ask, are these rates similar to other major cities?

For Toronto, I found that The Toronto Parking Authority is a local Board of the City of Toronto which owns and operates the system of Municipal off-street parking lots (‘Green P’) and the on-street metered parking.

The rates are:
Metered spaces are either $1.00, $1.50, $2.00 or $3.50 per hour depending on the area of the City in which they are located. Rates are posted on the machine or meter.

So $6 seems a little excessive to me. For the minimum wage earners or front line staff, this would be terrible.

Like Taylor posted, you gotta find loopholes or drive less in downtown.

moomooCow

12-02-2009, 11:16 AM

a person making minimum wage can barely afford to park there for one hour
lol

this is sad
:(

+1

I think it's getting a little ridiculous if someone making min wage can barely afford to even park in downtown...

hotjoint

12-02-2009, 11:17 AM

Glad I don't ever go downtown. I avoid that place like H1N1. If I have to go down then I'm carpooling or taking transit. $6 for 1 hour and until 10pm now. Such a fuckin rip off...

Meowjin

12-02-2009, 11:18 AM

6 DOLLARS A FUCKING HOUR!??!!?

WTTTTTTTTTTTTTF

fishing666

12-02-2009, 11:23 AM

a fucking meter makes more money than me.

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-02-2009, 11:26 AM

Glad I don't ever go downtown. I avoid that place like H1N1. If I have to go down then I'm carpooling or taking transit. $6 for 1 hour and until 10pm now. Such a fuckin rip off...

werd thx god i got a free parking space in my building

but still, still 3-4 blocks away from the main robson

bengy

12-02-2009, 11:27 AM

This won't happen. There's still many old-school owners in the nicer areas of town, who's houses have tripled in value, and they cannot afford the property tax increase. Those old-school owners actually vote in elections, unlike the young yuppies in BMW driving downtown, so politicians will tax voters accordingly. If you don't like it, vote.

Well if you can't afford to live there, sell. Look on the bright side, you can now sell for triple what you bought and can finally buy yourself a nice property in good old quiet Langley or Abbotsford :haha:

taylor192

12-02-2009, 11:38 AM

Like Taylor posted, you gotta find loopoles or drive less in downtown.
Another "loophole":

If it costs $6/hr to park downtown then how many hours of parking is equal to one ticket:

Expired meter: $35 or 6 hrs
Permit only: $50 or 8 hrs

Do you think you can get away with parking at meters and not paying for 6 hours?
Do you think you can get away with parking for 8 hours in an permit only location?
Maybe not 6 or 8 hours in a row, yet an hour here, and hour there, probably, and it all adds up.

Consider that not everywhere is very well patrolled by parking enforcement. The Vancouver Sun has an excellent map showing the most ticketed locations:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/most-ticketed-areas.html

Lets look at permit parking tickets at Robson/Denman: There were 766 over 4 years. That's 4/week. You could probably park here for several hours and not get a ticket.

Lets say you want to eat at Hons on Robson. Look at expired meters at Robson and Jervis. There were 2052 over 4 years, or about 8/week, or 1 a day. You could probably park here for a few hours and not get a ticket.

As long as you avoid the areas with the biggest circles, you could probably never pay and they few tickets you will get, will be easily paid with the savings from never paying for parking.

taylor192

12-02-2009, 11:38 AM

Well if you can't afford to live there, sell. Look on the bright side, you can now sell for triple what you bought and can finally buy yourself a nice property in good old quiet Langley or Abbotsford :haha:
Who wants to live out there? Gross.

7seven

12-02-2009, 11:48 AM

Thank-god for condo parking spots downtown, that and my work covers my monthly parking ($320/month) at a pretty central dt location.

http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20091201/470_bc_parking_091201.jpg

You could soon be paying more for parking in Vancouver.

The city is looking into boosting slumping revenue by charging more per hour for meter parking, as well as extending street meter hours.

A report was presented to council Tuesday afternoon and will be voted on in a couple weeks. If it goes through, parking meters will be in effect until 10 p.m. seven days a week starting Jan. 1.

Currently, the hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday.

Parking meter hour plan

The city says extending parking meter hours until 10 p.m. would improve turnaround on street parking and "reflect market demand." The report states there is a growing demand for parking beyond current hours.

The study found there is little incentive for people to move their car after 8 p.m. when the parking is free.

Here's how Vancouver compares to other cities:

* Richmond 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
* Burnaby Varies by area, up to 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
* White Rock Varies by area and season, up to 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.
* Portland Varies by area, up to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
* Calgary 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
* Toronto 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
* San Francisco Varies by area, up to 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
* Chicago Varies by area, up to 24 hours
* New York 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
* Seattle 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Extension of parking hours is expected to increase gross revenue by $3.1 million annually starting in 2010.

More money at the meter

In addition to paying for more hours, the city is also proposing a hike in how much drivers will pay per hour at the meter.

The recommended change would see meter rates rise about 8.8 per cent in 2010 -- from $2.04 to $2.22 per hour.

In some areas along the city's central business district, drivers would pay $6 an hour for street parking. Rates would also jump along Coal Harbour, Denman and Davie streets, Gastown, Yaletown and the area around BC and GM Place.

The bump would see a revenue increase of $1.8 million for 2010, and $2.45 million every year after.

Increased meter rates would begin April 1, and take place predominately in areas where more than 85 per cent of parking spots are occupied.

The city says higher meter rates will reduce long-term parking usage by people working in the area, and lower traffic congestion "created by drivers circulating around the block looking for parking spaces."

Extras

City staff are also recommending the purchase and installation of 150 new parking meters and 20 new pay stations for installation in new pay parking areas in 2010.

The city says it would need to add 11 full-time positions to its on-street parking program to facilitate all the proposed changes, including two coin collectors, six bylaw enforcement officers and one customer service representative.

Consultations

City staff consulted with local business improvement associations on the proposal. Of those polled, two expressed objection or provided alternative options.

The West Broadway Business Improvement Association said extending the hours would bring an increased cost to residents and customers that use the busy retail and restaurant district after 8 p.m. -- and may push them to other areas of the city.

The Downtown Vancouver Business Association (DVBIA) supports both the rate increases and the extension of hours.

"The worry is that you would scare people away from coming downtown because it's too much money, but I don't think that's the case," executive director Charles Gauthier told ctvbc.ca.

Gauthier said on-street parking downtown isn't meant for long-term parking and shouldn't infringe upon anyone's visit, especially now that the Canada Line makes transit more accessible into downtown.

"Plus, death and taxes are inevitable."

Councillor Raymond Louie sounded receptive to the idea Tuesday.

"We are severely-challenged as far as part of this operating budget for 2010, and we've been underpricing, I think, in certain areas of our city," he told CTV News.

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20091201/bc_parking_rates_meters_091201/20091202/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

7seven

12-02-2009, 11:55 AM

If you know of other lots like this, please post them.

I know a few people who don't live dt, but changed their addresses on their license and a couple bills to friend's or work addresses located dt so that they could get a residential parking permit dt for $65/year.

Warning tho, if you get pulled over or into an accident, you might run into issues with police and/or ICBC for having an improper residential address on your license.

RacePace

12-02-2009, 11:55 AM

a person making minimum wage can barely afford to park there for one hour
lol

this is sad
:(

they work an hour to park for an hour lol

taylor192

12-02-2009, 12:09 PM

I know a few people who don't live dt, but changed their addresses on their license and a couple bills to friend's or work addresses located dt so that they could get a residential parking permit dt for $65/year.

Warning tho, if you get pulled over or into an accident, you might run into issues with police and/or ICBC for having an improper residential address on your license.
That's too big a risk.

My friend bought a permit for his car for the street. He moves his car to the street and allows me to park underground when I visit. Otherwise his friends rarely visit cause its so hard to find parking near Denman.

Not as convenient, yet not as risky.

CRS

12-02-2009, 12:14 PM

a person making minimum wage can barely afford to park there for one hour
lol

this is sad
:(

If you're working min wage, why are you driving to downtown?

Why not take transit that is cheaper and has no parking fees?

taylor192

12-02-2009, 12:16 PM

If you're working min wage, why are you driving to downtown?

Why work downtown at all? There's lots of minimum wage jobs in the city.

blum2001

12-02-2009, 12:17 PM

Thank-god for condo parking spots downtown, that and my work covers my monthly parking ($320/month) at a pretty central dt location.

Hey I wouldn't surprised if one of your condo spots downtown will come with a price now. A certain someone we know needs a new tv haha j/k

StylinRed

12-02-2009, 01:20 PM

at least we dont have NY prices.... yet
For a permanent parking space in Manhattan, NY it costs $225,000USD !

and $125-$200 a day for daily parking at lots

LiquidTurbo

12-02-2009, 01:29 PM

^

WTF.

!Yaminashi

12-02-2009, 01:31 PM

Welcome to Vancouver, the city of disappointment
I've stopped caring. In the end we pay for every little thing somehow

"The proposed hikes would cover the $1.8 million lost during the Olympics due to parking restrictions"
He forgot to add the part about putting more money into the government's pocket

godwin

12-02-2009, 01:35 PM

Believe it or not, that's exactly what they want people to do.

If I have to go down then I'm carpooling or taking transit. $6 for 1 hour and until 10pm now. Such a fuckin rip off...

q0192837465

12-02-2009, 01:40 PM

I can see where it comes come. I support this increase if it means no increase in property tax. Parking in downtown is NOT a necessity. People chooses to pay $6/hour for convenience. No 1 points a gun and say u have to park there or else. If u can't afford it, there r alternatives. Property tax on the other hand is mandatory and must be paid. As a result I don't think it's justified for everyone to subsidize soneone else's convenience.

skyxx

12-02-2009, 01:41 PM

Take transit. :)

!SG

12-02-2009, 01:48 PM

they already doing that on top of the hours and $$$ rate for parking.

private property tax goes up 2% on top of the bc assestment, which was done at the height of the housing prices)

all in an effort to pay off the overspending of the olympics.

