Now that we’ve digested the biggest newsmakers of the year, spare a moment for a quieter newsmaker, one of those creeping trends that flow into the mainstream and irrevocably change the flow of our lives. For 2012 it’s the increase in transportation choices – and not just more buses, SkyTrains and bike lanes.
While traffic volumes and road capacity keep growing at the region’s edges, automobile traffic coming in and out of downtown Vancouver continues to decline. The number of cars parked in EasyPark lots dropped by 10% last year. This isn’t saying the number of people coming downtown or moving around is decreasing, just that they’re moving around in new ways.
Many reasons are obvious: better public transportation, high parking prices, high gas prices, car congestion, more people living closer to where they work and play, seniors and young people giving up car ownership.
But there are other changes that are starting to have a major impact. Last year, Vancouver became one of the most competitive car-share markets in North America when it became the continent’s third city with Car2Go, a virtual U-drive taxi service featuring Smart cars. Car2Go competes with Vancouver’s own Modo (formerly the Car Co-op) and U.S.-based Zipcar.
TOR Systems owner David Mendell exemplifies the new commuter. Personally carless for four years, he gets around by combining cycling, Zipcar, Car2Go, taxis, buses, SkyTrain and his wife’s car.
“I’m way more organized than I used to be,” he said.
“I never waste trips. The most enjoyment I get out of it is I very rarely go to the gas station any more.”
In Vancouver, the next phase of cyclist protection is about to roll out: a new cross-town east-west bike lane from Helmcken to Denman Street.
Also expect more protection for cyclists (think school children) on shared residential bicycle routes; and a new approach to “complete streets,” where automobile traffic is no longer the predominant default use of street space, speed limits are reduced and pedestrian safety is taken seriously.
What about that growing supply of unused off-street parkade spaces? Expect them to be converted to more car-share spaces, food growing (one deal for a roof-top greenhouse is already in the works) and maybe mini-storage for the many small-suite owners downtown.
Unused ground level parkade space might also be suitable for bike-share stations. The City of Vancouver is about to unveil proposals from bike-share companies to provide these public bikes and docking stations that are now standard transportation options in at least 200 cities around the world.
Chicago and New York (10,000 bikes at 600 stations) will both introduce bike sharing this year. Vancouver’s challenge is that we are one of the few cities in the world with compulsory helmet laws, which makes bike sharing inconvenient and complicated.
Then there are the technology-driven efficiencies like TransLink’s Next Bus smartphone app. It will be rolled out this year to enable anyone anywhere in the region to know when the next bus is going to arrive at their stop – making public transit more convenient and safer, especially in the suburbs.
This could also be the year that ride-sharing catches on, leap-frogging the decline of car-pooling and filling some of the thousands of empty seats on every road every day.
“Computer-driven hitch-hiking” (www.avego.com) is already working in other cities. It enables drivers and prospective passengers to connect on their smartphones and share rides, with automated online accounting paying the driver from the rider’s account.
The bottom line on all these changes is more choice, less cost for those who can forgo car ownership, less car traffic, more exercise, safer streets, and liberated garages. Oh, and more business for nearby stores that cater to the new commuters. All good. •
