The Livable Blog

W2TV: Direct Action Opposing South Fraser Freeway

* Added by Sid Tan on April 24, 2011 at 6:49am

W2TV: Direct Action Against South Fraser Freeway from Sid Tan on Vimeo.

http://www.creativetechnology.org/video/w2tv-direct-action-opposing

On April 22 (Earth Day) 2011, a tent city was established to oppose the South Fraser Freeway. Entry is located at 10749 and 10739 River Road in Delta.

In this "day after" report, three directors (Harold Lavender, Dave Murray and Sid Tan) of the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council departed to the action site after a four hour Board development meeting.

More people are needed to camp overnight as there is safety in numbers. Show your solidarity by dropping by. Donations of food and firewood needed.

www.stopthepave.org
www.gatewaysucks.org

More details at http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/story/putting-barricades-back-earth-day/7033

The video:
The Times They Are a-Changing written and performed by Bob Dylan. Shot on a Zoom Q3 Handy Video Recorder by Sid Tan who edited with AVS Editor on HP dv6622ca laptop, also used to upload.

Watch the video at http://www.creativetechnology.org/video/w2tv-direct-action-opposing or http://vimeo.com/22800044

By Jeff Nagel - Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: April 20, 2010

Opponents of the South Fraser Perimeter Road are planning an extended occupation of a section of the route in a new bid to defeat the contentious truck freeway project they condemn as a climate crime.

The sit-in starts this Friday, Earth Day, along with the planting of trees in an area that's already been clear cut and prepped for the road in North Delta's Anniedale neighbourhood.

It's being coordinated by activists from multiple groups under the banner of stopthepave.org.

"We're going to go in there and reforest that area," organizer Eric Doherty said. "And then some of us are going to stay for at least 48 hours to protect those trees."

He predicts some activists will camp out at the site for several days at least.

The groups have a lawyer at the ready and hope to impede work on the road.

Doherty said he believes direct action coupled with a court challenge launched by the Burns Bog Conservation Society can still stop construction of the $1.2-billion perimeter road, which will run 40 kilometres from Deltaport to the Golden Ears Bridge and Highway 1.

The money can be instead devoted to public transit, he said, and the land already acquired can become a park.

"It's too beautiful a spot and too ecologically important to be anything other than parkland."

If they're to win, victory will have to come soon.

The project is 27 per cent built and slated to finish in two stages by late 2012 and late 2013.

More than 560 properties have been acquired, including 93 homes that have or are being demolished, a dozen of which were expropriated. [snip]

See full text at http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/120321969.html

An Earth Day call to action against freeway expansion in Lower Mainland


April 18, 2011

By Eric Doherty and PJ Lilley

Premier Christy Clark and her new minister of transportation, Blair Lekstrom, have a surprise for people across much of the Lower Mainland—big cuts to transit service scheduled for Earth Week. TransLink, which is controlled by cabinet appointees, has posted a long list of transit service cuts which came into effect today (April 18).

Many of the cuts to bus service read like this one regarding the #152 to Coquitlam: “All trips after 8 p.m., service reduced from 30 mins to 60 mins.” There are numerous variations on the theme—cutting evening bus service after 8, 9, or 10 p.m. to only once per hour. Once per hour service, which is never completely reliable, is a great way to convince transit riders to go out and buy a car. (A selection of the transit service cuts has been posted here.)

Last week, on the evening of April 13, TransLink once again tried in vain to convince New Westminster residents that they should welcome more traffic into their neighbourhoods. One of their consultants even tried to convince the audience that building more roads is the way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but few seemed convinced by his suggestion that more roads will lead to less pollution.

For months, TransLink has been trying to convince New Westminster council to approve the next stage of the Gateway Program, the first bit of the North Fraser Perimeter Road in New Westminster. Just the first short section is expected to cost about $175 million, with the New West section of the NFPR expected to cost as much as $1 billion if it is ever built.