They should increase property taxes. If you want to live in the most busiest part of the city, you should pay for it.

JulyZerg

12-02-2009, 01:55 PM

Glad I don't ever go downtown. I avoid that place like H1N1. If I have to go down then I'm carpooling or taking transit. $6 for 1 hour and until 10pm now. Such a fuckin rip off...

I have the same mentality but instead of Downtown it's Richmond. Bad drivers, hongers, C-Lai's and bad-roads. :D

taylor192

12-02-2009, 02:27 PM

private property tax goes up 2% on top of the bc assestment, which was done at the height of the housing prices)

all in an effort to pay off the overspending of the olympics.

I really hate this argument.

We're getting a ton of great things out of this, and much of it not paid for by tax-payers dollars as the media makes us believe. There are public-private partnerships, the sale of the Olympic village should cover all the condos as well as the community centre, dock, park, ... :
- expanded sea-to-sky highway
- community centre, dock, park, ... at the Olympic village
- community centre in Richmond (converted speed oval)
- new sky-train line
- many bridge/road improvement
- bums kicked out of DTES

Nevermind the economic impact:
- more jobs created here as construction boomed (more income tax)
- more people immigrating here (more real estate, more property taxes, more local consumption)
- tons of temporary jobs created for the Olympics (more income tax)
- tons of tourism (more local consumption)

How much tax dollars has this generated that otherwise would not have? Would Vancouver be booming? Would as many people have immigrated here? ...

you!

12-02-2009, 02:52 PM

$6/h and until 10pm.... wtf seriously thats too excessive i think

spyker

12-02-2009, 04:36 PM

How much tax dollars has this generated that otherwise would not have? Would Vancouver be booming? Would as many people have immigrated here? ...
You do realize the more "booming" Vancouver does,the cost of living also goes up.

With the way our government is taxing the shit out of everything nowadays,pretty soon,in Vancouver,there will be no middle class,either your poor or your rich.

impactX

12-02-2009, 04:59 PM

*waits for impactx to post*

"alright, so who of you voted for gregor?"

lol. or, who misses Sam Sullivan now?

To put it into perspective, daytime parking (from 8am to 11pm) in Central (downtown), Hong Kong costs CA$2.7 an hour to a maximum of CA$20.

godwin

12-02-2009, 05:09 PM

You are assuming the population is in the steady state.. with the federal government set to recognize foreign credentials, the income of people will go up. True, poor will move away but there will be plenty of people replacing them. The bar for being "rich" will move higher, and there will always be a normal distribution over time. The government just have to keep on accepting people with net wealth of >3 million CAD, there will always be a middle class.. it just happens that the middle class might have net worth of >3 mill.

Vast majority of people are always in the happy medium.

You do realize the more "booming" Vancouver does,the cost of living also goes up.

With the way our government is taxing the shit out of everything nowadays,pretty soon,in Vancouver,there will be no middle class,either your poor or your rich.

!SG

12-02-2009, 05:44 PM

you have to admit, the original estimate was way way way off for the olympics. just seems like budgetting is always way off. im sure if it was at least a realistic figure that is within reason to the actual estimated cost, most of us wont feel like we just got ripped off.

its like being told the car will cost you xxx amount, then when u walk in to actually go pay, the price magically went up for the same unchanged car. not even talking about hidden costs. =/

the cost spent on the village rushed to be finished was even said to be hopeful at "breaking even" after the sale, after the olympics.

costs of security for the olympics were way off...

cost over runs are expected, but even you have to admit, they really did hire an idiot to estimate the original cost, compared to the actual cost.

I really hate this argument.

We're getting a ton of great things out of this, and much of it not paid for by tax-payers dollars as the media makes us believe. There are public-private partnerships, the sale of the Olympic village should cover all the condos as well as the community centre, dock, park, ... :
- expanded sea-to-sky highway
- community centre, dock, park, ... at the Olympic village
- community centre in Richmond (converted speed oval)
- new sky-train line
- many bridge/road improvement
- bums kicked out of DTES

Nevermind the economic impact:
- more jobs created here as construction boomed (more income tax)
- more people immigrating here (more real estate, more property taxes, more local consumption)
- tons of temporary jobs created for the Olympics (more income tax)
- tons of tourism (more local consumption)

How much tax dollars has this generated that otherwise would not have? Would Vancouver be booming? Would as many people have immigrated here? ...

spyker

12-02-2009, 06:16 PM

If the city actually told people the truth about how much the olympics were actually going to cost,do you think anyone would have voted "yes" to the olympics.

There's no way the government would do a project this big without knowing exactly how much something like this would cost.

The original number for the budget was just bullshit,nothing but smoke & mirrors,sort of like a massive super sale at a electronic store,but when you get inside,only a few things are for sale to lure you in,the rest of the stuff is regular price.

asian_speedster

12-02-2009, 06:59 PM

Whats next 24hr meter parking!!?

Once the time goes up, it will never come back down. parking was nice while it lasted...

6insomnia9

12-02-2009, 07:14 PM

What a bunch of fucking bullshit.

spyker

12-02-2009, 07:16 PM

Whats next 24hr meter parking!!?

just give it some time,it will happen.

pretty soon,nothing will be free in this city anymore.

6insomnia9

12-02-2009, 07:48 PM

just give it some time,it will happen.

pretty soon,nothing will be free in this city anymore.

When was anything free? :confused:

spyker

12-02-2009, 09:09 PM

When was anything free? :confused:

I remember free parking after 6pm and free parking on the weekends.

Gridlock

12-04-2009, 09:19 PM

political posturing.

When they change their minds, like it wasn't already planned, to $4, people will rejoice because it could have been worse.

gars

12-06-2009, 01:46 AM

In Central London, there's the Congestion Charge - so if you want to drive in during the day, you have to pay £8 PER DAY. if forget to pay by midnight of they day you entered, you pay £10 the following day. if you forget to pay the following day, you pay a penalty charge, which is like £25 I think.

I live IN the congestion zone, so if I were to buy a car, I would get a 90% discount.

I'm still thinkin of getting a car here so I can drive around the UK/Europe for a few months before I leave, but at £32 a month for a congestion charge, plus another £40 a month for a residential permit, kind of makes you rethink a car.

hotjoint

12-06-2009, 05:59 PM

have fun all you people that love to go downtown :)

C5_Ryder

12-06-2009, 06:50 PM

It will be payed parking till 2 am (downtown core).

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-06-2009, 07:47 PM

have fun all you people that love to go downtown :)

basterd lol

orange7

12-07-2009, 04:24 PM

I really hate this argument.

We're getting a ton of great things out of this, and much of it not paid for by tax-payers dollars as the media makes us believe. There are public-private partnerships, the sale of the Olympic village should cover all the condos as well as the community centre, dock, park, ... :
- expanded sea-to-sky highway
- community centre, dock, park, ... at the Olympic village
- community centre in Richmond (converted speed oval)
- new sky-train line
- many bridge/road improvement
- bums kicked out of DTES

Nevermind the economic impact:
- more jobs created here as construction boomed (more income tax)
- more people immigrating here (more real estate, more property taxes, more local consumption)
- tons of temporary jobs created for the Olympics (more income tax)
- tons of tourism (more local consumption)

How much tax dollars has this generated that otherwise would not have? Would Vancouver be booming? Would as many people have immigrated here? ...

really? The same bums are still there..

bums moving to richmond doesn't really count.

spyker

12-07-2009, 05:14 PM

I would much rather the city not kick the bums out of DTES for the olympics and just have them stay put where they are.I vote NOT to kick the bums out of DTES,cuase if you kick them out,where would they go......right into where we live.

It makes more sense for them to stay there and not wonder into our neighborhoods and turn it upside down and crime ridden,then decide to stay permanately due to a potential goldmine of crime they can have.

I think the best idea for the bums is,to ship them to Alberta,cause this is exactly what the Premiere of Alberta did in preperation for the 1988 Calgary olympics,he gave them all a one way ticket to B.C.

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-07-2009, 05:34 PM

^

lol that'd be pretty brutal, ALberta will fucking bitch flip

:haha::haha:

willystyle

12-07-2009, 05:34 PM

You are assuming the population is in the steady state.. with the federal government set to recognize foreign credentials, the income of people will go up. True, poor will move away but there will be plenty of people replacing them. The bar for being "rich" will move higher, and there will always be a normal distribution over time. The government just have to keep on accepting people with net wealth of >3 million CAD, there will always be a middle class.. it just happens that the middle class might have net worth of >3 mill.

Vast majority of people are always in the happy medium.
Where did u get the facts about Canada beginning to recognize foreign education credentials?

spyker

12-07-2009, 05:49 PM

^

lol that'd be pretty brutal, ALberta will fucking bitch flip

:haha::haha:

All we would be doing is just returning the "favour".

We should also send some to Montreal too.

Senna4ever

12-08-2009, 02:17 AM

Of course parking costs are going to increase...the city needs to pay for the upkeep of the Bloedel Conservatory and the Stanley Park Petting Zoo. Oh, waitaminnit.......

Obsideon

12-08-2009, 03:49 AM

RFlush

12-08-2009, 04:20 AM

Wow so people that drive downtown to work minimum wage jobs would basically earn like $1.xx per hour after the income tax?
WTF imagine working a 6 hour shift from 4pm to 10pm and only go home with $10 and change in your pocket! :2finger:

Driving is a luxury and paying for parking is an added cost. The downtown core has a good transportation system with the skytrain connecting DT to many of the neighbouring cities. If you can't afford to park, don't drive DT.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

hotjoint

12-08-2009, 07:56 AM

^ This. I take transit whenever I go down.

