LRT, polling, and false majorities

Early this morning I fired off another letter to The Record editor. It was in response to this brief letter, which claimed that the Record's opinion poll's 38% in support of LRT was a clear majority decision against it.

Given recent events, my irony meter peaked, and I wrote the following:

When I saw the letter titled "A Majority Said No", I thought it would be about our recent election. Instead, it was a claim that the Record's poll on Rapid Transit should be interpreted as a rejection of LRT, because only 38% picked that option. And yet, more respondents picked the LRT option than any other single alternative.

It is very ironic that we have chosen a government with virtually the same level of support. Supporters of the Conservatives say this is a clear mandate, while opponents claim a majority rejected them.

In either case, the truth is somewhere in between. When presented with multiple options, people's opinions are divided. And when interpreting the results, people tend to see what they want to see.

I think we can draw one conclusion from this poll: the results are mixed enough to give our regional councilors the freedom to exercise their best judgement. It is, after all, what we elected them for: to make difficult decisions on complex issues in the best interest of our community, where a referendum would simply reveal a broad spectrum of opinion and disagreement.

I got a confirmation call from the Record, so it will be up soon-- and a rare bit of extra feedback that they think I make good points. But since I've received a few requests already, I've posted the original letter contents here. It's always interesting to see the editing, and summary title, the published version receives.

Election Hangover

Only two things about last night's election make me happy: Elizabeth May's victory, and the dismantling of the Bloc Quebecois. But the former is largely irrelevant, and the latter was mainly schadenfreude of an event that could end up backfiring anyway.

While I was pleased to see the Orange Surge (even at the expense of the Liberals), it was a means to an end. I am not an NDP supporter, despite a personal admiration for Jack Layton. But I was happy about the prospect of a Conservative minority with an NDP opposition because of the following reasons:

1. It would show that a negative, closed-mouth campaign could be rejected by Canada in preference for a largely positive message.
2. It would also deny Harper his prize, instead of rewarding his party's distinctly undemocratic abuses in their search for power.
3. The outside chance of an NDP-led coalition was a price I would cheerfully pay to get the conditions we'd need for some electoral reform away from First Past the Post.
4. The Liberal party, who I have traditionally (check that, exclusively-- but never religiously) voted for would be pushed into the broad reboot they desparately needed.

And, presumably, the increased voter turnout I thought we'd get would demonstrate to all parties that they need to curtail their cynicism and think about a politically engaged youth.

Well, the NDP did better than anyone expected, but in doing so the Liberal support divided down the middle and it bought Harper his big reward. But the NDP shouldn't celebrate because they'll form a toothless opposition and be spectators to the implementation of, dare I say it, a Reform party Canada.

So where does that leave me? I voted strategically for Liberal Telegdi, but I would have likely voted for him anyway. I'm a social progressive first, a fiscal conservative second (and sometimes the two come to blows, which makes it a little more complicated.) This combination made me comfortable enough with a centre-of-the-spectrum Liberal party (even with its succession of uninspiring leaders), which I watched dissolve last night to the right and the left.

I'm afraid of an unchecked Harper Government(tm), mainly because of the ideological baggage that the Reform core brings with it, and because of the way Harper has demonstrated that he can work, and change, our system. And then on top of that, I haven't even been too keen on the deficit position and income-splitting tax reform plans the Conservatives have brought about. There's nothing for me here.

And you can bet that this government, which owes its existence to FPTP, will do nothing to reform that.

If I were to search really hard for a silver lining, it's that at least the Cons won't have a reason to cancel our Rapid Transit funding in a fit of pique at any riding in this region drifting away from the fold.

Dreaming of Spring Gardening

Welcome to the Earth Day Blog Carnival

This post is part of the Earth Day Blog Carnival hosted by Child of the Nature Isle and Monkey Butt Junction. Each participant has shared their practices and insights of earth friendly, environmentally conscious, eco-living. This carnival is our way to share positive information and inspiration that can create healing for our planet. Please read to the end of this post to find a list of links to the other carnival participants. Happy Earth Day!

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Note from Erin: this post was written a couple of weeks ago for inclusion in the blog carnival. Things are looking a little different in the back yard right now. Watch for an update post coming soon!!