Meanwhile, the province is pushing ahead with spending an estimated $1.2 billion to $2 billion on the new South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway. The clearcuts along the banks of the Fraser River are getting bigger every day, and bulldozers are starting to cut into the sensitive river banks. Most of the areas along the edge of Burns Bog and through the farmlands of Delta are already under layers of preload sand, which needs to be left for years to compress the ground before construction can begin in earnest.

Read the full article with links and details about the Mother Earth Day mass direct action at http://www.straight.com/article-387887/vancouver/eric-doherty-and-pj-lilley-earth-day-call-action-against-freeway-expansion-lower-mainland

Hey, you might even want to chime in with a comment, or share the article on facebook

On Friday, April 22nd (Mother Earth Day/Good Friday) there will be another mass direct action against highway expansion, the largest driver of increasing GHG emissions in our region. And there will be a group bike ride to the event in North Delta.

We will be departing from Napier Green, (Napier St. and Commercial Drive) at noon.

This departure time will allow people to take part in the Youth for Climate Justice Now Earth Day Parade that will be happening on the Drive (http://earthdayparade.ca). The 27 km ride should take less than 2 hours at a moderate pace.

If you wish to join the ride please email robert at recov.org so we can keep track of those on the ride.

The April 22nd action against climate crime has already received significant media attention and many endorsements . For more information see www.stopthepave.org

Mass Direct Action Planned for Earth Day
DELTA – Earth Day has become known as a day to quietly plant trees. But this year concerned community members are planning to reforest a freeway construction site on the banks of the Fraser River. Many plan to step up a campaign of disruption against what they call a climate crime.

“We will be planting trees on ‘Mother Earth Day’, but to demonstrate that we are fed up with battling asthma and cancers, we won’t be planting them in a park” explains PJ Lilley, a Surrey organizer with StopThePave.org. “As a mom with kids at a school near the highway ‘fall-out zone’, I want to see a stop to the insanity of paving over our last green spaces on the Fraser River just to bring more trucks and pollution to our communities. Christy Clark’s government is not putting ‘families first’, money must go to transit, schools and health care instead.”

The province is spending an estimated $1.2 to 2 billion on the new South Fraser freeway and is planning to spend about $1 billion more on the North Fraser Perimeter Road through New Westminster. "TransLink will be cutting bus service starting on Earth Week to save a few million, meanwhile the province is spending billions on freeways which increase our dependency on cars and tar sands oil," explains Bob Ages of the Council of Canadians national board. “1950’s thinking won’t solve the problems of the 21st century.”

"We must stop spending public money on making the climate crisis worse, and shift the money to solutions like public transit and electric trains" says Eric Doherty with the Council of Canadians Vancouver / Burnaby Chapter. “It’s time for all concerned people to take a stand against these freeway projects that are cooking our planet.”

WHEN: Beginning at 2 pm on Friday April 22 (Mother Earth Day/Good Friday).
WHERE: Meet at Annieville Supermarket, 10996 River Road, Delta. (Take the 640 bus from Scott Road SkyTrain or Ladner Exchange)
WHO: This action is an initiative of local residents and climate justice activists from StopThePave.org, local Council of Canadians chapters, and the Critical Criminology Working Group at Kwantlen University, and is currently endorsed by 17 more community groups listed at www.StopThePave.org

Selected Earth Week Transit Service Cuts:

26 Joyce Stn/29th Ave Stn
27 Joyce Stn/Kootenay Loop
29 Elliot/29th Ave. Stn
Permanent

For all trips after 10 p.m., service will be reduced from 30 mins to 60 mins.

101 Lougheed Stn/22nd St. Stn
Permanent

All trips after 8 p.m., service is reduced from 30 mins to 60 mins.
Mon. - Sat. - no service after 1 a.m.

110 Metrotown Stn/Lougheed Stn
Permanent

All trips after 10 p.m., service reduced from 30 mins to 60 mins.

123 Brentwood Stn/New Westminster Stn
Permanent

Saturday from start of service until 8 a.m., service reduced from 15 mins to 30 mins.
Sunday/Holiday from start of service until 9 a.m., service reduced from 15 mins to 30 mins.

