THEVOICE | 2 Photo radars debated Controversial technology could hold drivers accountable = By LINDSEY LLOYD Burnaby city councillor is lobbying to bring back controversial photo radar to ensure road safety after three people were hit by cars on a cross- walk in less than a week, with one fatality. Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said the provincial government should give municipalities the authority to use photo radar to catch people violat- ing traffic regulations. “It is a perfect example of why lo- cal governments, working with the RCMB, should be allowed to put a photo radar in places where we see as necessary,” Dhaliwal said. After being in place for five years, B.C.’s photo radar program was stopped in 2001 by Gordon Camp- bell’s B.C. Liberal government due to its unpopularity with the public. The issue of bringing back photo radar has been raised again since a report was re- leased recently [J showing that | ICBC is $1.3 bil- | lion in debt. Dhaliwal said the use of photo } radar is “not just a money grab.” Last week, Burnaby city council also ap- proved a full traffic signal to be in- stalled later this year. Sarah-Kate Salmon, who attends the Salvation Army’s nearby Cari- boo Hill Temple, started an online petition to raise awareness of the hazardous crosswalk that has now garnered over 12,000 signatures. “We have been lobbying and emailing the city for 15 years, more so after the last seven years. Too many accidents and too many close calls,” she said. Salmon said that she is consider- ing adding a call to reinstate photo radar to her petition. But not everyone agrees that photo radar is a solution. Tan Tootill, co-founder of Sense BC, a grassroots drivers’ advocacy group, said to The Voice that the use of photo radar is an “easy way to extract money from people.” A ministry official from the Pub- lic Safety and Solicitor General’s office told The Voice that the prov- ince is not considering bring back photo radar. Sav Dhaliwal BURNABY CITY COUNCILLOR DANGEROUS CROSSWALK ACCIDENTS ON CARIBOO ROAD = 15-year-old dead On Jan. 17 a international student was hit and killed early in the morning. = Cyclist injured A cyclist was hit on Jan. 18 but had non-threatening injuries. = Pedestrian hit On Jan. 21, a pedestrian was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. SOURCE: BURNABY RCMP THURSDAY, FEB. 8, 2018 | EDITOR MYRA DIONNE — A woman runs to catch the 100 bus at the 22nd Street Station on Feb. 7. TransLink plans to bring electric buses to the 100 route in 2018 in a move to ease congestion and reduce pollution. PH070 By JENNIFER WILSON Buses to run on batteries Electric bus trials to take place in South Vancouver area = By JENNIFER WILSON ransLink will experi- ment with four fully electric buses in South Vancouver as part of the agency's plans to cut greenhouse- gas emissions. Two models of electric buses will run along SW Marine Drive next year, a move that follows Trans- Link’s first electric-bus trial in 2017. The buses will travel the 100 route from the 22nd Street Sta- tion to the Marpole Loop, where TransLink will also place an electric charging station for the buses. TransLink is not the only agency planning for Vancouver's electric fu- ture. The Vancouver park board re- cently approved new public charg- ing stations for electric cars. Dale Bracewell, Vancouver city manager for transportation plan- ning, said that the city is moving forward with its plans to cut fossil-fu- el emissions. “We're still shaping the city we want,” he said. ‘Today Vancouver has the largest fleet of electric municipal vehicles in Canada. Bracewell said that TransLink’s move to electric buses is important “We're still shaping the city we want” — DALE BRACEWELL, CITY MANAGER FOR TRANSPORTATION PLANNING to reducing congestion, not just air pollution, because private electric vehicles can't do both of those jobs. “As cars already are shifting to- ward electric, and later on to driv- erless, moving people in cars is still moving people in a met- al box.” ‘The president of the Vancou- ver Electric Vehicle Association, Bruce Sharpe, said he welcomed TransLink’s move. “We've informally encouraged TransLink to lean towards pure electric versus hybrids,” Sharpe said. The electric-battery buses will add to TransLink’s fleet of almost 1,600, a third of which are already electric trolleys or electric hybrids. The agency’s 10-year plan aims to ensure that its current carbon foot- print doesn't increase, even while the region’s population grows over the next decade. Two Nova and two Xcelsior bat- tery electric buses have been select- ed by TransLink for the 2019 trial run. Both models are approximately the same size and seat around 40 people. The Nova, however, has a shorter battery life, with a 40-kilo- metre range on a full charge, which takes about two hours. The Xcelsior can run up to 250 kilometres after charging overnight. World Cup could put poor at risk Higher security a risk to SOCIO- economic divide = By MYRA DIONNE dvocates and politicians say that if Vancouver be- comes part of a successful 2026 World Cup bid, as the city is hoping for, they are worried the ad- ditional surveillance from security forces will increase vulnerabilities for low-income residents. Lenée Son, a co-ordinator for Carnegie Community Action Project, said major sporting events in the past, like the 2010 Winter Olympics, created zones of exclu- sion where low-income residents were heavily monitored and fol- lowed by police and business se- curity guards in areas that tourists were likely to stay or visit. “There’s already an increased amount of violence that’s at the hands of the [Vancouver police] and against people in the Down- town Eastside and Chinatown,” A crowd gathers at the Rogers Arena security gates for a show on Feb. 5. Concerns over safety and security during major sporting events were raised during the bid for the FIFA World Cup 2026. PHoTo BY MYRA DIONNE Son said. “They need to address the violence that the Vancouver police perpetuates against the community before they start bringing in more security.” City Coun. Andrea Reimer de- fended local police, saying that they have been sensitive to vulnerable populations. But she said that police or secu- rity from elsewhere are less certain. “Tm not as confident about po- lice forces from outside of Vancou- ver being able to achieve that stan- dard,” Reimer said. The concerns have arisen be- cause Vancouver council is sup- porting an effort to become one of the Canadian host cities in an un- precedented three-nation bid with Mexico and the United States. If chosen as a host city, Vancou- ver and Canada will be responsible for providing safety and security for up to five games of the 80 total. Set. Jason Robillard, media spokesperson for the Vancouver police, said security at international and national events is often under the control of the federal RCMP. “We do obviously play a role as a local police department but, on the bigger scale, these events are usually run by the RCMP,” he said. Security costs for the city or country are yet to be determined, as the requirements have not been detailed yet by the international soccer federation, FIFA. ‘The city could expect to see $90 million to $480 million in benefits from the games.