GLOW

12-08-2009, 08:13 AM

Where did u get the facts about Canada beginning to recognize foreign education credentials?

i read it in the 24hrs they're going to start assisting those w/ foreign credentials to get them certified and accepted in canada.

regarding parking....i'm just waiting to see the day it catches up w/ the minimum wage :haha:

Obsideon

12-08-2009, 09:36 AM

taylor192

12-08-2009, 10:07 AM

I would much rather the city not kick the bums out of DTES for the olympics and just have them stay put where they are.I vote NOT to kick the bums out of DTES,cuase if you kick them out,where would they go......right into where we live.

It makes more sense for them to stay there and not wonder into our neighborhoods and turn it upside down and crime ridden,then decide to stay permanately due to a potential goldmine of crime they can have.

That's all untrue. They stay there cause its easy access to drugs. Disperse them and many will cleanup their habit, the truly homeless (ie those with mental problems) will always be a problem.

spyker

12-08-2009, 01:30 PM

RFlush

12-08-2009, 03:55 PM

There are some jobs like working at restaurants that close late in which the Skytrain already shuts down at like around midnight, what is it 1am on the weekend? Weak!
A cab ride home would cost even more than paying for parking!
Well if they are working at minimum wage jobs downtown and do not live downtown, then maybe they should not be working there at all (find a job closer to home), or move there.

You, a business owner should understand this. It would be like me complaining that your food prices are too high, and you should lower it so I can eat there. You would just tell me to eat somewhere else. Well either that or you can actually give me like 50% off or something, that would be good too :)

taylor192

12-08-2009, 06:57 PM

Just so you know,junkies take their habit with them,where ever they go,the dealers will follow.

The hardcore will always find a way to feed their habit, yet they represent a low number of the junkies. Most junkies do it cause its easy, make it hard and they'll stop. Its proven, read some studies.

spyker

12-08-2009, 08:58 PM

The hardcore will always find a way to feed their habit, yet they represent a low number of the junkies. Most junkies do it cause its easy, make it hard and they'll stop. Its proven, read some studies.
Studies show this,studies show that,I don't give a fuck what studies say,so until you actually have some realworld experience and have a serious drug problem where you live,don't go around talking like you actually know something about this subject.Most junkies do it cause they have to,it's called a fucking addiction,it takes over their lives,they can't just "quit" like that.I have far more experience on dealing with and know what kind of behavior drug addicts have than you ever will.

There's a reason why Vancouver is known as "the addicted city" to the rest of Canada.

studies also show that Vancouver is one of the top places to live,do you agree?

Obsideon

12-08-2009, 10:26 PM

Well if they are working at minimum wage jobs downtown and do not live downtown, then maybe they should not be working there at all (find a job closer to home), or move there.

You, a business owner should understand this. It would be like me complaining that your food prices are too high, and you should lower it so I can eat there. You would just tell me to eat somewhere else. Well either that or you can actually give me like 50% off or something, that would be good too :)

That's exactly what I'm saying. Basically the fact that the government are pulling this farce unnecessarily limits the options of many people seeking entry level jobs. Downtown, being that it has so many restaurants, clubs, retail stores in general provide many employment opportunities.

Now on an assumption basis that those businesses have trouble finding staff, would they need to put out incentives like higher wages? Which has a ripple effect of higher costs to products which directly trickles down to the consumer.

Oh and a random thought: Pretty soon it's going to be cheaper to just Valet and Tip than to park at the Meter for a few hours :haha:

Blinky

12-08-2009, 11:33 PM

Obsideon

12-08-2009, 11:51 PM

I know where you're coming from and my points were purely speculation. The working class is just 1 angle, parking in general is a pain in the butt now. Everything you do in DT, be it shopping, dining, drinking, chilling, will cost that much more knowing that your meter is racking up $2 more per hour and THEN another $16 on top of that if you decide to stay from 8pm to 10pm. That's another meal right there!

I am not in that group of having rich parents buying me a car but you can't blame those that do for having that lifestyle. I only hate the people that don't cherish the value of it and rip it around town like retards. Why are you E-raging against ALL those people anyway?
I mean it's already a start that they even want to work for some of their money, however measly it might be. I once knew a busboy who worked at iCafe and drove a M5. I'm sure half his years wages wasn't enough to cover insurance let alone the payments!

!SG

12-09-2009, 12:26 AM

haha, this was sunday for me

quick drive to downtown, got stuck on smithe for 30mins as they blocked the whole section from seymour to hornby for some parade.
i felt bad for the traffic authority woman that was trying to direct traffic. she had absolutely no control nor knew how to dish it, nor knew how to handle it. ppl were following the rules of the road, allowing safe room between cars but she was pushing cars to be less than 6inchs bumper to bumper. on top of that, she was trying to direct foot traffic across the street. pedestrians were annoyed as she was getting pissed and was putting that stress onto the drivers and pedestrians. it was a complete shit fest and she wasnt helping. she was directing ppl to walk between cars yet she forced the car to move up so that there was less than 6inches between bumper to bumper (yeah, she was a smart one). the group of pedestrians that were standing there waiting to cross were rolling their eyes at her lack of ability.

i finally gave up, parked in some parkade blocks away, paid 2 bucks to park 30mins to go buy a $15 toque i happened to lose somewhere on saturday. took me 10mins to walk there, 3 mins to buy, and 10mins to walk back.

after jan 1 2010, they will probably jump that to what, 3 bucks for 30mins? this is because translink is raising the taxes on parking spots something like 8-21%, which means the owners of these parking lots will pass it onto the customer. Though translink is suppositely a seperate company, its all tied into the gov't as there are members on both boards. gezzz, maybe the gov't should examine why revenue is not covering costs. just because a vote to increase their salaries was ok'd years ago, doesnt mean that decision reflects the current economic standings. they are even doing job layoffs and cutting jobs, yet the ones sitting in the higher up positions are "safe".

everyone knows translink is doing a piss poor job, demanding more and more money to cover less and less services. the only thing growing are the higher up salaries, and not even the ones that are doing the work, their own employees.

Im trying not to be negative, but it just seems to me, they made a promise that they knew they would have trouble keeping (the olympics) and are using every means to cover its costs, and make bad decisions based on covering asses.

they are public servants, yet we are limited to who we "elect" as being the decision maker and the crew he/she hires.

To me, every single one of their decisions is counter productive.

RFlush

12-09-2009, 02:10 AM

That's exactly what I'm saying. Basically the fact that the government are pulling this farce unnecessarily limits the options of many people seeking entry level jobs. Downtown, being that it has so many restaurants, clubs, retail stores in general provide many employment opportunities.

Now on an assumption basis that those businesses have trouble finding staff, would they need to put out incentives like higher wages? Which has a ripple effect of higher costs to products which directly trickles down to the consumer.

Oh and a random thought: Pretty soon it's going to be cheaper to just Valet and Tip than to park at the Meter for a few hours :haha:
And if the city offered free parking, or decreased parking rates, would you then tell your staff "hey guys, its cheaper parking so you are all getting a pay cut" and then proceed to slash your food prices like crazy Eddie?

taylor192

12-09-2009, 07:15 AM

Studies show this,studies show that,I don't give a fuck what studies say,so until you actually have some realworld experience and have a serious drug problem where you live,don't go around talking like you actually know something about this subject.
Kindly shutup.

Studies are better than one person's deluded experience. If we assumed all homeless are like 1 hardcore junkie prostitute in the DTES we'd be very wrong. Only 10% of homeless are hardcore addicts and/or mentally ill, the rest are either in bad situations and lazy.

taylor192

12-09-2009, 07:21 AM

Im trying not to be negative, but it just seems to me, they made a promise that they knew they would have trouble keeping (the olympics) and are using every means to cover its costs, and make bad decisions based on covering asses.

The biggest mistake politicians made was promising the Olympics would not cost taxpayers money. The Olympics should be something taxpayers are proud to pay for, since they showoff our city/country. Unfortunately many don't see it that way, they only saw "if its free, then sure" and are now complaining that it wasn't free.

I'm OK with my tax dollars paying for the Olympics. The infrastructure improvements, the economic improvements, ... are all worth it.

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-09-2009, 08:11 AM

I'm amazed by some of the stuff in this thread. Maybe I shouldn't be -- it's RS.

Tell me RS, who the FUCK makes minimum wage and drives every day to work?
Tell me, who the FUCK would drive downtown to net say, $3/h after tax but not $1/h after tax? Are you seriously suggesting that someone will spend half their net earnings on parking their automobile?
Best yet, who the FUCK makes minimum wage and can afford a car?

Let me answer:
... the same people who have cars bought for them. So, if you're one of these people, please STFU. Kindly. Go hit up mummy for money so you can afford stupid aftermarket HIDs and tacky blue LEDs.

Nobody making minimum wage downtown is driving downtown. If they "need" to drive for a min wage job, they're dumbasses (min wage jobs are NOT location dependent!).

i like your rage, i totally feel you :thumbsup:

But buttom line minimum wage or not aint the point, the point is paying $6 dollars to park one hour is seriously fucking ridiculous. Using minium wage was just an example how the system is fucked in the ass. We get taxed like a motherfucker, paying out 1/3 of my pay cheque each month on taxes aint exactly fun. The living expense is already high enough to live in vancouver, yet the city pulls this bullshit, same thing with realestate market, its fucked i tell you.

Blinky

12-09-2009, 08:19 AM

I didn't mean to come across as attacking you personally. Sorry... I also know that you run a restaurant downtown, so don't worry -- you're OK in my book. For what that's worth. :p

I know where you're coming from and my points were purely speculation. The working class is just 1 angle, parking in general is a pain in the butt now. Everything you do in DT, be it shopping, dining, drinking, chilling, will cost that much more knowing that your meter is racking up $2 more per hour and THEN another $16 on top of that if you decide to stay from 8pm to 10pm. That's another meal right there!

