Knowlton Knows

New West city council ignores its people

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“PINIO

Despite overwhelming opposition, the New Westminster mayor & co. push forward with more paid parking.

     

Knowlton Thomas

preference of the public and used
their political prowess to drain just
a little more of the average person’s
soul. Now in full effect, meter
parking in downtown New West

the operation of parking meters to
be extended from six days a week to
seven.

In fairness, the man behind
the report, Jim Lowrie, obviously

Yet the mayor and his lackeys have
the gall to think New West is in such
large demand that it requires paid
parking every day of the year. But the
fact is, it doesn’t. It never has, and,

ew Westminster is a beautiful nothing against the city
city. Itis wrought with  /t’s always seemed to me that paying copious amounts of money to for temporary butit * a hile haview will
historical salience. ownership of a small rectangle of concrete shouldn’t be necessary. There must be Mew ak = ai essa
It was founded in 1858 as some flaw in the master plan of a city when parking is so demanded that it can cost Sieh cahers 4's at and
just the second capital city of $20 per day—as though the cost of car payments, insurance and gas don’t already wold rather have the
British Columbia. It rests on erode enough of the average worker's income. friendly accessibility that
the riverside, running along : : , o
the Bustard Peninuails, and alludes extends to Sundays and statutory detected this engulfing wave free parking provides, than become

to the grandeur of New York City
with its own Queensborough. It has
a fun quayside boardwalk, boasts
well-established veins of public
transportation, and is even home to
the world’s largest tin man!

It has its bad sides, too, of
course —crippling traffic, areas
of industrial pollution, and an
unfortunate lack of good shopping
and eating locations.

But then it has its ugly sides.
Enter the city council.

Akin to Gordon Campbell
and his infamously looming
implementation of the HST,
the council for the City of New
Westminster has gone against the

holidays, despite overwhelming
Opposition against it.

The city posted a questionnaire
on its website in 2009. It received
just over 100 responses, mostly
residents. While not a tremendous
amount, it was enough for a fair
sample. It was included in a report
sent to the mayor and his council one
year ago and offered highly one-sided
results: 86 per cent of respondents
said that they did not experience
any difficulty finding parking space
on Sundays or holidays. 67 per cent
did not believe that parking meters
provide an effective way of ensuring
the availability of parking. And a
staggering 90 per cent were against

of opposition, because his
recommendation was clearly that the
council implement a two hour parking
limit—and only within commercial
areas—on Sundays and holidays.
Obligatorily, he added the ludicrous
option of having the meters operating
on a pay-parking basis, but the
content and research within the report
did not suggest that was a necessary,
nor good idea. Despite all of this, the
council ran a trial in the fall and made
it permanent shortly thereafter.

New Westminster has a
population just 10 per cent the size
of Vancouver, and less residents than
even some suburban areas like Maple
Ridge, where parking is free as a bird.

another money-sucking, resident-
burning fiend.

It’s always seemed to me that
paying copious amounts of money to
for temporary ownership of a small
rectangle of concrete shouldn’t be
necessary. There must be some flaw
in the master plan of a city when
parking is so demanded that it can
cost $20 per day—as though the cost
of car payments, insurance and gas
don’t already erode enough of the
average worker’s income. And yeah,
New West isn’t charging $20 (though
Vancouver does), but the new parking
meter rules bring it one step closer.

I wonder if we’ll be paying HST
on parking next?

 

Get involved and volunteer this summer

By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor

he end of another semester

has come and gone. While

some of us may be looking
at a summer semester, many of us
are looking at an extended period of
time to fill. With the best months of
the year ahead of us, it can be hard
to decide exactly what to do with all
of the time. Some might be looking
at a few months of full-time work in
order to be able to pay for another
year of school, while others will set
out on travels around the world or
spend days lounging on the beach
and basking in the sun. If you are
stumped about you should do during
the next couple of months, how about
volunteer.

“Volunteer?” you ask, “Why
would I want to do that?”
Well, there are many good

reasons to volunteer. Is there
something that you have always
wanted to try? Give it a shot as a
volunteer first. This will give you
a chance to try it out without the

- huge commitment and decide if it is

something that you want to invest
more time in. You can learn a lot
about yourself from volunteering. You
can learn what you do and don’t like
to do. Volunteering is also a great way
to work on skills that will help you
throughout the rest of your career.
Depending on what you are doing,
volunteering may help you work on
technical skills and will no doubt help
you work on people skills.

Speaking of people skills,
volunteering is a great way to
get out and meet new people. It’s
always fun to meet new people and
who knows whom you may run in
to. Volunteering is a great way to

network. Remember the golden rule,
its not necessarily what you know but
who you know. Volunteering could
open doors for you and introduce you
to things that you never knew existed.
If you’re a little leery about setting
out on your own, get a friend in on
the action. Volunteering with a friend
is a great way to build and strengthen
a friendship. If you push your comfort
level, volunteering can also help

you to build personal empowerment
and self-esteem. Chances are,
volunteering with friends and like-
minded individuals will also be a lot
of fun.

If you are thinking about
travelling over the break, why not
make it a volunteering or working
vacation. There’s probably no better
way to immerse yourself in a foreign
culture than getting directly involved
with local residents. Volunteering

 

 

abroad will help you be a part of
positive change in a community.
What better feeling is there than
knowing that you helped contribute
to the greater good? No matter how
much effort and work you put into
your volunteer work, the feeling

of contributing to a cause, giving
and caring will no doubt be more
than enough compensation. When
volunteering abroad, you might also
be lucky enough to pick up a second
language. And an added bonus,
volunteering always looks good on
the resume.

So whether or not you are
leaving the country or planning to
stay put during the summer break,
consider volunteering. There are
tons of opportunities out there to get
involved and get your hands dirty. In
the end, you have nothing to lose—
volunteering is a win-win situation.

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