Vancouver Amalgamation

[Rusty Gull]

I would like to see Lower Lonsdale separate from the City of North Vancouver and join the City of Vancouver due to its density and its proximity to downtown Vancouver.

As for the City of North Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver, they will never merge -- because of their longstanding, Springfield-Shelbyville rivalry.

[Rusty Gull]

By the way, is Bowen Island part of Metro Vancouver, and if not, why not?

[fever]

It's part of Metro Vancouver

[Rusty Gull]

^Thanks for letting me know. I once caught flak from an Islander once when I referred to Bowen as being part of Vancouver... I guess I was right afterall.

[wrenegade]

I voted Burnaby only, mainly because their city hall is regarded as one of the most business/development-friendly municipalities in Metro Vancouver. I'd hope amalgamation would bring some of that to the table.

Oh, and both North Vans should amalgamate. That has got to be one of the dumbest things ever.

[Chikinlittle]

I see a couple of benefits to amalgamating, and when I say amalagmate, I mean everything - Metro Vancouver as 1 entity.

Firstly, as mentioned by a few, services. No overlapping and duplicate services - cost savings by not needing to administer services in so many different jurisdictions.

Secondly, and I think the most important reason for amalgamating, is to essentially ensure adherence to the Livable Region Strategic Plan. As it stands now, the individual municipalities are making terrible decisions that continue to cause urban sprawl. New single family housing should be outlawed unless it's infill upzoning... fitting two single family houses where there used to be one for example.

My concerns about amalgamation result from previously experiences in the country - Montréal for example, and also as other had mentioned, the more unique town centres, losing their character. I'm thinking Ladner, Tsawwassen, Fort Langley, White Rock, etc. I haven't researched what a Ward system would entail, so I don't know if that would potentially solve that concern, but there would need to be consideration for retaining the character of certain unique spots like those.

Otherwise I think it's something that should be looked at legitimately. From there, a new, more effective livable region strategic plan could be developed and followed-through with.

[Distill3d]

I've always thought that Metro Vancouver should become a Uni-City. Everything from Aldergrove westward should be renamed Vancouver.

[Kodii]

Amalgamate Abbotsford too please!

[raggedy13]

Originally Posted by Canadian Mind

The problem as i see it is that Vancouver has 600 000 people while burnaby has 150 000, Coquitlam and richmond even less, etc.

Just for the sake of accuracy:

Burnaby: 216,336 (2007)

Richmond: 186,628 (2007)

Coquitlam: 120,512 (2007)

(Tri-cities: 206,251)

Source

[NetMapel]

Originally Posted by Kodii

Amalgamate Abbotsford too please!

Haha, you wish !

[CBeats]

Apparently amalgamating police forces is a good idea. I think so. It would give the WV cops something useful to do, finally...

What other services could easily be amalgamated with a positive result? (i.e. fewer administration costs, no middle man, etc.) They could be done first in small areas with unnecessary divides like NV city and NV district. Then more widespread stuff, eventually branching across Metro Van.

[djmk]

vancouver already has a history of amalgamation. point grey and south vancouver used to be separate entities. furthermore, burnaby, new west and vancouver is separated by a road in which there is no difference on one side of the street or the other.

also, lets be clear here. it is already one city. many of use pass through 5 different municipalities just to get to work in the morning. that is stupid. how are we supposed to develop a long term plan of how the metro region will look like if there are too many voices? there are already examples of friction between the municipalities when it comes to transportation and prisons

one voice (albeit a very accountable voice) should be making decisions and representing us in victoria and ottawa. otherwise, you are forcing the municipalities to compete against each other for resources like funding, jobs, and tax money.

