Nostalgia is great and all, and I love me a good Funicular, but...

The Prov can do whatever taxation it wants for transportation (it holds its own legislation). For Metro to have that power, the province would need to amend the Community Charter & the Local Government Act. To change transit funding, throw in the South Coast BC Transportation Authority Act?

Metro doesn’t have the legislative authority to do this. It would have to be the Province.

That was the promise of the Permanent Transit Funding model from the Federal Liberals 5 years ago. It was budgeted but never delivered then Carney cut it by $5B and rolled it over to a competitive infrastructure model so it battles water and sewer and road projects for $. 🤷‍♂️

But our current funding model does not even preserve the status quo. The fiscal cliff is still there, just kicked down the road a bit.

I think there is a role in your advocacy to talk about those improvements, to get the users in the region excited about faster & more reliable transit.

But when it comes to shaming gov’t it should be about their failure to keep their funding promises as they pump $ into highways and pipelines.

(Sorry to be a bummer) I think the most pernicious effect of our ongoing funding-by-brinksmanship model of one of the continent’s best Public Transit systems is that it slows our movement towards improvements like rapid transit to UBC (& North Shore & Poco, etc.) or a gondola to SFU.

My $0.02? Dare to dream. But there isn’t much point building more rapid transit if we don’t have the operational funding to run what we currently have. The advocacy we need right now is a new and secure funding tool so we can keep the wheels on the bus going round and round.

You’ll have to ask someone from the police board about how the NWPD are approaching this, but Cllr Henderson recently brought a motion to Council asking that the city develop robust policy around AI use. We are clearly working slower than the technology is changing.

Hey #NewWest. Rhonda touched a lot of lives over the decades, there will be a public service tomorrow at NWSS. Doors at 1:00, service at 2:00.

putting it in, or taking it out?

This chart came up in a conversation as recently as yesterday!

The 3rd Thursday in April is (apparently) National High Five day! This was a great opportunity to visit sites across #NewWest and thank the people who keep the city running safe, clean and fun with a well-deserved high five!

Fear and Loathing in Elko Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Elko considers the case of Clarence Thomas.

Alas, Clarence Thomas is still here impacting politics, and Hunter Thompson isn’t. So let’s go back to where they intersect: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

Walk With The Mayor! Tomorrow is the second Walk With the Mayor for the 2026 Walk30 Challenge.

Meet me at Queens Park Arena at Noon, get your steps in
Over lunch. We’ll pop down to Glenbrook Ravine. Part of the Walk30 challenge! Info here: www.newwestcity.ca/calendar-of-...

Next Thursday! If you haven't visited the Gallery on Carnarvon Street in #NewWest, this is a great opportunity to see it. There is an incredible array of art by Indigenous artists from across Canada - some that will change your mind about how contemporary and varied "Native Art" can be!

Got a man of the people,
says keep hope alive.
Got fuel to burn,
got roads to drive.

And local governments in Greater Vancouver (reluctantly and with much debate) agreed to an 80% increase in the property tax contribution to Public Transit on the promise the Feds and Province would meet us there. Instead, we are headed for another fiscal cliff at TransLink.

After *choosing* to cut $5 Billion from the long-promised-not-delivered Permanent Public Transit Fund, he now *chooses* to subsidize gasoline companies by more than $2 Billion.

He makes choices, Canada’s urban communities have not asked for this, but will bear the load of those choices.

you have two children.

Gord from Cap's once told me his father's philosophy was:
"In good times, people want bicycles. In bad times, people need bicycles".

Hey, who has time for that kind of detail when you are Getting Things Done!?

(to be fair, here's a shot from my video where I'm staring approvingly at Surrey! 😆 )
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bbn...

His picture of a "Global City" is of #NewWest 😘

screencap of an email from some cryptoscam asking how much it would cost to run an ad on my blog.

I'm thinking $1,000,000.

What Karen said

Lights & Cameras vs. Action?

Protest This story picked up some regional media, and I was asked to comment. As is common and necessary, my lengthy thoughts were edited for a short TV news bit, so I wanted to expand on the discussion pu…

I have a few more comments; 😉 www.patrickjohnstone.ca/2026/04/prot...

Protest This story picked up some regional media, and I was asked to comment. As is common and necessary, my lengthy thoughts were edited for a short TV news bit, so I wanted to expand on the discussion pu…

...too long for Bsky, so here is a link.
TL;dnr: Regional astroturf organizations using fearmongering to drive Conservative votes are "white noise" that shouldn't distract from the important conversations we have to have within our communities about housing: www.patrickjohnstone.ca/2026/04/prot...