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Newsmaker of the Year

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Newsmaker of the Year

Old 12-11-10, 11:54 AM
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Newsmaker of the Year

In spite of the impact of the 2010 Winter Olympics had on Vancouver, the bicycle has been named Vancouver's Newsmaker of the Year (by the Vancouver Courier)



Bike infrastructure, lack of public consultation about bike lanes, the impact on downtown businesses and the environment. No other Vancouver issue prompted hotter debate in 2010 - the year of the bicycle.

The bicycle has a central role in our history. Taking a recognizably modern form in the 1880s, it predates the car in popularity, and unlike its cousin the horse and buggy it survived the age of the automobile. It gave new mobility to women and the working classes and was credited with helping bring about their political and social emancipation in the west in the early 20th century. It remains the staple transport system for huge numbers of people around the world.

In Vancouver in 2010, it was at the centre of the biggest debate about how this city organizes itself since the freeway battles of the 1970s. That's why it's the Courier's choice for Vancouver Newsmaker of the Year.

This was the year a green-inspired city council moved aggressively to implement designated bike lanes downtown, and to upgrade bike routes elsewhere with obstructions and lights. Public consultation was cheerfully bypassed, and the construction of routes was swift and to some critics pre-ordained. Battle lines for and against bike lanes formed just as quickly. Business groups predicted a financial disaster through lost customers who couldn't find parking. Bike advocates prophesied an urban nirvana and marked their victory with T-shirts that read “Bike lanes make me Hornby.” Bikes replaced off-leash dogs as the favourite argument of choice over lattes as people debated who “owns” the roads. Letters to the editor for and against bikes were numerous and bitter. Vancouverites made videos of traffic violations by both cars and bikes and posted them in online halls of shame. To get on a bike in traffic, or to go near a bike lane in a car, felt like combat. No one was a civilian on our roads in 2010.

The bicycle was also the salient symbol of a green-inspired city council with, pun intended, vision. The clarity of the Vision Vancouver-dominated council remains to be seen. Ten years from now, many of us could be cycling to our yoga classes on protected bike lanes past community organic gardens tended by residents of nearby laneway homes built from recyclable materials. Or we could be really pissed off because we can't drive downtown anymore. How voters, most of whom drive cars, respond to that scenario will be the story of 2011, an election year.

The Olympics

What about the Olympics, our Newsmaker choice for 2009? The Games were the Courier's runner-up choice this year by a hair. February was the city's biggest month since Expo and its best outdoor street party since the end of the Second World War. Vancouver successfully hosted a global collection of elite athletic competitions, made provision for legal dissent and was kissed by the sun.

It's also over. While the Games left legacies like recreational facilities and the Canada Line, and ugly hangovers like the Olympic Village disaster, it's a distant memory now, like a happy childhood too quickly forgotten. Attempts to reproduce its spirit have been feeble. The city and residents have bills to pay, and not enough money, and as we face service fee increases and the closure of public washrooms thanks to budget cuts, that medal podium we owned 10 months ago has been put in storage.

Online readers poll

For the past few weeks, we asked readers for their choice of Newsmaker in our online poll. The top vote getter was the Winter Olympics. Here’s how the results of our online poll broke down: Olympics (49 per cent), the bicycle (19 per cent), school closures (16 per cent), tower developments (8 per cent), the Wu beating (8 per cent).

(more commentary on the site)

Last edited by closetbiker; 12-11-10 at 11:57 AM.
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Old 12-11-10, 12:50 PM
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No comment on the article itself... I think that is an issue for you folks in Vancouver to hash ooout.

The bike pictured though looks like a really nice setup for a daily commuter. (unless you are into "real fast.") Fat tires to deal with whatever condition the roads are in, rack for daily goods, lighting, lock, fenders and a triple.
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Old 12-11-10, 02:33 PM
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I just thought it was interesting that the bike was deemed a more "important" story than the Olympics.

I'm sure part of that was the nature of the coverage of the implementation of our segregated lanes downtown. The story says there was a lack of consultations, but that wasn't true. There was extensive consultation, but a poll done by a business group that was sent out before the city began consultations with the business groups that took part in the survey, showed there was (at the time of the poll) no consultation, so that's what people hung on.

Further, the polling and consultations showed tremendous support for the lanes outside of the few businesses that could possibly be negatively affected, so the conflict angle was played up for drama despite of the acceptance of the lanes. I predict that in about a month or two, the lanes will be non-controversial, and non-newsworthy.

I think that the lanes and cycling in the city will continue to grow as automotive traffic into the downtown core will continue to drop.

I think the next step may be a PBS. I wonder when, and how, that will work out.
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Old 12-27-10, 04:12 AM
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Is there an ideal tire size most commuters choose? 60 or more psi? (depending on weather, season, and road conditions?)
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Old 12-31-10, 12:54 PM
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The local Metro newspaper asked readers what they thought the newsmaker of the year was and my suggestion made it in.

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