Well, so this is what my backyard looks like right now. (As you can see, the Spring Indicator is still standing. And yes I DID manage to catch a chickadee on the bird feeder with my Blackberry camera, go me!!) Anyway. Snow. SNOW!! I've had enough of it.

Over the last few years, I've been making some conscious efforts to "eat local". Food transportation costs have always bothered me. Why should I eat an apple from another continent when we're so close to one of the biggest fruit-growing regions in Canada? And I've promised myself that as the growing season gets rolling here in Southwestern Ontario, I am going to make more of an effort this year to bypass the grocery store produce section and buy directly from the farmers...we have so many great farmer's markets around here. But what could be more local than my own back yard??

Those lovely raised beds back there are all filled up, just waiting for warmer weather to come. I'm so excited about gardening this year! Last year, I planted seeds and seedlings then went away for seven weeks, and came home to a ridiculous jungle. Hopefully this year I'll be able to maintain it a bit better as it goes along.

Last year, we were signed up with the Fertile Ground CSA, which was completely and utterly awesome. But we're not doing it again this year, the hope being that with TWO raised beds, we can produce enough veggies on our own to keep us going without the CSA share. I'm planning to grow tomatoes (heritage varieties, of course, obtained from the Little City Farm seedling sale), various greens (lettuce, spinach, tatsoi mustard, rapini), green beans, zucchini, leeks, green onions and "lemon" cucumbers. Maybe carrots, if I have enough room. And possibly some other things that I'm forgetting at the moment. I'm also planning to dig up the sod next to the garage on the left there, and make that the new spot for the herb bed...they didn't do so well last year hidden away behind the hop trellis. Oh yeah, we're growing hops again, too. That's what the pole on the right is for. Local hops for the home-brewed beer, yeah! And I'm really, really hoping that the asparagus I planted last year delivers a few spears this spring.

I've also been learning how to do some basic cheese-making at home. I've been enjoying some amazingly delicious homemade cottage cheese lately, and hope to perfect the mozzarella-making technique. My eventual goal is to make a completely homemade pizza...just need to get some local flour for the dough, and make a simple margherita, with tomatoes and basil from the garden and homemade mozza. It's going to be so awesome. And you can't have any. Well, maybe if you ask real nice...

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Visit Monkey Butt Junction and Child of the Nature Isle to read all about the Earth Day Blog Carnival.
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Going Green in 2011 - Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama discusses the way she and her family are going “greener” in 2011.

Our Greatest Teacher - Amanda at Let’s Take the Metro shares her experiences with her children and nature, their greatest teacher.

Dreaming of Spring Gardening - Erin of the Waterloons talks about the ultimate in local food, her backyard garden.

Earth Conscious Minimalism - Nada at miniMOMist thinks minimalism can help you save the world — as long as you don’t just toss everything in the trash! Check out Her list of places to donate (bet you haven’t thought of them all!).

Blessings to the Earth - Amy at Anktangle believes that a simple act, such as being intentionally grateful for our food, is just the catalyst we need to bring about large-scale change.

Eight Movies to Inspire Change - Mrs Green at Little Green Blog shares her top 8 movies that have inspired her to take action to make the world a better place. She’d love to hear your suggestions to add to her viewing list!

Can I Have a Green Period Too? Kelly at Becoming Crunchy shares the environmental impact of switching to sustainable menstrual products, along with offering a great Mama Cloth giveaway for anyone interested in making the switch (and for those who already have and want to increase their stash!).

An Eden to Call Our Own - Lucy at Dreaming Aloud shares how learning to care for the Earth starts in her own garden.

Elimination Communication - Melissa at the New Mommy Files discusses the environmental impact of diapering, and why elimination communication was the best choice for her family.

The Living Earth: A Meditation in Science and Reverence - Seonaid at The Practical Dilettante asks you to pause to wonder at the blessing of the fact that our living planet is here at all.

Earth Day Anthem - Amanda at Let’s Take the Metro created a poem in honor of Mother Earth, women and nurturers everywhere.

The Plasticity of Compromise - Zoie at TouchstoneZ shares how she is working to compromise on healthy family living and avoiding plastics whenever possible.

Earth Day Resolutions - Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama shares why she has decided to make Earth Day resolutions, what those resolutions are, and how they are a step up from her current efforts at green living.

Is it time for you to say “Enough!”? Mrs Green at My Zero Waste asks you to rise up and say ‘Enough!’ on Earth Day.

