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Jeannine's letter was more than likely answered by Falcon's staff members. The reply to J's letter is just another example of stonewalling.
It is little wonder that the First Nations people use civil disobedience when they want to get attention. The alternative seems always to be a smile, followed by a thick layer of gobbly-gook.
The City and Township officials seem to have their lips sewed up regarding anything that has a transportation aspect to it. Could it be that it is because they are staunch Liberals themselves? We are nothing but lambs being led to the slauter.
Baaa...aaa Bad...
Face it maybe our grandkids may have better bus service in Aldergrove. Forget about any skytrain or LRT ever for 50 years.
I joke about it, but Mrs. Mouse and I are convinced that if our kids want to see a 7:00 pm Tuesday film at Colosuss, they have to take the bus from Aldergrove on Monday.
LOL 
But our Mayor Alberts has apparently pulled down over $10,000.00 for going to GVRD + Translink meetings. Wow he sure has helped us with buses and LRT, NOT, but LOTS of Overpasses and heavy rail traffic & larger train switching stations and NO consideration for any LRT for a generation!
With any luck at all this will be Alberts' last term as mayor. We needed a strong person as mayor over the past few years, but instead got a town planner who can charm a bird out of a tree, and can't say no to his cronies IMO.
The general thrusts of Jeanine's contributions are right on target. Unfortunately, her ignorance of the TransLink/transit situation on the North Shore, lessens the credibility of her arguments. To explain: The apparent affluence of the North Shore is skin deep. In West Vancouver, many seniors are house rich and cash poor. In December 2008, the average price of homes in North Vancouver remains well above $600,000, and rents that have kept pace are creating more and more 'working poor', often single-parent, families.
The result of those artificially-elevated real estate values, is that the North Shore sends a disproportionate share of taxes to TransLink and, to date, has received virtually NOTHING for their money. The West Vancouver Blue-Bus system has been a success for years and, despite all TransLink's efforts, it remains accountable to North Shore transit users. The two-Seabus service - virtually the ONLY part of the Metro transit system that carries its weight - has reached the end of its trouble-free lifespan. For over TEN years, at least once a year, TransLink has promised us a third Seabus. This would (a) carry more passengers; and (b) allow for the first two vessels some downtime for essential maintenance. Again, we are told that vessel will be launched in 2009. Had the boat been built when first announced, the capital cost would have been about half that of 2008 dollars - and that's only one reason for TransLink's money problems! The only enhancements we have received for our taxes, have been one or two short bus routes and some bicycle lanes.
For all of the time since Glen Clark unloaded regional transit - with a woefully inadequate funding formula - onto the shoulders of George Puil and the GVTA, Malcolm Johnston and I have been trying to get people outside the Vancouver area to understand just how badly TransLink is 'screwing' them, and how 'political' are the decisions being made. The ONLY way we can get action out of the 'new' closed-door TransLink Board and the 'happy to oblige Victoria' Mayor's Council, is for residents of all outer areas to work together - even to the extent of of demanding that our muncipal councils withhold our TransLink property taxes, so that those dollars can be used to buy our own - effective - transit system. Is that likely to happen? I doubt it because, even in the face of the serious transit deficit in the Langleys and the rest of the Fraser Valley, the egos of disparate groups spend more time disagreeing with one another than in solving the problem.
So to Jeanine - I really do appreciate your efforts and concerns; but let's all keep our eye on the ball. We're all in the same pickle, so let's work on solutions, rather than engaging in a resentful 'class' struggle. As for Falcon - get this through your head - all roads DO NOT lead to Vancouver and your boss's Whistler legacy. The worms are beginning to turn.
EDITOR's NOTE: Refers to July 29, 2007 posting.
http://www.kimrichter.com/Blog/2...-2007-
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