CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTHeweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeneeneeel African photography and film exhibit Parking problems Businesses on Main complain about students taking parking away from their customers By DUSTIN GODFREY mall business owners around Ss" Street and 50th Avenue are complaining about parking, say- ing Langara students are taking up all of the space outside their shops. Harinder Toor, owner of Punjab Food Center, said this adversely affects business, with potential customers struggling to find parking space. “If the customers don’t find the park- ing, customers don’t come to the store,” said Toor. “And we don’t do any sales here. How are we going to pay the rent?” While it is legal for students to park for two hours on Main Street, store owners said the frequent use and abuse of time takes a toll on business. “Tt’s not a legality point of view,” said Daljit Sidhu, owner of S&S Insurance Services Ltd. “Legally, we have to call the city hall and they can ticket them, which is a hassle for us, hassle for them. “It’s a moral issue. Being a good citi- zen. Being a good student. They should not hurt the neighbours.” Naresh Shukla, owner of Mother In- dia Naresh Foods Inc., plans to bring the issue to the school administration. Shukla said that even though the spaces are meant to be for two hours only, students often stay five or six. He tries to reason with students when they get out of their cars, but they ig- nore him, he said. He said he will draft a letter to the head of Langara, gather signatures from other business owners and deliv- er the letter personally. “Tm expecting 20 to 30 business peo- ple will sign,” said Shukla. He noted parking has been a prob- lem for a few years, but fears the instal- ment of parking metres if the store- owners complain to the city too much. Some business owners speculated the problem may be due to expensive parking at the school. However, busi- ness administration student Sean Dale said this shouldn’t be a problem. “If a student is able to drive to school, then they don’t really get to complain,” said Dale. DUSTIN GODFREY photo Students parking on Main Street. i) YEARS STRONG = a a Z = 5 fo) Lr } REBECCA PHAIR photo Students board the SkyTrain at the 49th Avenue station, a crucial transit hub where thousands of Langara students travel daily. Strike would slow commute and snarl rush hour traffic on 49th Ave. By REBECCA PHAIR rotrans BC employees have reached their breaking point and a strike is possible on the Canada Line, potentially affect- ing thousands of Langara students and staff. The last collective agreement be- tween Protrans BC and the B.C. Gov- ernment and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) expired over a year ago. Members working for the rapid-transit system have been campaigning to come to a new agreement. The vote on Jan. 6 determined that, of the 150 Protrans employees, a total of 99 per cent voted in favour of increas- ing pressure for new negotiations, in the form of a strike. The BCGEU said a strike could re- sult in a system-wide halt. The Canada Line has a ridership of roughly 120,000 passengers per week. Many are commuters who rely on the train’s service to get to and from school or work. The Langara-49th Avenue station is the nerve centre for commuting stu- dents. With the Canada Line out of commission, both students and faculty would be subjected to extensively lon- ger commute times. “Tt would be horrible,” said Sharanya Sivaraman, a computer science stu- dent. “It would take me twice as long to get here.” By last count, about 24,000 students taking regular program courses at- tended Langara in 2014. In the event of a Canada Line shut down, this population would be fun- nelled onto buses, adding traffic to the already congested routes surrounding the school. “l’d have to take the bus,” said stu- dent Abeerah Mohammed. “I wouldn’t have any other choice.” Protrans workers anticipated the mediation period, which began on Jan. 19, with Labour Relations Board direc- tor Grant McArthur as the mediator. Despite the promise of effective me- diation, representatives of the rapid- transit system were already planning their next move. The BCGEU is seeking alternative solutions to achieve an agreement, but for now a potential strike still hangs in the balance. 66 If media- tion fails we are prepared to increase pressure to negotiate an agree- ment PAUL FINCH BCGEU TREASURER Birds of a feather flock to Langara The pond at Langara Golf Course a home for birds By JOCELYN ASPA versity hotspots listed in Vancou- ver Park Board’s bird strategy. The Vancouver Park Board present- ed its new bird strategy to city council on Jan. 21. The strategy is an effort to preserve wildlife in the city and is part of Vancouver’s Greenest City 2020 Ac- tion Plan. Large green spaces, like the golf course that surrounds the pond, pro- vide places for migratory and resident birds to breed and feed. Vancouver, with its large parks like Les Pond is one of the 26 biodi- Stanley, Queen Elizabeth, Everett Crowley and Langara Golf Course, has what’s called an “ecological network,” according to the bird strategy. Vancouver’s Bird Week first became an annual event in 2018, which led to talks about the strategy. “We have been planning the Vancou- ver bird strategy ever since then,” said David Bradley, Bird Studies Canada program manager, in an email. Bradley said the bird strategy offers design guidelines that will help birds by providing additional habitat for them. “T believe this benefit will be felt by everyone, be they ardent naturalists, fair-weather bird spotters or walkers in the park,” he added. 66 Our intent is that in- stitutions like Lang- ara adopt some or all of the guidelines NICK PAGE VANCOUVER BOARD OF PARKS AND RECREATION BIOLOGIST JOCELYN ASPA photo Langara Pond, a refuge for resident and migratory birds.