Carpool downtown. Take transit. Also, park in a lot rather than on the street. There are lots of places with weekend/evening rates.

I am not in that group of having rich parents buying me a car but you can't blame those that do for having that lifestyle. I only hate the people that don't cherish the value of it and rip it around town like retards. Why are you E-raging against ALL those people anyway?

I don't "blame" people who have had cars bought for them. But I, like you, have little patience for those people who fail to realize how fortunate they are. This includes being out of touch with what costs what and who can afford what... in other words, people who really think that there are people out there that daily drive cars on a minimum wage (and who don't live at home etc).

Effectively making $3/h or $7/h doesn't mean that much if mom and dad are still paying for room and board.

Jsunu

12-09-2009, 08:48 AM

taylor192

12-09-2009, 09:05 AM

Which studies indicate that only the representative 10%, not bashing or anything, just curious.

I'll see if I can find them later. There was one really interesting study that the majority of homeless are homeless for 1 day. 1 day of living on the streets/shelters is enough motivation for many to find some other way to live.

Obsideon

12-09-2009, 09:40 AM

And if the city offered free parking, or decreased parking rates, would you then tell your staff "hey guys, its cheaper parking so you are all getting a pay cut" and then proceed to slash your food prices like crazy Eddie?

Now we all know that's NEVER gonna happen haha but the answer would probably be "Yes". I would be slashing the prices to balance it out, since my overhead wouldn't be as high (given that the government does did allow a pay cut). It's the same as if some random stranger started donating money to pay off half my expenses every year for the rest of my life I would in all likelihood pass that down to the consumer and all the food prices would be discounted! :D... but that ain't gonna happen either ... boo!

Now with the new fee's being imposed on all restaurants the expenses are going nowhere but UP!... HST, the $6 per seat charge to pay the people to enforce the 50/50 Law ... all a bunch of crock to suck money from us :(

spyker

12-09-2009, 10:12 AM

Kindly shutup.

Studies are better than one person's deluded experience. If we assumed all homeless are like 1 hardcore junkie prostitute in the DTES we'd be very wrong. Only 10% of homeless are hardcore addicts and/or mentally ill, the rest are either in bad situations and lazy.

"Kindly shutup".

Ya,this coming from a person that lives in Kits/Richmond.

Until you actually know someone that is a hardcore drug addict or have dealt with many drug addicts,shit even living in a nieghborhood where junkies live,until then.......you know FUCK ALL about how bad the drug problem is,so you can take you info on the studies and shove it real deep inside until it hurts.

Don't go misleading people by passing on info that you know nothing about.

I'm not the only person that have experienced this,I'm pretty sure alot of the members on RS that live in the east end have to.The only one that is delusional is you,I see shit for what it is,I don't turn to studies for info.

Let me ask you.....have you ever been inside a crackhouse before or have seen someone jam a needle into their arm to get high?

oh wait,you only saw pictures of them from one of the "studies" you read.

You know how I can tell you were smothered all your life and have never seen what the real world is about? do you want to know?

Tapioca

12-09-2009, 10:14 AM

after jan 1 2010, they will probably jump that to what, 3 bucks for 30mins? this is because translink is raising the taxes on parking spots something like 8-21%, which means the owners of these parking lots will pass it onto the customer. Though translink is suppositely a seperate company, its all tied into the gov't as there are members on both boards. gezzz, maybe the gov't should examine why revenue is not covering costs. just because a vote to increase their salaries was ok'd years ago, doesnt mean that decision reflects the current economic standings. they are even doing job layoffs and cutting jobs, yet the ones sitting in the higher up positions are "safe".

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not in any way affiliated with Translink.

The higher-than-usual salaries of the big shots at Translink should raise a few eyebrows, but really, they constitute a small portion of Translink's overall operating budget.

I commute using transit and it's not like the money isn't going somewhere. Let's list the improvements:
- new buses (electric trolleys, diesels, hybrids)
- new Skytrain cars
- Canada Line
- station upgrades
- bike route upgrades

In my view, the service has improved. Translink has a mandate to make Metro Vancouver a more 'livable' region (whatever that means.) For the most part, this means getting cars off the roads (so that freight can be transported) and getting people to exercise different options. Was spending money on shiny new buses and Skytrains the most cost-effective way of doing this? That's debatable, but I have noticed that over the last several years, Skytrain has become crowded, even in off-peak hours.

they are public servants, yet we are limited to who we "elect" as being the decision maker and the crew he/she hires.

If public servants were scrutinized by the public on everything they did, nothing would get done. The provincial government created Translink so that the 'tough' decisions could be made without political interference. Is this right, strictly from a democratic perspective? Probably not. But, sometimes you need to get things done.

The MTR Corporation is obviously something that Translink views as a role model. But getting there takes decades, not just years.

Now with the new fee's being imposed on all restaurants the expenses are going nowhere but UP!... HST, the $6 per seat charge to pay the people to enforce the 50/50 Law ... all a bunch of crock to suck money from us

Don't view this as an attack on you personally, but would I be wrong to assume that most of your clients are fairly well-to-do people who wouldn't really fret too much over a few bucks on top of their bills (say an average of 100 bucks per visit?) I assume that you're going to pass your costs down to your clients.

spyker

12-09-2009, 10:18 AM

I'll see if I can find them later. There was one really interesting study that the majority of homeless are homeless for 1 day. 1 day of living on the streets/shelters is enough motivation for many to find some other way to live.

You are absolutely CLUELESS to how the world is.

You need to go down to skidrow and ask a homeless person why they lack motivation in not trying to find a better way to live.

Two things that could happen.
1.you will actually get the truth from the source,not from some study conducted by some people that sit in a office.

2.you will get your teeth knocked out and robbed for insulting them.

KuSouL

12-09-2009, 10:24 AM

i just moved to toronto 2 weeks ago and uh ...
ya 2 weeks ago i would complain
but after seeing toronto parking prices
... no surprise

Kamui712

12-09-2009, 11:01 AM

^ i too would be interested to see how they got that data and where it came from

taylor192

12-09-2009, 11:12 AM

You are absolutely CLUELESS to how the world is.

You need to go down to skidrow and ask a homeless person why they lack motivation in not trying to find a better way to live.

Two things that could happen.
1.you will actually get the truth from the source,not from some study conducted by some people that sit in a office.

2.you will get your teeth knocked out and robbed for insulting them.
Keep responding and making yourself look like a tard :thumbsup:

1. Yes all studies are conducted from offices, never by visiting those being studied.

2. Yes all homeless are violent.

3. Yes you are a tard.

taylor192

12-09-2009, 11:19 AM

"Kindly shutup".

Ya,this coming from a person that lives in Kits/Richmond.
Why does it matter where I live? Unless you mean I'm educated and can read, then yes, thank you.

Until you actually know someone that is a hardcore drug addict or have dealt with many drug addicts,shit even living in a nieghborhood where junkies live,until then.......you know FUCK ALL about how bad the drug problem is,so you can take you info on the studies and shove it real deep inside until it hurts.

Don't go misleading people by passing on info that you know nothing about.
Ah, the last resort of an idiot: "you don't know it unless you've done it".

Perhaps all the people who help the homeless should just stop, cause they don't know what they are doing, they've never been homeless or addicts.

Yes, that's how idiotic your argument is.

I'm not the only person that have experienced this,I'm pretty sure alot of the members on RS that live in the east end have to.The only one that is delusional is you,I see shit for what it is,I don't turn to studies for info.
You should, you might learn something.

Let me ask you.....have you ever been inside a crackhouse before or have seen someone jam a needle into their arm to get high?

oh wait,you only saw pictures of them from one of the "studies" you read.
Can you conclude that 100% of homeless people visit crackhouses and inject needles? Based solely on just your personal experience?

I'll give you a hint: No, you cannot.

You know how I can tell you were smothered all your life and have never seen what the real world is about? do you want to know?
Of course I want to know, that's why I educate myself on these topics.

I'm not stupid enough to need to stick a needle in my arm while visiting a crackhouse to figure out what its like. I'll let those who work with the homeless do this and report it in a study. Or I'll let idiots like you tell me how 100% of all homeless people inject themselves in crackhouses.

I think I'll stick with the studies. You keep doing your hands on research, I think those injection drugs have fried a few brain cells though, yet don't let that stop you. :thumbsup:

taylor192

12-09-2009, 11:22 AM

Now we all know that's NEVER gonna happen haha but the answer would probably be "Yes". I would be slashing the prices to balance it out, since my overhead wouldn't be as high (given that the government does did allow a pay cut). It's the same as if some random stranger started donating money to pay off half my expenses every year for the rest of my life I would in all likelihood pass that down to the consumer and all the food prices would be discounted! :D... but that ain't gonna happen either ... boo!

Now with the new fee's being imposed on all restaurants the expenses are going nowhere but UP!... HST, the $6 per seat charge to pay the people to enforce the 50/50 Law ... all a bunch of crock to suck money from us :(

Supply and demand will sort it all out. If people refuse to pay to park, and refuse to use public transit to downtown, business will be affected, and the city will have to do something about it.

If parking was free, you'd never find a place to park. I'd leave my car in a prime spot on Denman all day when visiting my friends.

ienhz

12-09-2009, 11:34 AM

I only occasionally drove downtown to begin with but this pretty much makes it certain that I'll never drive downtown again.

