Vancouver General Discussion Thread

[Migrant_Coconut]

I get the feeling that strip mall won't be around for much longer. It's a prime site for a mixed-use lowrise.

Originally Posted by whatnext

A light? For bikes? That they would actually stop for?

Originally Posted by Klazu

I was going to say the same. Most cyclists seem to be color blind.

Maybe there should be an over or underpass to help both modes of traffic at a busy location like this? We do have very few of those in the Metro.

They stop at Burrard, no reason they wouldn't stop here - I'm no fan of militant spandex bikers, but come on, let's be reasonable.

Minimum clearance for an overpass is five metres. So no way to do a $50m elevated bikeway that connects to Chestnut and doesn't duck up the sidewalk.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Is that bicycle exit from the bridge just for the Senakw bicycle parking or is it also a new bypass down to the bicycle lane for people headed west?

Even if it did connect up to Vanier, I don't think it would be an efficient ride. You'd probably still be better off riding up Chestnut.

[whatnext]

What a complete abdication of responsibility! Why is it BC Conservation has no problem euthanizing scores of bears that merely paw through people's garbage but can't summon up the will to relocate or euthanize these?

After string of coyote attacks, B.C. officials urge people to stay out of Vancouver's Stanley Park

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by whatnext

What a complete abdication of responsibility! Why is it BC Conservation has no problem euthanizing scores of bears that merely paw through people's garbage but can't summon up the will to relocate or euthanize these?

After string of coyote attacks, B.C. officials urge people to stay out of Vancouver's Stanley Park

They have euthanized a number of them tied to attacks, but I agree they should be eradicated from the park given the situation.

[logan5]

This city sucks sometimes.

Last night I'm sitting on a bench at English Bay, having a few, and everybody else is enjoying the beach and behaving, there's lots of families with young children. Very civilized. The park closes at 10 pm, so the cops have a car parked almost right on the beach, then turn their cop car lights on at 9:55 and start kicking everybody off the beach. Completely unnecessary and heavy handed. Meanwhile, at the exact same moment, you have a far more volatile situation on Granville Street, with thousands of drunk 20 somethings marching up and down the street. Goofy ass city.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

They have euthanized a number of them tied to attacks, but I agree they should be eradicated from the park given the situation.

Yep, it’s a park not a nature reserve. From what I have read the coyotes are not even historically native to the area but rather followed settlement.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by logan5

This city sucks sometimes.

Last night I'm sitting on a bench at English Bay, having a few, and everybody else is enjoying the beach and behaving, there's lots of families with young children. Very civilized. The park closes at 10 pm, so the cops have a car parked almost right on the beach, then turn their cop car lights on at 9:55 and start kicking everybody off the beach. Completely unnecessary and heavy handed. Meanwhile, at the exact same moment, you have a far more volatile situation on Granville Street, with thousands of drunk 20 somethings marching up and down the street. Goofy ass city.

It's like that everywhere in BC. Everything is so over-regulated and policed. It was always a shock coming from China back to Canada, and feeling far less free to do as I please in public spaces.

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by logan5

This city sucks sometimes.

Last night I'm sitting on a bench at English Bay, having a few, and everybody else is enjoying the beach and behaving, there's lots of families with young children. Very civilized. The park closes at 10 pm, so the cops have a car parked almost right on the beach, then turn their cop car lights on at 9:55 and start kicking everybody off the beach. Completely unnecessary and heavy handed. Meanwhile, at the exact same moment, you have a far more volatile situation on Granville Street, with thousands of drunk 20 somethings marching up and down the street. Goofy ass city.

Meanwhile the VPD issues a warning about an increase in sexual assaults in the Granville Entertainment District.

ROn.

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by giallo

It's like that everywhere in BC. Everything is so over-regulated and policed. It was always a shock coming from China back to Canada, and feeling far less free to do as I please in public spaces.

Yet, the area around Bute and Davie has totally gone to hell with repeat offenders openly using drugs, blocking traffic, picking fights and screaming at all hours of the day.

I noped it out of Vancouver on Sunday after watching a poor guy get accosted and eventually assaulted by a very aggressive panhandlers.

It's no better in the suburbs, we have professional thieves really targeting catalytic converters in Coquitlam/Surrey right now.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

Yet, the area around Bute and Davie has totally gone to hell with repeat offenders openly using drugs, blocking traffic, picking fights and screaming at all hours of the day.

I noped it out of Vancouver on Sunday after watching a poor guy get accosted and eventually assaulted by a very aggressive panhandlers.

It's no better in the suburbs, we have professional thieves really targeting catalytic converters in Coquitlam/Surrey right now.

Which makes it all the more puzzling. Why are all the Ts crossed and Is dotted when it comes to such arbitrary things like a park closure or a pub being open past 1am, yet there are areas in Vancouver where far more destructive behavior is waved off?