134 Brentwood Stn/Lake City Stn
136 Brentwood Stn/Lougheed Stn
Permanent

All trips after 10 p.m., service reduced from 30 mins to 60 mins.

151 Coquitlam Stn/Lougheed Stn
Permanent

All trips after 8 p.m., service reduced from 30 mins to 60 mins.
Sunday/Holidays, first eastbound and first westbound trips discontinued.

152 Coquitlam Stn/Lougheed Stn
Permanent

All trips after 8 p.m., service reduced from 30 mins to 60 mins.
Sunday/Holidays, first eastbound and first westbound trips will start approx. 30 mins later.

154 Braid Stn/22nd Street Stn
155 Braid Stn/22nd Street Stn
Permanent

All trips after 9 p.m., service reduced from 30 mins to 60 mins.

169 Coquitlam Stn/Braid Stn
Permanent

Saturday from start of service until 7 a.m., service reduced from 15 mins to 30 mins.
Sunday/Holidays from start of service until 8 a.m., service reduced from 15 mins to 30 mins.

407 Bridgeport/Gilbert
Permanent

All trips after 10 p.m., service reduced from 30 mins to 60 mins.

402 Richmond-Brighouse Stn/Two Road
Permanent

Mon. - Fri. from 6 a.m. - 7 a.m., service reduced from 10 mins to 12 mins.
All trips after 10 p.m., service reduced from 30 mins to 60 mins.

http://www.translink.ca/en/Schedules-and-Maps/Transit-Service-Changes

Here's the latest in a steady stream of advance media stories about the Wave Against the Pave coming on Friday April 22:

Highway foes plan for construction disruption

'Mass direct action' timed with Earth Day, says StopThePave.org group

By Marisa Babic, Surrey Now April 7, 2011

Opponents of the South Fraser Perimeter Road are mobilizing for a protest aimed at stopping the controversial mega-project.

Tom Jaugelis, one of the organizers with StopThePave.org, says a workshop will be held this Saturday at Kwantlen Polytechnic University to prepare participants for "mass direct action" on Earth Day, April 22, which this year is also Good Friday.

The action is being organized by climate activists from StopThePave.org, local chapters of the Council of Canadians and the Critical Criminology Group at Kwantlen.

"Our stated goal for this Earth Day event is to disrupt construction," Jaugelis said Thursday.

Opponents of the $2-billion project, a 40-kilometre four-lane highway stretching from Deltaport Way to the Golden Ears Bridge, say it will pollute the environment, pave farmland, increase greenhouse gas emissions and scar the banks of the Fraser River.

The workshop at the university, dubbed a teach-in, will feature presentations, action planning and legal information.

"This is an open workshop to plan action against local climate crime this Mother Earth Day, with a focus on the controversial South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway," Jaugelis said. "We are looking for input from the community in planning this action."

The planned mass action is the third is a series of similar events. Last October, hundreds of people dug up the freeway construction site in Bridgeview with shovels and wheelbarrows, and in December bags of sand were used to build a dike blocking provincial cabinet offices.

Read more: http://www.thenownewspaper.com/Highway+foes+plan+construction+disruption/4581557/story.html#ixzz1J0XDp0Af

Check out the full list of advance media coverage here.

The Wave Against the Pave is growing. Where will you be on April 22?

If you are planning to attend the Vancouver Earth Day Parade, buses will be available to transport you to the action, leaving from the Britannia Oval at 2 pm.

Details including request for supply donations to support the action at www.stopthepave.org/wave

Farnsworth is the first to release a transportation plan. Not as explicit as I would like to see, but a significant step in the right direction:

Farnworth announces green transportation plan to reduce emissions, raise productivity, and improve health
April 7, 2011

(Surrey) — NDP Leadership candidate Mike Farnworth today announced an ambitious plan for a green mobility shift in B.C. communities.

“Early on in our party’s leadership campaign, I announced my comprehensive environmental plan to move B.C. on a sustainable path and invest in zero-emission transportation as part of my climate action agenda. Today I’m proposing further measures to make green mobility a reality in regions across B.C.,” said Farnworth.

