TheThunderbird.ca from UBC journalism » Post-Games Report: Local politics after the Olympics http://thethunderbird.ca News, analysis and commentary on Vancouver Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:48:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Vancouver Paralympics stimulate accessibility talks http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/22/building-on-the-paralympic-momentum-more-accessibility-needed/ http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/22/building-on-the-paralympic-momentum-more-accessibility-needed/#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:57:31 +0000 Niamh Scallan http://thethunderbird.ca/?p=9203 The came to a close on Sunday evening when Mayor Gregor Robertson passed the flag on to Sochi.

Fans cheer on Paralympian Lauren Woolstencroft. Courtesy of Flickr user: iwilldreambig

The Games saw enormous successes and triumphs for Canadian Paralympians. Topping the list, North Vancouver’s Lauren Woolstencroft won a record five gold medals. Despite the achievements of Paralympians from Canada and around the world, enthusiasm in Vancouver during the games paled in comparison to the Olympics just weeks ago.

Whether  50 or 50,000 people tuned their televisions to Paralympic events, it’s now important to focus on how Vancouver will use its experience as host city to forward its plans. Drawing on Premier Gordon Campbell’s intent to “,” it is just as important for the city and the province to focus on a post-Paralympic agenda.

There are few instances when the issue of disability and accessibility are in the international spotlight. It is time to capitalize on the opportunity presented by the Paralympic Games and address disability and the development of accessible infrastructure in Vancouver.

University of British Columbia’s School of Social Work professor Tim Stainton studies the relationship between disability and public policy. According to an American Free Press , Stainton said the Paralympics “does make governments maybe more aware of access issues.”

In Vancouver’s case, the Paralympics have increased government awareness of accessibility issues so far. City council voiced its intention to pursue post-Paralympic initiatives last week, specifically in terms of increasing accessibility in Vancouver. Councillor Heather Deal spoke about the importance of accessibility projects.

Canadian Paralympic curlers celebrate gold. Courtesy of Flickr user: popejon2

Hosting the Paralympics “means that you have to walk the walk as well as talk the talk on disability,” Deal said to media.

The City of Vancouver’s discussions regarding plans to increase accessibility have many people optimistic that Vancouver will become a leader in accessibility in the future. Hopefully the city will view universal access as a high-priority and highly valued item on its agenda.

Much like the post-Olympic focus on sustainable transit in the city, councillors should be viewing as essential to Vancouver’s growth and development.

]]> http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/22/building-on-the-paralympic-momentum-more-accessibility-needed/feed/ 0 Capitalizing on Olympic infrastructure to help pay Vancouver's bills http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/20/paying-the-bills-time-to-think-about-the-olympics-costs/ http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/20/paying-the-bills-time-to-think-about-the-olympics-costs/#comments Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:52:24 +0000 Niamh Scallan http://thethunderbird.ca/?p=8926 spent over 30 years paying off its $1.5 billion debt following the 1975 Summer Olympics. Greece’s hit a record high of 5.3 percent in 2004 after a disastrous $8.6 billion shortfall after the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

It’s safe to say that Vancouver will not experience a post-Olympic financial catastrophe like those experienced in Montreal and Athens. It’s no secret, however, that Vancouver’s Olympic organizers overspent the Games’ financial budget. For years, VANOC President that the original budget would not cover the committee’s plans.

The total cost of the Games remains unknown, but a number of organizations have speculated costs in recent months:

The 2010 Olympic Hospitality Houses in Vancouver

  • A recent stated that Olympic Village cost approximately $1-billion to build.
  • The same report also stated that the Olympic/Paralympic Centre in Hillcrest Park cost $84.45-million
  • The provincial and federal that security would cost $900-million

So, the Olympics cost VANOC and its financial supporters (municipal, provincial and federal governments) a substantial amount of money. Taxpayers will face tighter budgets and funding cutbacks in the years to come in order to avoid the 1976 Montreal-esque 

Whatever the official cost, Vancouver should focus on what can be gained from the 2010 Olympic Games and how the ‘host city experience’ can benefit the city and the province in the future. From the construction of the to the development of Athletes’ Village and the new , Vancouver and surrounding areas have received a great amount of new infrastructure as a result of the Games.The City of Vancouver must capitalize on its newly acquired infrastructure in order to carry on the legacy of the Games. By promoting tourism, for example, the city’s Olympic experience can be transformed into a socially and economically beneficial venture in the long run.

A look back on the financial balances of past Olympic host cities demonstrates both positive and negative experiences:

]]> http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/20/paying-the-bills-time-to-think-about-the-olympics-costs/feed/ 1 Post-Games Vancouver: building on the Olympic momentum http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/15/post-games-vancouver-building-on-the-olympic-momentum/ http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/15/post-games-vancouver-building-on-the-olympic-momentum/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:40:36 +0000 Niamh Scallan http://thethunderbird.ca/?p=8145 Finance Minister Colin Hansen called for the City of Vancouver and the province to “build on the Olympic momentum” during his budget speech in early March.