Actually went to Ebisu for about 2 hours on Friday but a $12 parking fee would be enough to convince me not to head downtown for meals at all.

anti_rice

12-09-2009, 11:56 AM

first of all the proposed $6 /hr parking is for metered parking. Who works in Downtown for 8 hours would park at a metered spot? maximum allowed time at a metered spot is 2hours. So stop talking about work and parking together as one. People who work downtown and drive pay for daily or monthly parking at a parking lot either in their office building or somewhere close by in a lot NOT STREET. The price of that may go up once the city approves the new $6 rate but not to the point where it's going to cost the same as parking on the street.

Tapioca

12-09-2009, 12:33 PM

spyker

12-09-2009, 12:47 PM

Taylor192,I'm done arguing with you,your just another one of the many clueless that live in this city that has no idea of what it's like to see how it really is.

Just remember,if you have your car broken into or house robbed,just make sure to look at the studies conducted on why it happened.

And yes,where you live does make a whole world of difference if your exposed to crime or not.

Then again,if the city cleans up DTES for the olympics,you WILL experience seeing used condoms,needles and crackpipes laying around,bums digging in your garbage can the night before trash day hookers and junkies roaming the streets looking for their net fix,it's going to be a fucking gone show,it will turn Kits/Richmond upside down.

After all that,you will just be another statistic in a study conducted by the city.

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-09-2009, 01:11 PM

i say burn them all so they dont go anywhere ruining ppl's lifes

:D

spyker

12-09-2009, 01:25 PM

i say burn them all so they dont go anywhere ruining ppl's lifes

:D

Or we can ship them off to the west end and have them experience what most of the lowermainland has been dealing with for years.

taylor192

12-09-2009, 01:33 PM

Taylor192,I'm done arguing with you
Its about time, thank you. :thumbsup:

You couldn't address any of my points without more ranting and raving about "you haven't experienced it". Good on you for experiencing it, please continue to visit crackhouses and shoot up, hopefully you'll become another statistic in a report I'll read. :thumbsup:

And yes,where you live does make a whole world of difference if your exposed to crime or not.
Show me I said it didn't. I wouldn't want to live in the DTES either.

I argued that being exposed to crime has nothing to do with knowing the causes. The cause is drug dealers pushing drugs into homeless addicts is very easy when they are all concentrated in one location. Why do you think the DTES exists? There's much nicer places for homeless people to live... and only my next argument: the homeless in Kits.

Then again,if the city cleans up DTES for the olympics,you WILL experience seeing used condoms,needles and crackpipes laying around,bums digging in your garbage can the night before trash day hookers and junkies roaming the streets looking for their net fix,it's going to be a fucking gone show,it will turn Kits/Richmond upside down.
For the record there are homeless people in Kits. In fact a group of them sleep with their carts in the park across from my building, and sometimes sleep in the alcoves of the building too.

The difference is there's not a plethora of drug dealers where I live, so there's only a few nice homeless people trying to make their living by collecting bottles. I haven't seen a broken car window the entire time I've lived in Kits, despite seeing homeless people daily.

Yet if I were to believe you, all homeless people are violent thieves who shoot up in crackhouses and will stab me for pocket change.

So thanks again for nolonger arguing with me. :thumbsup:

spyker

12-09-2009, 01:56 PM

See you in fight club.

taylor192

12-09-2009, 02:07 PM

See you in fight club.

I thought you were done. I guess that's just another fabrication on your part that I didn't experience.

No thanks. I can argue intelligently and you cannot refute, I don't need to degenerate to fight club to make my point. Its sad that you do. I guess a life of shooting up and crackhouses does that to someone.

I'll leave some bottles out for you to collect to support your habit. That's the kinda nice guy I am.

XtC-604

12-09-2009, 04:38 PM

That's all untrue. They stay there cause its easy access to drugs. Disperse them and many will cleanup their habit, the truly homeless (ie those with mental problems) will always be a problem.
Disperse them? why? so they can spread like fucking rabies?

Just so you know,junkies take their habit with them,where ever they go,the dealers will follow. If the city/canada had more strict laws for drug trafficking and drug usage, we wouldn't be in this shit hole.

I'm amazed by some of the stuff in this thread. Maybe I shouldn't be -- it's RS.

Tell me RS, who the FUCK makes minimum wage and drives every day to work?
Tell me, who the FUCK would drive downtown to net say, $3/h after tax but not $1/h after tax? Are you seriously suggesting that someone will spend half their net earnings on parking their automobile?
Best yet, who the FUCK makes minimum wage and can afford a car?

Let me answer:
... the same people who have cars bought for them. So, if you're one of these people, please STFU. Kindly. Go hit up mummy for money so you can afford stupid aftermarket HIDs and tacky blue LEDs.

Nobody making minimum wage downtown is driving downtown. If they "need" to drive for a min wage job, they're dumbasses (min wage jobs are NOT location dependent!).
lulz, i'm feelin the rage. But hey least those ppl that have their cars bought for them are making an effort to work. Its better than those that have their cars bought for them and then not working at all.:thumbsup:

Or we can ship them off to the west end and have them experience what most of the lowermainland has been dealing with for years.
Or we can pull a China on them and just lock them up, abuse one or two of them until they smarten the fuck up.

!SG

12-09-2009, 04:54 PM

its like advertising disneyland... EVERYONE already knows it, via word of mouth, via other means. it wasnt exactly like no one knew where vancouver was on the map! we arent buttfuck manitoba.

Im one for infrastructure improvements, so i will agree with you there. but using that excuse as a byproduct of the olympics is just wrong. sure we will now have some post olympic structures that can be used, but how many ppl will actually use it? these structures benefit the few, not the many. i for one do not plan on taking up speed skating any time soon. look at calgary, they still have all those winter games setup's on the side of the mountain, absolutely not in use.

We dont need to show off our city. Everyone already knows about vancouver already.

The biggest mistake politicians made was promising the Olympics would not cost taxpayers money. The Olympics should be something taxpayers are proud to pay for, since they showoff our city/country. Unfortunately many don't see it that way, they only saw "if its free, then sure" and are now complaining that it wasn't free.

I'm OK with my tax dollars paying for the Olympics. The infrastructure improvements, the economic improvements, ... are all worth it.

!SG

12-09-2009, 05:01 PM

Translink's higher up salaries were publicized somewhere (forgot which member actually put up the link). Now for the salary they got, i really do not see the amount of work THEY put out for it. Im not aiming at those employees that actually work, do their hours, and go home, i think they deserve their pay.

You mentioned public servants being scrutinized by the public on everything they did, nothing would get done... NOTHING IS BEING DONE! Gov't didnt create translink, they hired them. Stipulation was that some gov't officials would have to be on the board of directors. Its a complete corporate structure like any other business.

My arguement is they are still doing a piss poor job, and every year just scream for more and more money, and find more and more ways to tax ppl. I've seen public transit systems overseas, and they make ours look like crap!

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not in any way affiliated with Translink.

The higher-than-usual salaries of the big shots at Translink should raise a few eyebrows, but really, they constitute a small portion of Translink's overall operating budget.

I commute using transit and it's not like the money isn't going somewhere. Let's list the improvements:
- new buses (electric trolleys, diesels, hybrids)
- new Skytrain cars
- Canada Line
- station upgrades
- bike route upgrades

In my view, the service has improved. Translink has a mandate to make Metro Vancouver a more 'livable' region (whatever that means.) For the most part, this means getting cars off the roads (so that freight can be transported) and getting people to exercise different options. Was spending money on shiny new buses and Skytrains the most cost-effective way of doing this? That's debatable, but I have noticed that over the last several years, Skytrain has become crowded, even in off-peak hours.

If public servants were scrutinized by the public on everything they did, nothing would get done. The provincial government created Translink so that the 'tough' decisions could be made without political interference. Is this right, strictly from a democratic perspective? Probably not. But, sometimes you need to get things done.

The MTR Corporation is obviously something that Translink views as a role model. But getting there takes decades, not just years.

Don't view this as an attack on you personally, but would I be wrong to assume that most of your clients are fairly well-to-do people who wouldn't really fret too much over a few bucks on top of their bills (say an average of 100 bucks per visit?) I assume that you're going to pass your costs down to your clients.

!SG

12-09-2009, 05:02 PM

haha, it costs that for now! until the new tax comes in. then its gonna easily jump.

Bang on.

If you're visiting downtown for a meal, shopping, show, etc., your best bet for parking in the downtown core is the Pacific Centre parking lot. It costs $4 on weeknights, weekends and holidays.

spyker

12-09-2009, 06:26 PM

Disperse them? why? so they can spread like fucking rabies?

according to taylor197,studies show that dispersing the problem will rid that one area of their current situation.

If canada were to be like China and beat a few to get the message across,fuck where do I sign up,I will be the one swinging the lead pipe and pressing the button on the stun gun.

spyker

12-09-2009, 06:30 PM

its like advertising disneyland... EVERYONE already knows it, via word of mouth, via other means. it wasnt exactly like no one knew where vancouver was on the map! we arent buttfuck manitoba.

Im one for infrastructure improvements, so i will agree with you there. but using that excuse as a byproduct of the olympics is just wrong. sure we will now have some post olympic structures that can be used, but how many ppl will actually use it? these structures benefit the few, not the many. i for one do not plan on taking up speed skating any time soon. look at calgary, they still have all those winter games setup's on the side of the mountain, absolutely not in use.

We dont need to show off our city. Everyone already knows about vancouver already.
Studies show that,if a city spends enough of the taxpayers hard earned money on uesless shit like the olympics and other forms a retarded advertisements,we might just get a very small portion of the money back from tourism.

Sound like a good idea?

According to the "studies",vancouver is pretty well known to the rest of the world.

MR_BIGGS

12-09-2009, 06:33 PM

Marco911

12-09-2009, 07:18 PM

Yay, more parking for the rich.

