Public Disorder & the Decline of Vancouver's Livability

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by chowhou

All of y'all are being unreasonable about this. Is it so much to admit that it's both a relic and has value?

As mentioned previously in this thread, it's non-standard model train gauge so parts are probably a real PITA to source, but it seems like it pulls in a good profit for the park and benefits local charities. It's also a cool little train (choo choo!).

(Does anyone know if it's at all feasible to run electric steam engines? I want my trains to go chugga chugga.)

I was thinking this exactly as I read the piece was to have an electric train with a steam boiler for affect and whistle!

[GenWhy?]

By "relic" I just meant "old".

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by Changing City

They didn't say that "apparently half of that goes into paying for wages of those working in the industries supporting them". It may or may not be true, but what they actually said was that taking the published financial statements of just three of the supportive housing providers, half their expenditure was on wages and employee benefits.

The Edmonton police department seem to have had the idea of an 'audit' of spending on social services first. (It's not just homelessness and addiction services that they counted, it's the entire range of services, including subsidized housing).

The same company was commissioned there - they're an Alberta startup - and concluded that about $7.5 billion going into social supports in Edmonton every year. And overdose deaths are increasing in Edmonton as well, and homelessness is getting worse too. "Three thousand people are living on the streets of Edmonton, city officials say. That number has doubled since before the pandemic."

Rob Shaw read the report, and, well, I think the title of his article says it all: "Leaked VPD report an inflated work of fiction".

But if you drill into that “social safety net” figure, you quickly discover that $2 billion of the $5 billion cited is direct federal transfers that go to all residents of Vancouver in the form of things like the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, Employment Insurance and child tax benefits.

The report also listed charities and used their revenue to add to that $5 billion number, but the way they did it is rather suspect: they looked at the charity's address to determine if they were "based in the Downtown Eastside". This means that they included figures for charities like the Urban Horse Project Society, the Aquifit For All Association, and the Burnaby Search and Rescue Association.

The report is extremely flawed and the VPD ought to be absolutely roasted for commissioning it. And anybody who uses any statistic out of this report to prove their point ought to be similarly roasted.

[GenWhy?]

That interview with Rob this morning on CBC was quite funny because they pretty much lambasted Global for poor reporting.

[EastVanMark]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Neither. It's simply a line of text in a history book.

The original comment was the intersection of Main & Hastings used to be the economic centre of Vancouver for maybe 20-odd years upon its birth, essentially. It had already moving west by WW1 and was Skid Row in the 20s.

No it wasn’t. That area didn’t even start to go downhill until much later (post WW2).

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by EastVanMark

No it wasn’t. That area didn’t even start to go downhill until much later (post WW2).

Hmm I'll try to find that on my own, but everything I've read up to this point was that things were on the decline just before the Great Depression and then blamo.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Hmm I'll try to find that on my own, but everything I've read up to this point was that things were on the decline just before the Great Depression and then blamo.

"Decline" was nothing like the flaming dumpster fire around that intersection now. In the seventies you would have had the sad drunks injured in lumber industry, not the drugged out zombies lurching around the place now.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by whatnext

"Decline" was nothing like the flaming dumpster fire around that intersection now. In the seventies you would have had the sad drunks injured in lumber industry, not the drugged out zombies lurching around the place now.

"The original comment was the intersection of Main & Hastings used to be the economic centre of Vancouver for maybe 20-odd years upon its birth, essentially. "

This is the general "decline" we're speaking of.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

If the Stanley Park train is the only cultural entertainment event or venue for you, your life is very sad indeed.

It's not. Honestly speaking, there is nothing much in this City except debauchery along a low-quality Granville Street on a weekend night. But FYI I'm not into that.

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Do you want a new rec centre or a new kids train? Piece says the train is a relic and financial liability.

Don't sweat it. We're not having either.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Do you want a new rec centre or a new kids train? Piece says the train is a relic and financial liability.

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

I couldn't find "relic" or "financial liability" in the piece, but if you actually read the article you will see where GenWhy got that impression.

I understand you don't believe anything the previous Park Board commissions said, but is it really that difficult to understand why it is hard to find replacement parts for a 60 year-old train?

Let's face it. Relics run well when well financed and maintained. Calgary's Heritage Park:
https://www.heritagepark.ca/plan-your-visit/attractions-and-exhibits/cpr-locomotives-2023-2024

• Video Link

For a city of just a million people, these real heritage locomotive trains (both relics and both running) put us to shame.

I don't get why people here keep coming up with lame excuses when obviously things are badly run here.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by Vin

Don't sweat it. We're not having either.

Park Board this summer approved $140m so far for the Aquatic Centre replacement for 2023-2026.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Park Board this summer approved $140m so far for the Aquatic Centre replacement for 2023-2026.

And everything else falls apart. In the end, the Aquatic Centre still remains unbuilt. Well, let's see what ABC can put together this time.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by Vin

It's not. Honestly speaking, there is nothing much in this City except debauchery along a low-quality Granville Street on a weekend night. But FYI I'm not into that.


Don't sweat it. We're not having either.

We've got Science World, the Aquarium, the Art Gallery, Granville Island, FlyOver Canada and VanDusen's little Christmas light display all open throughout December. Still plenty of stuff to bring the kids to.

FYI, the rec centre is part of the budget.

Originally Posted by Vin

Let's face it. Relics run well when well financed and maintained:

https://www.heritagepark.ca/plan-your-visit/attractions-and-exhibits/cpr-locomotives-2023-2024

For a city of just a million people, these real heritage locomotive trains (both relics and both running) put us to shame.

I don't get why people here keep coming up with lame excuses when obviously things are badly run here.

You're comparing actual freight trains to miniature trains. Think before you Google and post.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

You're comparing actual freight trains to miniature trains. Think before you Google and post.

Maybe you should try to find out the relative ages between our miniature train and Calgary's real freight locos, and how much time and cost it takes to maintain them, then make your laughable posting here.

I was just riding on one of the locos in Calgary just this summer: it was awesome! Maybe you should also try first before saying anything.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by Vin

Maybe you should try to find out the relative ages between our miniature train and Calgary's real freight locos, and how much time and cost it takes to maintain them, then make your laughable posting here.

I was just riding on one of the locos in Calgary just this summer: it was awesome! Maybe you should also try first before saying anything.

Calgary's Heritage Park has two USRA 0-6-0s, of which there's still plenty of replacement parts on the market; Stanley Park has custom-built miniature versions of a custom-built CPR engine, and those parts are obviously much harder to find. The only one we're laughing at is you, who went on vacation and couldn't tell the difference between a real train and a toy one.

[GenWhy?]

I think Heritage Park gets a quarter million in donations a year.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by Vin

And everything else falls apart. In the end, the Aquatic Centre still remains unbuilt. Well, let's see what ABC can put together this time.

ABC PB has no more money for the Aquatic Centre. That $140 million was almost half the rec funds for that budget period. I assume the ABC PB will spend that $140, that was allocated to the budget term like any other PB would. The questions is, what would ABC PB and council do for the next budget.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

You're comparing actual freight trains to miniature trains. Think before you Google and post.

[Conrad Yablonski]

Speaking of the seemingly ever present crime & chaos I note the glass doors @ Small Victory bakery in south Granville have been smashed in-I wonder if the $9 scones claimed another victim or.....?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

You're comparing actual freight trains to miniature trains. Think before you Google and post.

I think you're being very unfair to Vin. He seems to be suggesting we should have a full-sized historic steam train running in Stanley Park, and why not? Obviously you'd have to cut down a few trees, and it might cost quite a lot of the Park Board budget, but really, you're not thinking big here. (It could have a railway-themed mall too).