A former municipal councillor and outspoken champion of building the Evergreen Line to the Tri-Cities, Farnworth said that communities across B.C. cannot build sustainable transport without an ongoing partnership with the province.

Farnworth’s plan includes:

* Investing carbon and fuel tax revenues in rapid transit on key corridors;
* Allowing regions and communities greater decision-making for transportation planning;
* A $50-million investment fund to cost-share safe cycling and walking infrastructures with local governments; and,
* Pursuing a cost-sharing agreement with federal government on capital funding for zero-emission transport.

“A commitment to invest in zero-emission rapid transit in growing urban regions is long overdue,” said Farnworth. “Low-impact mobility options will also help meet legally binding greenhouse gas emission reduction targets mandated by the province.”

NDP Environment Critic and Victoria-Swan Lake MLA Rob Fleming said Farnworth’s vision for green transportation is another example of the forward-looking policies that will give him an advantage going into the election.

“Mike has not only the best profile with party members and voters, but his green commitments will strengthen our ability to reach out to all progressive voters who want to see real change in this province,” said Fleming. “If we want to see these environmental policies in action, we need to elect Mike Farnworth as our leader.”
— 30 —

http://mikefarnworth.ca/media/farnworth-announces-green-transportation-plan-reduce-emissions-raise-productivity-and-improve?

Read this, and then think about all the politicians that want to build the South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway right beside schools in North Surrey. Then think about the idea of building the North Fraser Perimeter Road through New Westminister.

Maybe it is time to invest the Gateway billions in electric public transit and passenger rail instead.

Freeway air pollution linked to brain damage in mice

Los Angeles Times

April 7, 2011 | 7:29 am

FREEWAY It is well known that air pollution from cars and trucks on Southern California freeways -- a combination of soot, pavement dust and other toxic substances -- can cause respiratory disease, heart attacks, cancer and premature death.

Now, exposure to pollution particles roughly one-thousandth the width of a human hair has been linked to brain damage in mice, including signs associated with memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease, according to a USC study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. . .

In an interview, lead author Todd Morgan, a research professor in gerontology at USC, said, “Our data would suggest that freeway pollution could have a profound effect on the development of neurons and brain health in children and young kids, especially those who attend schools built alongside freeways.”

“So limiting one’s exposure -- especially children’s exposure -- to freeway pollution is essential to control asthma, cardiovascular conditions and cognitive development,” Morgan said.

Full text - http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/04/freeway-air-pollution-brain-damage-mice.html

I could not figure out how to embed this, click on the link below.

Note how other regions are tearing down waterfront freeways, while our provincial government pushes forward with freeways on both banks of the Fraser River.

MBA: Highway Removal
by Elizabeth Press on March 29, 2011 | 5,289 Plays | from the series Moving Beyond the Automobile

In this week's episode of "Moving Beyond the Automobile," Streetfilms takes you on a guided tour of past, present and future highway removal projects with John Norquist of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU).

Some of the most well-known highway removals in America -- like New York City's Miller Highway and San Francisco's Embarcadero Freeway -- have actually been unpredictable highway collapses brought on by structural deficiencies or natural disasters. It turns out there are good reasons for not rebuilding these urban highways once they become rubble: They drain the life from the neighborhoods around them, they suck wealth and value out of city, and they don't even move traffic that well during rush hour.

Now several cities are pursuing highway removals more intentionally, as a way to reclaim city space for housing, parks, and economic development. CNU has designated ten "Freeways without Futures" here in North America, and in this video, you'll hear about the benefits of tearing down the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, the Sheridan Expressway in the Bronx, the Skyway and Route 5 in Buffalo, and the Claiborne Expressway in New Orleans.

Streetfilms would like to thank The Fund for the Environment & Urban Life for making this series possible.
See Related Curriculum »

http://www.streetfilms.org/mba-highway-removal/#more-49201

Join the wave against the pave - April 22 StopThePave.org