Homeschooling with the Earth - Terri at Child of the Nature Isle shares her desires and dreams for Earth-based learning and the ways her two young children have already started a natural curriculum.

Beyond the Green Sheen - Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction offers some advice on how to avoid greenwashing and make purchasing choices that really have a positive impact.

Lexington/Columbia study notice

Something a little different: it's theoretically cycling season, and would be except for the unusual cold outside and the nasty one in my lungs. And with cycling comes the reminder that if you're a cyclist in the City of Waterloo and you need to cross the expressway, your life is nasty, brutish, and potentially short.

So with great interest I learned today that a study is commencing on Columbia Drive/Lexington Road between King St. and Davenport. On the surface, this is great news! This is a vital cycling link across the expressway, and the only one right now that is even close to cycling-friendly (and not much, at that.)

But it's worded in an interesting way-- "City and Regional traffic growth forecasts show the need and justification for operational and capacity improvements to the Columbia Street / Lexington Road corridor." The good folks over at WonderfulWaterloo tell me that this is code for "widening", which is troubling.

What makes a widened Lexington Road troubling from a cyclist's perspective is the overpass on the expressway. Unless the bridge gets widened too, then cycling lanes-- at least continuous cycling lines-- are toast! And the expense of widening the overpass seems... unlikely to get through.

On the other hand, the newly completed Transportation Master Plan makes a lot of references to Lexington being both a key piece of the cycling network, and a recommended recipient of "Road Diet" treatment like Davenport has got. And I believe that Lexington's current car load could be handled as well by two lanes plus turn lanes, as it is by four lanes without. The question is, does Waterloo want it to handle more traffic?

Waterloo desperately needs to connect its sparse, but growing, cycling routes together. If you are a cyclist trying to get across the expressway in Waterloo, Lexington should be of critical importance to you. It could connect the nice bike routes in Eastbridge to the rest of the city.

If this matters to you, let the planners know.

Why LRT? Part 2 - Why Rapid Transit at all?

(Part 1)

This is the second of a multi-part overview on LRT in Waterloo. Like any complex topic, it takes some time to get through, so I'll spread it across multiple posts and link them together. I hope you'll bear with me, and if you have questions, comments or criticisms, please comment below.

There's not much point in discussing LRT without discussing Rapid Transit first. What is Rapid Transit and why is it being considered over conventional route expansion in Waterloo?

Most dictionary definitions of Rapid Transit sound something like "a form of high-speed urban passenger transportation such as a subway or elevated railroad system". The key aspects of a rapid transit system are that they provide frequent, reliable service on a dedicated right of way. Other important aspects are that they provide a convenience and comfort level to attract more riders than conventional bus.

Why Rapid Transit?

Rapid Transit is seen as a way to meet the goals I discussed in the previous post. Properly implemented, an RT system will both drive development around it (attracting more of our growth into the core and reducing sprawl pressure), and improve transit ridership.

Currently RT will only serve the central corridor, but it will connect the densest parts of our region and, in coordination with improved express bus routes and a realigned bus network, provide a more attractive and more useful transit network to a larger proportion of our population.

Why a Dedicated Right of Way?

The most visible impact of Rapid Transit is the dedicated right of way: both LRT and BRT proposals specify it.

The need for the Right of Way is simple: Rapid Transit isn't rapid if it has to compete with regular traffic. The current iXpress is not "Rapid Transit" because of this aspect: its schedule is affected by traffic on its route.

One of the major factors for why iXpress is not regarded as a long term solution is its mixed-traffic status. As our population increases and traffic congestion worsens, so too does iXpress's end to end time. While iXpress, LRT and BRT all project similar end-to-end trip times (around 1 hour 15 minutes), iXpress is expected to worsen to around 2 hours from Ainslie to Conestoga.

Providing a new Rapid Transit system with its own right of way is a large part of the system's expense, but also its saving grace. RT becomes independent of traffic levels. In combination with its own Right of Way, both LRT and BRT would come with signal priority to minimize time at traffic intersections. (Although, how effective this is for BRT becomes an issue-- I will discuss this later.)