Hint: I think it has something to do with money, and who will and won't pay the fines doled out by the police.

[SpongeG]

some poor guy got slashed with a knife on 10th and Quebec in a random act.

https://www.citynews1130.com/2021/08/16/east-vancouver-man-throat-slashed/

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

some poor guy got slashed with a knife on 10th and Quebec in a random act.

https://www.citynews1130.com/2021/08/16/east-vancouver-man-throat-slashed/

Yeah they posted a profile of the attacker on Reddit.. Fathered a kid at 17, bragging about kicking in some guys head during the Stanley Cup riots of some guys trying to stop them from destroying property and a long criminal record.

[svlt]

Man that's just awful, an unprovoked random attack. I'm shocked it's not front page news. We spend all this effort covering wars and disasters thousands of miles away when there are serious problems with crime and safety here that are severely underreported in the mainstream news outlets.

It's baffling to me why the city is not punishing this kind of behavior. To an average tax paying citizen here with a family, it's obvious to me I would want heavier police presence rounding up violent criminal offenders and thugs and sending them to rehab institutions. This should not be considered "okay", I need someone to explain to me why a few otherwise level headed people seem to think it is (on Twitter, anyhow). Their explanation is not to "punish the poor" which is all well and agreeable, but certainly you cannot make it seem like the laws have no meaning and people are free to rob, rape, assault and attack others?

Reddit is a bit of an angry cesspool but I kind of feel like the sentiment is right on the money there on this issue and it's the mayor, councilors and the "virtue-signaling" people living in semi-gated communities on the west side far from the visibility of these problems that are contributing to it.

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by giallo

Which makes it all the more puzzling. Why are all the Ts crossed and Is dotted when it comes to such arbitrary things like a park closure or a pub being open past 1am, yet there are areas in Vancouver where far more destructive behavior is waved off?

Hint: I think it has something to do with money, and who will and won't pay the fines doled out by the police.

Police are in the business of making a steady revenue stream. My coworker got issued a $130 ticket for jaywalking on Nelson @ Mainland in Vancouver. Police were pulling people cars in the DTES for going 10km/hr over the speed limit on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile you have an insane number of assaults, robberies, stabbings, destruction of private and public property and constant thefts within the radius of both infractions.

Originally Posted by svlt

Man that's just awful, an unprovoked random attack. I'm shocked it's not front page news. We spend all this effort covering wars and disasters thousands of miles away when there are serious problems with crime and safety here that are severely underreported in the mainstream news outlets.

It's baffling to me why the city is not punishing this kind of behavior. To an average tax paying citizen here with a family, it's obvious to me I would want heavier police presence rounding up violent criminal offenders and thugs and sending them to rehab institutions. This should not be considered "okay", I need someone to explain to me why a few otherwise level headed people seem to think it is (on Twitter, anyhow). Their explanation is not to "punish the poor" which is all well and agreeable, but certainly you cannot make it seem like the laws have no meaning and people are free to rob, rape, assault and attack others?

Poverty is a massive industry that continues to feed the pockets of both state and private actors. Non-profits and not-for-profits (like Atira) are misappropriating money and overpaying salaried employees. Governments are misusing funds on vanity pet projects that do little to really address the issue. Then you have anarchist like Chrissy Brett disguised as "poverty advocates" that just want to see the state and country burn to the ground, and believe me...there's many like that in this world. Unfortunately the "defend the police" movement gained enough traction to really prevent the pendulum from swinging to "more enforcement" in our life.

Lastly, the average taxpayer in the region doesn't care enough to go hold the politicians feet to the fire. I think the future will see many more people carry weaponry to protect themselves.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by svlt

It's baffling to me why the city is not punishing this kind of behavior. To an average tax paying citizen here with a family, it's obvious to me I would want heavier police presence rounding up violent criminal offenders and thugs and sending them to rehab institutions. This should not be considered "okay", I need someone to explain to me why a few otherwise level headed people seem to think it is (on Twitter, anyhow). Their explanation is not to "punish the poor" which is all well and agreeable, but certainly you cannot make it seem like the laws have no meaning and people are free to rob, rape, assault and attack others?

If someone is a "violent criminal offender" the police will arrest them and they will go to an institution, prison or otherwise (this is exactly what happened in this situation). Certainly anyone convicted of rape or assault would be incarcerated. (Now if you mean assault on your senses when you drive down East Hastings, that is not a crime).

Police are mostly reactionary and it would be near impossible for them to prevent every random act of violence before it happens. I don't know how much so heavy a police force that every criminal is thwarted preemptively would cost, but I have a feeling it would be prohibitively expensive and there would be diminishing returns.

[Abii]

Open question... thinking out loud... would appreciate some help.

Early 30s; thinking of buying a condo in the Burnaby/coquitlam/maybe NV areas. Just started a new career. No debt. Can afford to pay 20% down for up to a purchase price of 550k.