I live in Boston, which is a way more expensive city than Vancouver and street parking is $1 / hr.

Private garages are $8-$15 an hour though! I pay usd$350/mo to park my car downtown Boston in a private garage.

MR_BIGGS

12-09-2009, 07:29 PM

Anyone watch the show Parking Wars? Pretty funny to watch sometimes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlCDvs9QDms

skyxx

12-09-2009, 07:35 PM

Marco911

12-09-2009, 07:58 PM

^^Yeah, puts me closer to my dream city - NEW YORK!

It's free parking all day Sunday in New York and it's impossible to find parking on the street. I once drove from midtown all the way to 72nd on the upper west side just looking for a parking spot (about 30 blocks). Finally we decided to leave the 911 parked and just subway it around the city for the day. NY and London are two of the only cities I would gladly give up my car and ride transit!

Hong Kong is one of those exceptions. It's a major city but parking laws are rarely enforced, even at meters. Meter parking is ridiculously cheap compared to private parking ($0.80/hr). Nevertheless, I parked illegally 95% of the time and got ticketed (for a measly $40) about 1% of the time, so I pretty much drove everywhere. :) Memories. I miss Hong Kong.

Marco911

12-09-2009, 08:09 PM

!SG

12-09-2009, 08:33 PM

parking around bentall center is like 25 cents for 3 minutes.a buck gets u like 15 minutes, thus 4 bucks an hour if i remember right.

boston probably also has a better avg wage.

Yay, more parking for the rich.

I live in Boston, which is a way more expensive city than Vancouver and street parking is $1 / hr.

Private garages are $8-$15 an hour though! I pay usd$350/mo to park my car downtown Boston in a private garage.

ncrx

12-09-2009, 10:02 PM

Vancouver city councilors are out of their minds if they think a city like Vancouver justifies a $6/hr parking charge. Vancouver is not Chicago, NY, London or Toronto. Seattle, which is probably the most similar American city, except for the fact it actually has major global corporations headquartered there charges $2-$2.50/hr.

the biggest difference being american cities are allowed to charge a sales tax, canadian cities are not. there are only so many ways to generate revenue in a city. parking, permits, property taxes, some recreational stuff.

if you don't want to raise property taxes, then you gotta generate revenue else where. with building permits down, then you're left with.. parking.

and when u have a big ass dent in your pocket book with olympics, a stupid expensive condo, etc, you either got to generate revenue or shutdown facilities.

besides, you're all bitching and whining over a hike of 1$. if you can afford to eat in a restaurant and drive to downtown, that 1-3$ extra isn't going to really hurt you.

XtC-604

12-09-2009, 11:24 PM

the biggest difference being american cities are allowed to charge a sales tax, canadian cities are not. there are only so many ways to generate revenue in a city. parking, permits, property taxes, some recreational stuff.

if you don't want to raise property taxes, then you gotta generate revenue else where. with building permits down, then you're left with.. parking.

and when u have a big ass dent in your pocket book with olympics, a stupid expensive condo, etc, you either got to generate revenue or shutdown facilities.

besides, you're all bitching and whining over a hike of 1$. if you can afford to eat in a restaurant and drive to downtown, that 1-3$ extra isn't going to really hurt you.

I say shutdown facilities, not useful ones but retarded bullshit gov't crackhouses. That will lower the running cost of the city. Then throw those bums into abbotsford or something and beat the shit out of them too while we're at it. All criminal charges should have a fine as well, if they already have fines, increase it. IE, assault = charge money + jailtime + probation. DUI=increased fine.

spyker

12-10-2009, 12:03 AM

Abbotsford?

hell no.it's still to close to Vancouver,I say throw them all to Alberta.

!SG

12-10-2009, 05:21 AM

thats the thing.

everything is going up next year, property tax was given the ok to be raised something like 2-3% (which is some what ok because at least its a rate that falls within reason and inflation)

the biggest jump is this parking meter, parking rate, parking tax. as it jumps 7-21% across the board depending where u park. this means for some ppl that rent monthly parking stalls, say that would be around $300/month, its now gonna be an extra 50-65 bucks for them. you didnt expect the landlord to actually swallow the increases themselves did you?

Marco911

12-10-2009, 06:21 AM

the biggest difference being american cities are allowed to charge a sales tax, canadian cities are not. there are only so many ways to generate revenue in a city. parking, permits, property taxes, some recreational stuff.

if you don't want to raise property taxes, then you gotta generate revenue else where. with building permits down, then you're left with.. parking.

and when u have a big ass dent in your pocket book with olympics, a stupid expensive condo, etc, you either got to generate revenue or shutdown facilities.

besides, you're all bitching and whining over a hike of 1$. if you can afford to eat in a restaurant and drive to downtown, that 1-3$ extra isn't going to really hurt you.

That assumes a $6/hr parking charge does not reduce demand for parking spaces, which it certainly will, especially since they are extending hrs to 10 PM! Less demand = less patrons for restaurants, retail shops, entertainment facilities = less tax revenue. Downtown Vancouver is boring as it is, with an almost non-existent night life. This is going to make things a lot worse.

Marco911

12-10-2009, 06:24 AM

Abbotsford?

hell no.it's still to close to Vancouver,I say throw them all to Alberta.

Hear! Hear! We should do what New York does and pay bums to leave the city. Buy them a 1 way airplane ticket anywhere they want to go.

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-10-2009, 07:49 AM

Tapioca

12-10-2009, 08:40 AM

Translink's higher up salaries were publicized somewhere (forgot which member actually put up the link). Now for the salary they got, i really do not see the amount of work THEY put out for it. Im not aiming at those employees that actually work, do their hours, and go home, i think they deserve their pay.

Fair enough - Translink's executives aren't deserving of their salaries. But you missed my point - their salaries are a drop in the overall operating budget. You eliminate maybe 10 executives and you save, what $3-4 million per year? Not a very large amount, I'm afraid.

You mentioned public servants being scrutinized by the public on everything they did, nothing would get done... NOTHING IS BEING DONE! Gov't didnt create translink, they hired them. Stipulation was that some gov't officials would have to be on the board of directors. Its a complete corporate structure like any other business.

I just gave you some examples of where our money is going. You don't have to agree with the priorities and I'm sorry that you haven't benefitted from the improvements. I have and so have thousands of other people living in Metro Vancouver.

My arguement is they are still doing a piss poor job, and every year just scream for more and more money, and find more and more ways to tax ppl. I've seen public transit systems overseas, and they make ours look like crap!

Translink can't run a deficit - it's in the legislation. If you were in their shoes, what would you do?

- Cut services - people complain
- Maintain or expand services - people complain because taxes/fees increase

BC has some of the lowest income and corporate tax rates in the country. Other systems in the world benefit from government largesse (i.e. where taxes are much, much higher) or they were built a long time ago when labour and material costs were low. Our system is just trying to catch up now to meet demand in an environment of high labour and material costs.

taylor192

12-10-2009, 08:42 AM

Im one for infrastructure improvements, so i will agree with you there. but using that excuse as a byproduct of the olympics is just wrong. sure we will now have some post olympic structures that can be used, but how many ppl will actually use it? these structures benefit the few, not the many. i for one do not plan on taking up speed skating any time soon.
This shows how little the public is informed.

The speed skating oval is being converted to 2 indoor fields and a community centre. Its was also paid by private companies, not tax dollars.

We dont need to show off our city. Everyone already knows about vancouver already.
I think you're wrong, yet you've lived here longer, you're entitled to your opinion.

Why? Cause I'm one of many Canadians that migrated west in recent years to take advantage of the booming economy. Why is Vancouver booming? The Olympics. There is no other reason, we're not a mining town, not a logging town, somewhat a tourist trap (we've lost cruise ships), not the headquarters for any major company (except Telus), ...

If you can tell me why Vancouver's economy has exploded, and it not be the Olympics, then I'll change my mind. And please don't quote drugs.

taylor192

12-10-2009, 08:46 AM

Disperse them? why? so they can spread like fucking rabies?
They won't. Yet feel free to believe what you want without researching any of it.

spyker

12-10-2009, 08:59 AM

Hear! Hear! We should do what New York does and pay bums to leave the city. Buy them a 1 way airplane ticket anywhere they want to go.

That idea works pretty well,it worked out for Alberta in 1988.

New York should just clean that fucking city and round up all the bums and guidos and ship them off to New Jersey.

!SG

12-10-2009, 01:49 PM

The economy is booming because, as per history, western canada has always been overlooked. Eastern canada, well ok, anything surrounding ottawa has always had first dibs, which also meant first exploites.

hmm, so the olympics are the reason reason for the boom? all this time, i thought maybe because we RESIDE ONE PACIFIC OCEAN AWAY FROM A PLACE CALLED ASIA (where everything comes from) and being a major water way port for all imports from there had maybe a smudge to do with the economic boom. Maybe our port of vancouver felt, hey, we arent really growing but maybe we should spend a bit of money expanding our port.... for the hell of it [/sarcasm]

the olympics have nothing to do with the economic boom. exporting our natural resources, being a port city, the main gateway of the asian market, immigration from asia is the reason why the economy is booming.

and yeah drugs! who but some company in either china or india do u think is making all the ecstacy and fake viagra?

like the same reason why when canada was founded, ottawa, montreal, cities along the st lawrence river were booming. because of trade with UK, england. now the focus has shifted to asia, and thus vancouver is the booming city.

case n point, harper doing his rounds overseas making sure to stop off at every important china city.

I think you're wrong, yet you've lived here longer, you're entitled to your opinion.

Why? Cause I'm one of many Canadians that migrated west in recent years to take advantage of the booming economy. Why is Vancouver booming? The Olympics. There is no other reason, we're not a mining town, not a logging town, somewhat a tourist trap (we've lost cruise ships), not the headquarters for any major company (except Telus), ...

