1500 and Counting
Our booth in Clikz
The drive to see a transit link between Abbotsford and Chilliwack is accelerating, and I have no doubt that if we can follow through and collect the target number of signatures, that we will succeed. I said after U-PASS that I never wanted to hear the words “bus” or “public transit” again. U-PASS, to me, was a big victory, one that has the potential to significantly change the drive-by culture of this university. The campaign itself, however, was nauseatingly repetitive, and now I find myself in the same situation with the campaign to finally link up Abbotsford and Chilliwack with some form of public transit.
When this campaign wraps up, I will be taking an extended break from this type of public transit advocacy. I am passionate about public transit that adequately services the community and region, and strongly feel that there will still be tremendous room for improvement once we do get the Chilliwack-Abbotsford Connector route, but for the short term, I will not be involved on more than an advisory level.
Now that we have that out of the way, I’ll quickly update how this campaign is going. There are 489 signatures to SFS’s petition online, and I have in the neighbourhood of 950 collected in hard copy. We have some 1-200 still circulating, so we have almost certainly passed the 1500 signature threshold. That’s one quarter of what Edith Griese collected to get the Aldergrove line in place.
On Monday I rode the #21 over to Aldergrove to pay Edith a visit (and get her to sign of course!) I chatted with Edith for about 20 minutes, and at the end of that conversation, I was more determined than ever that to succeed in this effort. We needed this service 30 years ago, and seeing Edith’s resolve and enthusiasm, despite being well into her senior years, was uplifting. In total, Edith collected some 6 000 signatures, taking just over two years to do that. Now, there is no way I am spending two years on this – currently we have been doing this very actively for perhaps three months, so at this pace will need one full year, or 9 more months to match her total. I want to do it faster, as I can’t commit to being here for that long. To accomplish that we will be setting up booths at the Farmer’s Market, the Flea Market, the Greyhound station, and the Welcome Back BBQ’s in September.
Recently, the Abbotsford News wrote a story about this petition effort, and the Aldergrove Star will be publishing a similar piece today (Thursday). The story can be read here, along with my ugly mug about to be run over by a bus.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/fraser_valley/abbynews/news/49038981.html
I am sitting in Clikz cafe, the Tim Hortons on campus as I write this, having collected an additional 50 or so signatures over the last few hours. It is interesting how people seem to be too preoccupied to notice the petition despite there being a highly legible banner displayed out front, but once you invade their consciousness by asking them if they’ve seen the petition, generally respond enthusiastically. It makes me wonder how many opportunities in life they miss by simply being oblivious to them, being too focused on where they’re going to pay attention to anything else.
This petition, in fact, is one reason that I’m still in the Fraser Valley. When SFS helped the Student Union to pass the U-PASS which will be implemented this September, we committed to advocating for a Chilliwack – Abbotsford Connector, so it was important that somebody take this on. After my bicycle accident in March, I have the time to spare, so here I am, striking a few blows for a workable transit system.
The issue has recently taken on added importance, with UFV’s declared intent to build a ring road and adjoined parking through what is currently one of the last intact mature Douglas Fir forests in the area, the woodlot on the southern half of the campus. To erect new buildings, UFV must provide more parking, and this is the only space which they have to do this, so they are willing to destroy a grove of mature forest, in which some of the trees must be at least 300 years old. If we can encourage a broad mode-shift to transit, the need for parking will be reduced, and the building permit authority may just waive the strict requirements for more parking for the new buildings.
You’d think that if the City can build a 6 or 7 thousand seat Entertainment Centre with 500 parking spots, that they could arrange something to ensure this small tract of rare forest is preserved.