[djmk]

there is a great read in the Georgia Straight regarding inter-municipal relations specifically the Livable Region Strategic Plan.

http://www.straight.com/article-2295...s-interference

[dmuzika]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

In Metro Vancouver, the only areas that I'd like to see amalgamate are the natural fits that have also been bandied about for eons:

1. North Van City/ North Van District;

2. Langley City/ Langley District;

3. Coquitlam/Port Coquitlam;

And then perhaps a little tinkering:

1. North Delta should become part of Surrey as they are one contiguous entity and North Delta also has a huge disconnect with South Delta;

2. South Surrey should almalgamate with White Rock (South Surrey really is Greater White Rock) as South Surrey has a huge disconnect with the rest of Surrey.

As for Vancouver, Burnaby, and New Westminster... they should remain separate entities due to their historical significance.

I agree with your suggestion. Smaller scale amalgamations seem to make more sense than a mega city (i.e. Vancouver for everything west of Abbotsford) due to the geographical boundaries. Here’s my idea:

Vancouver: Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, UBC Grounds
Coquitlam: Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore, Belcarra
North Vancouver: North Vancouver city/district & West Vancouver
Surrey: North Surrey and North Delta
Richmond: Richmond and Queensburgh
White Rock: South Surrey and White Rock
Langley: Cloverdale, Langley township/city
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows

There would still be competition and/or options within the Lower Mainland as there would still be 9 different municipalities however the governments would be more streamlined.

[EastVanMark]

Originally Posted by djmk

vancouver already has a history of amalgamation. point grey and south vancouver used to be separate entities. furthermore, burnaby, new west and vancouver is separated by a road in which there is no difference on one side of the street or the other.

also, lets be clear here. it is already one city. many of use pass through 5 different municipalities just to get to work in the morning. that is stupid. how are we supposed to develop a long term plan of how the metro region will look like if there are too many voices? there are already examples of friction between the municipalities when it comes to transportation and prisons

one voice (albeit a very accountable voice) should be making decisions and representing us in victoria and ottawa. otherwise, you are forcing the municipalities to compete against each other for resources like funding, jobs, and tax money.

Well said. Like the fact how you mention Point Grey and South Vancouver. They amalgamated with Vancouver and nothing negative happened and they didn't see any drop in services. Such a move would literally save millions of dollars in redundant services

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by raggedy13

Just for the sake of accuracy:

Burnaby: 216,336 (2007)

Richmond: 186,628 (2007)

Coquitlam: 120,512 (2007)

(Tri-cities: 206,251)

Source

Thanks for the FYI.

[SpongeG]

i could see the tri-cities joing forces but the rest is best as is

[Whalleyboy]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

i could see the tri-cities joing forces but the rest is best as is

i agree

[clooless]

Originally Posted by jlousa

I'm for amalgamation so long as it avoids the ward system, the ward system has lead to nothing but trouble.

What do dislike about a ward system? After moving to Calgary, where a ward system is in place, I feel like I have my own personal alderman (city councilors are still called aldermen here). I've called the alderman in my ward a few times, and he has taken the time to return my calls personally. There is a level of personal responsibility that seems absent from an at-large system.

I think if Vancouver, Burnaby and New West were to merge a ward system might be the factor that clinches the deal given that some level of local representation would be retained. From what I remember of living in New West, city council was pathologically afraid of everything Burnaby did to improve traffic thinking it would increase congestion in the city, especially along 10th Avenue. Smaller cities like New West and Port Moody would want some mechanism to counterbalance the loss of local control to the overwhelming influence of Vancouver and Burnaby.

As some have pointed out, it seems that certain areas make more sense to amalgamate than others. North Vancouver District, North Vancouver City and West Vancouver for one; definitely the Tri-Cities for another.

Anyway, regardless of civic amalgamation, there should be at least a regional police force. Perhaps that is a vital first step.

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by clooless

Anyway, regardless of civic amalgamation, there should be at least a regional police force. Perhaps that is a vital first step.

Metro Vancouver Police. Sounds good to me. Burnaby and Surrey use RCMP, West Van, NW and PoMo have their own forces right now.

All major regional services, (like Translink) should be represented regionally, but only where efficiencies are obvious.