It's not all end-to-end trip time, either. Another important factor is reliability. With its own ROW, RT can adhere to its schedule better. Reliability and frequency is a major issue for transit users, and buses in mixed traffic tend to interfere with each other and "bunch up" around stops and traffic lights, throwing schedules into havoc. While iXpress attempts to pass regular route buses when it can, it is still affected by the large number of buses currently servicing the Central Corridor.

Why convert a lane of car traffic into a Transitway?

A contentious issue about the RT proposals in Waterloo is that for much of the route, a dedicated railway or laneway will cost a lane's worth of traffic, as well as constrict several intersections. If the number of drivers are increasing, this seems like a good way to further congest traffic!

And while it does affect traffic capacity along its road-based corridor, the deciding factor is how that lane serves the most people. According to Wikipedia:

• "Traffic jam" levels of road traffic are at 2000 vehicles per hour per lane (at 1.2 occupants per car, this means ~2400 people per hour per lane)
• Buses on dedicated lanes (BRT) have a capacity of 7000 passengers per hour per lane (almost 3x)
• Multi-car LRTs have a theoretical capacity of 20000 passengers per hour per lane. More practically, a system like Waterloo envisions (with a 450 passenger vehicle capacity) would have a capacity around 12000 passengers per hour per lane (5 times!)

In other words, the two lanes of car traffic capacity we spend buy us the equivalent of ten lanes (or 2.5 King St's) worth of transit capacity. And the more who take transit, the more the remaining drivers benefit.

So, to summarize, Rapid Transit:

• attracts greater ridership and intensification than conventional transit,
• uses a dedicated laneway that trades a small amount of car capacity for a much larger transit capacity,
• is capable of more frequent, fast and reliable service than conventional transit along its corridor.

Why I Support LRT

Normally I let Chris do the transit-talking around here, but I have a little story of my own to tell.

I started my post-secondary education at the University of Waterloo in September of 1995. For various reasons, I lived at home for my first two years of school. Home was Cambridge. Unfortunately, I had neither a driver's license nor a car to drive. Sometimes my dad would drive me to school, sometimes I could catch a ride with a friend. But more often than not, I had to get to UW via public transit.

At the time, the entity known as Grand River Transit didn't exist. In order to get from my home in Cambridge to the University, I had to deal with three different transit systems (Cambridge Transit, Trentway-Wagar, and Kitchener Transit). On days where I had an 8:30 class (which was usually three days a week at least) I had to get up at 5:30am, and I would still arrive on campus 15 minutes late for class...and that's if I was lucky enough to make all my connections. It was physically impossible to get to campus on time for an 8:30 class. I missed lots of classes entirely because the bus transfers didn't work out. And then I still had to do the whole process in reverse at the end of the day. If I had a night class until 10pm? Forget it, I had to leave early in order to not miss the last Trentway bus of the night.

Needless to say, this lifestyle took a huge toll on my sanity, my sleep schedule and my marks. When Grand River Transit was created, I cheered long and loud, even though I was no longer a regular transit rider by that time. When the iXpress service was created, I cheered even louder. If only that had been in place during my early student days!! So now that we are facing the decision time for the next "big stage" of transit improvements, I think back to that time of my life, living with a fractured transit system that didn't work. Many people say that our existing transit system, with all the improvements added since the mid-90's, doesn't work. So let's make a transit system that works!!

Cultured Council

I experienced something interesting yesterday evening! I attended my first-ever city council meeting. (I only stayed for part of it, but...it's a start.)

Why was I there? Waterloo mayor Brenda Halloran wished to recognize members of the Kitchener Waterloo Little Theatre for their award-winning production of the Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. Check out the video:

(Yes, that's me in there. Thanks to Chris for filming the second half of that video so I could go up with the rest of them.) Anyway. Immediately following our presentation was a report from the Creative Enterprise Initiative CEO Heather Sinclair. She's been on the job for a mere two and a half weeks, but it sounds like she's been busy! (Be sure to check out the website to see what this organization is all about.) She said one thing last night that really rang true for me: one comment she has heard most from Waterloo Region residents is that there is "no culture" in this area. But she and I agree that is not the case. This area DOES have a vibrant and rich arts culture...one thing we need to do is find a way to communicate all the exciting things to the potential audience members.

As someone who spends countless hours trying to contribute to the "culture" of this Region (both as an individual artist, a member of a community theatre organization AND a member of a band) it really pains me to hear people say there's nothing cultural going on around here.