Whether the provincial budget will help to maintain successful Olympic-related

projects (like better public transit, for example) remains to be seen – it has only been a few weeks since the budget was announced. But, the Olympics provided Vancouverites with a glimpse of Vancouver’s potential as a major global city and as Hansen stated, the city and the province should continue to develop Vancouver as was demonstrated during the Games.

In a recent Tyee article, Vancouver journalist Frances Bula shared her thoughts on what Vancouver could learn from the Olympics. From her experience at the Games, she called for a permanent aboriginal museum in the downtown area (after the success of the Four Nations centre at Queen Elizabeth plaza), more street food and sidewalk cafes (hot dogs are not enough to satisfy a metropolis’s street food appetite) and a greater push on public transit use in the Vancouver area.

To add to Bula’s suggestions, there are a number of things I would like to see come out of our experience with the Games. A number of progressive programs and projects pursued by city should continue to be carried out.

First, the Cultural Olympiad – a showcase of art and popular culture – provided

A mural on display during the 2010 Games outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, courtesy of Flickr user: kennymatic

people from Vancouver and around the world with hundreds of different culture-focused events. The focus on art in Vancouver was refreshing – especially after the provincial government made severe arts funding cuts in August 2009. The Cultural Olympiad’s many events – including free concerts, interactive art displays, and dance performances – demonstrated the value of popular culture to the population. Hopefully, city councilors will build on momentum of the Cultural Olympiad and promote art development in the city.

Second, I found that the City of Vancouver provided increased funding community involvement projects during the Olympics. For the Winter Games, the city started up a community living room initiative. Thirty community centres were provided with 50-inch plasma screen televisions for the duration of the Games. Programs like these are simple ways to provide community-enhancement services to individuals and families across the city.

There’s no doubt that the municipal and provincial governments will be working on a tighter financial budget in the post-Olympic era – unfortunately the days of free LiveCity concerts and daily fireworks shows cannot last forever. But I think that Vancouver’s City Council and the provincial government should use the Olympic experience – the projects and programs that were popular and successful in the community – to better identify the wants and needs of Vancouver’s population.

]]> http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/15/post-games-vancouver-building-on-the-olympic-momentum/feed/ 0 Budget cuts affect green transit push in post-Olympic Vancouver http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/12/budget-cuts-affect-green-transit-push-in-post-olympic-vancouver/ http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/12/budget-cuts-affect-green-transit-push-in-post-olympic-vancouver/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:16:13 +0000 Niamh Scallan http://thethunderbird.ca/?p=7453 When the City of Vancouver announced in 2009 its intent to reduce vehicle traffic in the downtown area by 30 percent during the Olympic Games, skepticism amongst local Vancouverites abounded. The week before the Opening Ceremonies, the city experienced only a 4 percent decrease in traffic. It seemed that few people were willing to take up the TravelSmart 2010 Challenge and leave their cars at home.

Olympic-sized success for sustainable transit

The Games have come and gone and one of the major success stories was Vancouver’s sustainable transit system. Over the 17 days of the Games, vehicle traffic was reduced by an average of more than 35 percent. TransLink reported that on Feb. 14 – the first Sunday of the Winter Games – that its transit system moved an average of 1.5 million people around the city during the Games – an increase from 730,000 trips per day prior to the Olympics.

According to a Vancouver Observer report, cyclist volumes across the Cambie, Granville and Burrard bridges saw summertime levels – approximately 5,000 cyclists rode to and from the downtown area each day of the Olympics.

In a post-Games address at City Hall last Monday, mayor Gregor Robertson told reporters about his intent to “build on the Olympic momentum” in future city projects. He referred to the enormous success of sustainable transit over the course of the Games and expressed his hopes of maintaining the level of use of alternative forms of transit.

Vancouver cyclists face budgetary roadblocks

However, despite attempts to continue the use of sustainable transit in the Metro Vancouver area, Mr. Robertson’s plan to build on the Olympic momentum to promote the use of sustainable transit may be more difficult that he hoped. The Province of British Columbia slashed $7-million from its Bike BC program at the budget speech in Victoria last Tuesday. Reduced from last year’s $10-million to $3-million, the funding cuts are likely to impact Vancouver’s cycling infrastructure plans in the upcoming year.

Regardless of the cuts, Vancouver will continue to promote the use of sustainable transit. According to a City of Vancouver website, the city’s Bicycle Network has more than doubled in size, and cycling is the fastest-growing type of transportation in the city. Just last week, a new bike lane was opened on the Dunsmuir viaduct and other cycling-related projects are in the works.

So far, the impact of the budget cuts remains to be seen – but it may be a difficult year for city councilors and engineers who will see less provincial money devoted to cycling projects.

]]> http://thethunderbird.ca/2010/03/12/budget-cuts-affect-green-transit-push-in-post-olympic-vancouver/feed/ 0