If you can tell me why Vancouver's economy has exploded, and it not be the Olympics, then I'll change my mind. And please don't quote drugs.

RenoMan

12-10-2009, 03:40 PM

parking rate thread to this shit...taylor yap yap yap bla bla bla, man you always got something to say, nonetheless entertaining .

!SG

12-10-2009, 05:13 PM

ncrx

12-10-2009, 05:21 PM

Hear! Hear! We should do what New York does and pay bums to leave the city. Buy them a 1 way airplane ticket anywhere they want to go.

actually this is what is done in canada and guess where they end up. vancouver. alberta, ontario, and the maritime provinces have done the exact same thing. they will not leave vancouver simply because, anywhere else in canada they would die in the cold.

ncrx

12-10-2009, 05:24 PM

That assumes a $6/hr parking charge does not reduce demand for parking spaces, which it certainly will, especially since they are extending hrs to 10 PM! Less demand = less patrons for restaurants, retail shops, entertainment facilities = less tax revenue. Downtown Vancouver is boring as it is, with an almost non-existent night life. This is going to make things a lot worse.

this tax revenue you talk about, does not come into vancouver city's coffers. in fact most provincial funding to cities has been cut, since you have left. on top of that recently all the grvd cities had to cough out another xx million dollars to keep translink afloat.

besides if people are so worried about parking rates downtown. park for less near a skytrain and take the train in. people are simply too lazy to do this.

mgarba

12-11-2009, 02:13 PM

Fuck this city is getting expensive.

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-11-2009, 02:45 PM

^

indeed

getting more retarded each day

taylor192

12-11-2009, 08:16 PM

ive always seen it as better to be opinionated than staying quiet.

the difference is knowing when its appropriate, and knowing how to walk away or still stay within calm reasoning.

opinions are just that, and all are different. plus if everyone just didnt say anything, it be hella boring!

Well said. :thumbsup:

I find the ones that typically complain about opinionated replies that go off-topic are the ones with nothing to say - which I always wonder why they care if others are chatting?

taylor192

12-11-2009, 08:28 PM

The economy is booming because, as per history, western canada has always been overlooked. Eastern canada, well ok, anything surrounding ottawa has always had first dibs, which also meant first exploites.

hmm, so the olympics are the reason reason for the boom? all this time, i thought maybe because we RESIDE ONE PACIFIC OCEAN AWAY FROM A PLACE CALLED ASIA (where everything comes from) and being a major water way port for all imports from there had maybe a smudge to do with the economic boom. Maybe our port of vancouver felt, hey, we arent really growing but maybe we should spend a bit of money expanding our port.... for the hell of it [/sarcasm]

the olympics have nothing to do with the economic boom. exporting our natural resources, being a port city, the main gateway of the asian market, immigration from asia is the reason why the economy is booming.

I'll politely disagree, especially about Vancouver itself.

Resources are a very small part of the provincial economy, its one of those things people think is bigger than it is. It accounts for only 4% of Canada's GDP, I'll see if I can find figures for BC, yet it won't be significantly higher. Consider 70% of BC's economy is retail/service and that does not include resources.

You can also quote immigration, yet that again just isn't true. Sure its helped by the Asian influence, yet the number of immigrants is so limited that even if all immigrants came to Vancouver it would be < 10% of the population. Plus we know Toronto is a bigger immigration hub than Vancouver, with Montreal and Calgary sizable too.

Vancouver is a port city, yet how much of that translates into direct jobs here is debatable. Goods land then are shipped across the country.

Yet all that is moot. With construction way down, imports way down, the Vancouver economy is still chugging along nicely. This is the best proof that neither are driving factors of the economy.

So.... what's left? emigration and the Olympics. I'm one of numerous Canadians that traveled west. While immigration is limited, emigration is not. Did you know that during the booming oil patch where every province suffered a net loss of citizens that were traveling to Alberta, that BC was the only province with a positive number of Albertans emigrating to BC.

It is nice to beable to discuss these topics with someone who is knowledgeable and well spoken. :thumbsup: We may differ on opinion, yet that's part of the fun. Thanks.

goo3

12-11-2009, 09:47 PM

This shows how little the public is informed.

The speed skating oval is being converted to 2 indoor fields and a community centre. Its was also paid by private companies, not tax dollars.

Venue construction is actually paid for by tax dollars. Plus, for this one, City of Richmond lured VANOC away from SFU with a sizable pot.

If you can tell me why Vancouver's economy has exploded, and it not be the Olympics, then I'll change my mind. And please don't quote drugs.

Cheap money, real estate, and construction fed the last boom. Add Olympics for confidence and optimism on top.

Girl

12-15-2009, 11:35 PM

Vancouver is seriously burning itself to the ground. $6/hr parking, 1/2 a mil for an average single family house, $20+ cover for clubs, $5+ for bubbletea?! Our cost of living is comparable to larger cities around the world and yet what we make is comparable to minor league cities.

Somebody here said driving is a luxury in Vancouver. Compared to what and where? Driving is a luxury in places like Hong Kong, New York, etc. Last time I checked an average household has at least 1 car. If it wasn't for the new added lines on the skytrain I would have to say the public transit in the GVRD and surrounding areas is pretty shit compared to other cities in the world. And they're not really user friendly (website included) I once took the skytrain and I realized there were no actual maps of the different lines until I actually got into the train itself, there was no translink worker I could ask or a customer service place. There were no signs that showed me where I was going besides (Eastbound and Westbound) and where to change trains, all I knew was the final destination of the line.

this tax revenue you talk about, does not come into vancouver city's coffers. in fact most provincial funding to cities has been cut, since you have left. on top of that recently all the grvd cities had to cough out another xx million dollars to keep translink afloat.

besides if people are so worried about parking rates downtown. park for less near a skytrain and take the train in. people are simply too lazy to do this.

The last time I checked the prices for Park and Ride it was $4 to park, and $5 for a 3-zone ticket 1 way so that's $14 a day or more if you're taking say the West Coast Express. Why ride when you can park your car at say the Marriott parking lot for $16/day and save yourself 2.5+ hours on public transit.

Mr.HappySilp

12-16-2009, 12:10 AM

Vancouver is seriously burning itself to the ground. $6/hr parking, 1/2 a mil for an average single family house, $20+ cover for clubs, $5+ for bubbletea?! Our cost of living is comparable to larger cities around the world and yet what we make is comparable to minor league cities.

Somebody here said driving is a luxury in Vancouver. Compared to what and where? Driving is a luxury in places like Hong Kong, New York, etc. Last time I checked an average household has at least 1 car. If it wasn't for the new added lines on the skytrain I would have to say the public transit in the GVRD and surrounding areas is pretty shit compared to other cities in the world. And they're not really user friendly (website included) I once took the skytrain and I realized there were no actual maps of the different lines until I actually got into the train itself, there was no translink worker I could ask or a customer service place. There were no signs that showed me where I was going besides (Eastbound and Westbound) and where to change trains, all I knew was the final destination of the line.

The last time I checked the prices for Park and Ride it was $4 to park, and $5 for a 3-zone ticket 1 way so that's $14 a day or more if you're taking say the West Coast Express. Why ride when you can park your car at say the Marriott parking lot for $16/day and save yourself 2.5+ hours on public transit.

Or u could hop on the skytrain for free. Let's face it the chance of getting caught without a fare is slim to none. I took the skytrain to work and never once I was ask to check for fares for the pass I think...... 2years or so. Besdie if you make up some lame excuse even if you caught they will let you go(especially if u are a girl lol).

EmperorIS

12-16-2009, 12:11 AM

SFU upped the fees
http://www.sfu.ca/security/Parking/

hotjoint

12-16-2009, 07:50 AM

Vancouver is seriously burning itself to the ground. $6/hr parking, 1/2 a mil for an average single family house, $20+ cover for clubs, $5+ for bubbletea?! Our cost of living is comparable to larger cities around the world and yet what we make is comparable to minor league cities.

Somebody here said driving is a luxury in Vancouver. Compared to what and where? Driving is a luxury in places like Hong Kong, New York, etc. Last time I checked an average household has at least 1 car. If it wasn't for the new added lines on the skytrain I would have to say the public transit in the GVRD and surrounding areas is pretty shit compared to other cities in the world. And they're not really user friendly (website included) I once took the skytrain and I realized there were no actual maps of the different lines until I actually got into the train itself, there was no translink worker I could ask or a customer service place. There were no signs that showed me where I was going besides (Eastbound and Westbound) and where to change trains, all I knew was the final destination of the line.

The last time I checked the prices for Park and Ride it was $4 to park, and $5 for a 3-zone ticket 1 way so that's $14 a day or more if you're taking say the West Coast Express. Why ride when you can park your car at say the Marriott parking lot for $16/day and save yourself 2.5+ hours on public transit.

:werd:

sweetiee

12-16-2009, 08:56 AM

what a pile of bullocks....
paying till 8pm is horrid enough already.

Mugen EvOlutioN

12-16-2009, 08:58 AM

i want a $6 dollar raise than

fucking hell

hotjoint

12-16-2009, 09:19 AM

i want a $6 dollar raise than

fucking hell

haha fat chance of that

Ikkaku

12-16-2009, 10:11 AM

SFU upped the fees
http://www.sfu.ca/security/Parking/

FUCK! all parking at sfu is going up by 14%

I'm assuming visitor lots will have a maximum of close to $14 now :eek:

So that means B-lot will be $320 ...shit, wasn't that what people paid for west mall/convocation like 3 semesters ago? :haha:

Tapioca

12-16-2009, 10:24 AM

spyker

12-16-2009, 10:32 AM

FUCK! all parking at sfu is going up by 14%

I'm assuming visitor lots will have a maximum of close to $14 now :eek:

So that means B-lot will be $320 ...shit, wasn't that what people paid for west mall/convocation like 3 semesters ago? :haha:
I don't know how students can even afford to go to university with all those crazy expense's nowadays.