I'm not in a huge hurry. I still have a lease at my current place. That's why I thought about the possibility of pre-builds.

Basically have a few decisions to make:

(1) pre-construction vs almost new
(2) Burnaby vs Coquitlam
(3) specific location in Burnaby

Any tips? Question 3 is the most important. I think I would want it to be within a walking distance of train station in case I get a job downtown in the coming years. But at the same time the closer you get to a place like Metrotown the less your money buys.

It seems like the Austin area in Coquitlam is the best bang for the buck no? But the closest train station would be in Brentwood. Not really close.

[CondoInvestor]

Originally Posted by Abii

Open question... thinking out loud... would appreciate some help.

Early 30s; thinking of buying a condo in the Burnaby/coquitlam/maybe NV areas. Just started a new career. No debt. Can afford to pay 20% down for up to a purchase price of 550k.

I'm not in a huge hurry. I still have a lease at my current place. That's why I thought about the possibility of pre-builds.

Basically have a few decisions to make:

(1) pre-construction vs almost new
(2) Burnaby vs Coquitlam
(3) specific location in Burnaby

Any tips? Question 3 is the most important. I think I would want it to be within a walking distance of train station in case I get a job downtown in the coming years. But at the same time the closer you get to a place like Metrotown the less your money buys.

It seems like the Austin area in Coquitlam is the best bang for the buck no? But the closest train station would be in Brentwood. Not really close.

go for the best location you can afford. condos appreciate faster in better location. my most recent investment is a presale near Oakridge mall. expecting a boom after the mall is completed in 2027.

[Abii]

Originally Posted by CondoInvestor

go for the best location you can afford. condos appreciate faster in better location. my most recent investment is a presale near Oakridge mall. expecting a boom after the mall is completed in 2027.

Thanks. I forgot about Oakridge.

How do preconstructions work? I have purchased real estate in the past (mid 20s) but sold it after 25 months to move provinces. Last time I didn't qualify for the first time buyer program because I put a tenant in there.

This time it's for me.

Do I just go to a realtor if I want a pre construction? Do different realtora have access to different developers and buildings? Or any realtor goes?

[svlt]

You really don't need a realtor to buy a pre-construction but they can help give you advice. Do not automatically trust their word on it though as often they are tempted to push certain products to you. In these situations I'd rather go for someone I trust vs. someone I think is good (i.e. in negotiations or staging when you're selling a home), even a less experienced personal friend is good. The realtor would just cost the developer for a prebuild if I'm not mistaken so the service is essentially "free". It's not like you get a kickback as opposed to going to buy a pre-owned unit without a realtor. Unless it's a really small time developer.

Presales have been pretty expensive for a while though but I've done well with them (bought two in the past, sold both). Be sure you are able to stick through with the timing + check the contract carefully for how much they can delay by, they are very annoying to divest of before it completes.

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

If someone is a "violent criminal offender" the police will arrest them and they will go to an institution, prison or otherwise (this is exactly what happened in this situation). Certainly anyone convicted of rape or assault would be incarcerated. (Now if you mean assault on your senses when you drive down East Hastings, that is not a crime).

Police are mostly reactionary and it would be near impossible for them to prevent every random act of violence before it happens. I don't know how much so heavy a police force that every criminal is thwarted preemptively would cost, but I have a feeling it would be prohibitively expensive and there would be diminishing returns.

You're being a bit too quick to dismiss these issues. Twitter has been abuzz with photo and video evidence of repeat offenders coming back over and over again. The level of vitriol is way overboard of course and the discourse online has gotten past the point of civility, certainly you can't say the civic leadership here has done the best they can with the drug/homelessness problem - and subsequent criminal activity they've bred, and harsher punishments may be merited in several situations.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by svlt

You're being a bit too quick to dismiss these issues. Twitter has been abuzz with photo and video evidence of repeat offenders coming back over and over again. The level of vitriol is way overboard of course and the discourse online has gotten past the point of civility, certainly you can't say the civic leadership here has done the best they can with the drug/homelessness problem - and subsequent criminal activity they've bred, and harsher punishments may be merited in several situations.

I realize the police can have a "look the other way" policy when it comes to certain crimes (theft below a certain $ threshold, drug possession, sidewalk stores), but I have a hard time believing a criminal that slashed a stranger's throat won't be charged with assault. If that criminal is given a lenient sentence, that is a legal system issue and not something the city has jurisdiction over. If "harsher punishments may be merited in several situations", talk to the federal and provincial governments, not the city.

Vancouver has a huge homeless population and almost half is from other provinces. I don't think the homeless are coming here because Vancouver is nice to the homeless. The homeless move to Vancouver for the same reason other Canadians do: the weather sucks in most of Canada (it's nicer to sleep outside when it isn't minus 30).

The CoV does not have room in the budget to solve Canada's homeless problem on its own, but it has been stuck with a disproportional number of homeless.