As if the majority of students need any more price hikes.The government is doing a pretty fine job at trying to keep only the rich from getting educated.

Complete bullshit!

taylor192

12-16-2009, 01:12 PM

I don't know how students can even afford to go to university with all those crazy expense's nowadays.

As if the majority of students need any more price hikes.The government is doing a pretty fine job at trying to keep only the rich from getting educated.

Complete bullshit!
80% of graduating high school students will attend some form of post-secondary education. Does 80% sound like "only the rich"?

If you can afford a car ($Ks), maintenance/gas ($100s), and insurance ($1K+) then you are not a "poor student" and can afford the luxury of parking. Otherwise take the bus.

University in Canada is very affordable and accessible. Unfortunately most who complain are the same with cars, cell phones, laptops, new clothes, ... and ruin it for the few poor students who actually need assistance.

!SG

12-16-2009, 01:41 PM

schooling in canada is far cheaper than the states. but thats where the arguement is. should schooling be only for the rich? the canadian gov't tried to offset that notion by providing student loans. now there options for schooling line of credit which basically is essentially the student loan, but the interest earned is to the bank instead of to the gov't.

and crap, i think i quoted the wrong person...

80% of graduating high school students will attend some form of post-secondary education. Does 80% sound like "only the rich"?

If you can afford a car ($Ks), maintenance/gas ($100s), and insurance ($1K+) then you are not a "poor student" and can afford the luxury of parking. Otherwise take the bus.

University in Canada is very affordable and accessible. Unfortunately most who complain are the same with cars, cell phones, laptops, new clothes, ... and ruin it for the few poor students who actually need assistance.

q0192837465

12-16-2009, 02:08 PM

I know a handful of ppl who got their student loan and then leave the conntry after they graduate. Nothing the government can do. Heck, 1 of my distant relatives (some cousin that I've never met and will prolly never meet in my life) put my address for his loan and the government is now chasing me for HIS loan. What kind of fucked up world is that? I told them countless time that I dun know how to contact him. All I know is that he's in Hong Kong somewhere. They keep calling tho.

taylor192

12-16-2009, 02:20 PM

Ikkaku

12-16-2009, 04:55 PM

what I don't understand is how they can randomly increase the PST from 7% to 21% for parking

oh, and this is pre-HST. Add that in and it goes from 7% to 26% ;) so that's a whole whopping 19% overall in a matter of half a year, not to mention the price hike they implemented in September :lol

hotjoint

12-17-2009, 08:18 AM

got my msp bill yesterday, government increased that $3 more.....

J____

12-17-2009, 05:31 PM

vancouver is expensive to live in because the government takes all the citizens money, giving the people less incentive to spend it back into local businesses to give them a profit leading to their inability to increase wages and return the gains into their employees continueing the cycle. Instead of making more money and increasing wages, business make little money and give a hefty chunk to the government. If you were making $20 an hour instead of $12, you wouldnt find vancouver to be AS expensive if the living costs remained the same. If i was making $20 instead of $12, i'd be more than happy to pay the full cost of medical for myself and my family rather than have a x% discount.

Marco911

12-17-2009, 10:58 PM

schooling in canada is far cheaper than the states. but thats where the arguement is. should schooling be only for the rich? the canadian gov't tried to offset that notion by providing student loans. now there options for schooling line of credit which basically is essentially the student loan, but the interest earned is to the bank instead of to the gov't.

and crap, i think i quoted the wrong person...

High school education should be a right, but university should be a privilege.

Canada has the highest number of univ grads in the world per capita, but univ grads make less in Canada then they do in the U.S. See the connection? Plus universities in Canada have a difficulty branding themselves unlike ivy league universities in the U.S. For instance, Harvard considers more than grades when admitting students. You rarely see deadbeat nerds at Harvard, like you would at UBC or SFU.

Personally, I think universities should be tough to get into - catering to perhaps the top 5-10% of the population in IQ. They should expand the community colleges for dumber folks - like Kwantlen, Langara, Cap College etc. If they keep universities exclusive, univ grads in Canada would at least command a higher wage, and a degree would mean something.

EmperorIS

12-17-2009, 11:40 PM

High school education should be a right, but university should be a privilege.

Canada has the highest number of univ grads in the world per capita, but univ grads make less in Canada then they do in the U.S. See the connection? Plus universities in Canada have a difficulty branding themselves unlike ivy league universities in the U.S. For instance, Harvard considers more than grades when admitting students. You rarely see deadbeat nerds at Harvard, like you would at UBC or SFU.

Personally, I think universities should be tough to get into - catering to perhaps the top 5-10% of the population in IQ. They should expand the community colleges for dumber folks - like Kwantlen, Langara, Cap College etc. If they keep universities exclusive, univ grads in Canada would at least command a higher wage, and a degree would mean something.

agreed ... universities should be for the elite minds
not saying everyone else is dumb .. but langara kwantlen should be enough

Senna4ever

12-17-2009, 11:43 PM

FYI, Capilano is now a university. :)

taylor192

12-18-2009, 06:55 AM

vancouver is expensive to live in because the government takes all the citizens money

Here's a little fact to chew on:
I saved $3K income tax by moving from Ontario to BC.

Your argument should be about costs of living. Why does the same breakfast cost $10 in Ottawa and includes unlimited coffee, while here it costs $12 + $2 for coffee?

Quick answer: housing costs. Sure there are many other reasons, yet housing stands above them all. Its not cheap to live here.

This needs to change. I'm a software engineer and could work anywhere in NA for about the same money. Why would I come to Vancouver to work when I could pay less housing costs and live on the beach in California? Florida? Texas?

Tapioca

12-18-2009, 12:15 PM

Here's a little fact to chew on:
I saved $3K income tax by moving from Ontario to BC.

Your argument should be about costs of living. Why does the same breakfast cost $10 in Ottawa and includes unlimited coffee, while here it costs $12 + $2 for coffee?

Quick answer: housing costs. Sure there are many other reasons, yet housing stands above them all. Its not cheap to live here.

This needs to change. I'm a software engineer and could work anywhere in NA for about the same money. Why would I come to Vancouver to work when I could pay less housing costs and live on the beach in California? Florida? Texas?

"Lifestyle" - whatever that means (or what property companies would like us to believe.)

When you have the mountains and ocean at your doorstep, a fair-trade coffee shop, a Whole Foods/Capers store, a dog and accompanying leash-free park, and yoga studio in your neighbourhood, what else more is there to life? :o

Meowjin

12-18-2009, 01:47 PM

^ you gay?

q0192837465

12-18-2009, 01:47 PM

Blame China

China has been printing money. But unlike other currencies, RMB is not free floating. THat's why the Chinese people can come here, buy everything, and jack up the price.

Durrann1984

12-18-2009, 07:44 PM

so i guess this will be in effect starting January 2010

Tapioca

12-18-2009, 11:31 PM

^ you gay?

No, but this is the lifestyle that affluent Vancouverites live. I don't live in Kits or Yaletown, but I spend enough time in both areas to have some insight.

TRDood

12-19-2009, 12:09 AM

yameen

08-25-2011, 03:40 PM

sorry to revive old thread but what are parking meter rates near gastown? driving there tonight to eat for a few hours which i don't know if it's worth driving.

BlackZRoadster

08-25-2011, 04:29 PM

^ its .50 an hour

Meowjin

08-25-2011, 04:49 PM

sorry to revive old thread but what are parking meter rates near gastown? driving there tonight to eat for a few hours which i don't know if it's worth driving.

Should probably calculate your fuel use too while you are at it.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

Death2Theft

08-25-2011, 04:59 PM

Stop being a dick go make some friends and carpool then omgz you'd be forced to socialize!
There are some jobs like working at restaurants that close late in which the Skytrain already shuts down at like around midnight, what is it 1am on the weekend? Weak!
A cab ride home would cost even more than paying for parking!

winson604

08-25-2011, 05:04 PM

sorry to revive old thread but what are parking meter rates near gastown? driving there tonight to eat for a few hours which i don't know if it's worth driving.

I understand some people are really on such a tight budget in these so called tough times that they even have to think twice before they purchase anything. Whether it's the name brand item vs brand name item at the stores or almost starving yourself a meal short a day just to get some extra cash. Otherwise, I personally think it's pretty dumb to have the deciding factor of going out to eat with some people or not be decided by what the parking rate for a few hours. I think you should bus.

Death2Theft

08-25-2011, 05:48 PM

I know your not the brightest guy around but even junkies know they wont last one winter anywhere but here.
That idea works pretty well,it worked out for Alberta in 1988.

New York should just clean that fucking city and round up all the bums and guidos and ship them off to New Jersey.

Death2Theft

08-25-2011, 06:09 PM

What exactly is a deadbeat nerd? People with education that never work a real job?

goo3

08-25-2011, 11:10 PM

^ no skills other than hitting the books

yameen

08-25-2011, 11:14 PM

I understand some people are really on such a tight budget in these so called tough times that they even have to think twice before they purchase anything. Whether it's the name brand item vs brand name item at the stores or almost starving yourself a meal short a day just to get some extra cash. Otherwise, I personally think it's pretty dumb to have the deciding factor of going out to eat with some people or not be decided by what the parking rate for a few hours. I think you should bus.

i'm going regardless. the question wasn't whether i should go or not because of parking but instead, whether i should bus or drive because of parking. i was constrained on time and wanted to see if it was worth the $$. in the end i drove and i found a parking meter that was $1/hour. my friend and i couldn't believe it but that's what the parking meter said and it didn't lie.

/thread