Latest news with #LucyMaloney
Global News
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Global News
Vancouver debates moving to 30 km/h speed limit on minor streets
Vancouver city council is considering a proposal Wednesday that could see the speed limit on all minor streets dropped to 30 km/h. A report to city council details how other major global urban centres such as London, England, saw traffic collisions drop by 42 per cent after lowering their own speed limits. Vancouver's default speed limit is currently 50 km/h, with exceptions for school and park zones and a stretch of East Hastings near Main Street. If approved, the lower speed limit would apply to all 'local streets that do not have a painted centre line and are in a residential area.' 4:14 Pumping the brakes on speed limits on Vancouver side-streets It also proposes a phased rollout of new signage targeting 25 select neighbourhoods in order to 'facilitate the ability to enforce speed limits.' Story continues below advertisement Along with the slower speed limit, council will also discuss adopting a 'vision zero' strategy aimed at rethinking its road safety programs. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'There are such negative effects for society of so many crashes, you know our insurance premiums are too high, our health care costs that we pay taxes for are too high,' OneCity Coun. Lucy Maloney told Global News. 'And it's avoidable because we know what works to avoid deaths and injuries; there have been a number of studies around the world.' Maloney said City of Vancouver research also concluded that half of pedestrian injuries and deaths involve seniors, who make up just one-fifth of the city's population. She said she's hopeful changes can be made to improve safety for the city's elders at intersections.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vancouver council approves controversial Commercial Drive rental tower project
Vancouver city council has voted to approve the rezoning of a site near the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station, which is set to add more than 1,000 housing units across three towers. Westbank Projects Corp. and Crombie REIT, on behalf of Snowcat Property Holdings, brought forward the proposal in 2023 to redevelop the site at 1780 East Broadway, which presently houses a Safeway supermarket and a car park. There have been proposals to redevelop the site as far back as 2019, and now that rezoning has been approved, the controversial rental towers will proceed as planned. They range in height from 36 to 43 storeys in an area that consists mostly of single-family homes, duplexes, low-rise apartments and retail buildings.A marathon public hearing saw over 100 people talk to council about the project, with critics saying the tall towers would lead to inflated property values in the area and that they would not be affordable for a majority of Vancouverites. Ultimately, however, a majority of councillors voted in favour of the project, particularly talking up an accompanying retail space — including a grocery store, office and commercial space, a city-owned child-care facility, and a public plaza running parallel to the SkyTrain station. "I don't want to see this site remain undeveloped for another 10 or 20 years," Coun. Lucy Maloney said. "I want to see a surface car park replaced with over 1,000 homes." The units will be built across the three towers. Ten per cent of them will be secured at city-wide average rental market rates and the other 90 per cent listed at prices of the developer's choosing. Maloney acknowledged that many speakers at the public hearing expressed concern about the affordability of the housing, but said "if this project fails, there will be no affordable homes at all." Coun. Sean Orr said he thought using city-wide average rents for the 10 per cent of more affordable units was flawed, given how sky-high rents are in Vancouver. "We need rental units, but I'm worried that we are giving the developer double the height and we're not seeing the full public benefits that we could be seeing at the site," he told council. Orr was the only councillor who voted against the proposal, with Coun. Pete Fry abstaining and Coun. Brian Montague absent. Application under community plan The application was considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan. A referral report from city staff notes that the application "exceeds the anticipated height and density expected in the plan," but "otherwise generally meets the intent of the plan." Proponents of the plan argued that the city was in dire need of rental spaces, with one advocate even playing the accordion in city council during the public hearing to encourage councillors to vote in favour. "There's zero displacement of renters. It's mostly just a parking lot," said advocate Peter Waldkirch in a statement. However, the megatowers also faced sharp criticism. Speaking against the proposal, nurse Nancy Hay asked council to vote for rezoning applications guaranteeing at least 20 per cent below-market rental units, saying that many of her coworkers in the health-care sector could not afford to live in Vancouver due to skyrocketing rents. "I wonder if these monoliths, these proposed monolith towers, are going to house workers ... who are these workers going to be?" she asked. "They will not be my coworkers — health-care workers, lab technicians, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, to name a few occupations ... the proposed rent, as you've heard, is way too expensive."
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Motion to bring back Vancouver renter office defeated in tie vote
Vancouver City Hall is seen in Vancouver, on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck A Vancouver city councillor's push to restore the city's tenant advocacy office — and crack down on bad-faith landlords — was voted down by council Wednesday afternoon. Coun. Lucy Maloney, who was elected in April's byelection on a platform focused on housing rights, brought forward the motion, arguing the city must do more to support renters — particularly those displaced by redevelopment tied to the Broadway Plan. 'Renters don't feel like the city has their backs,' said Maloney. 'They don't feel like they're being listened to.' The tenant advocacy office was a city-run service that provided support and resources to renters. It was shut down in 2023 by the ABC-majority council. Coun. Peter Meiszner defended the decision to close the office, citing low usage. 'They were receiving less than one call a day,' he said. 'So what we decided to do at the time, was to transition the funding for that city renters office to a non-profit that can handle those inquiries more effectively.' Funding was redirected to the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre, and Meiszner also pointed to the provincial Residential Tenancy Branch as the appropriate channel for dealing with landlord-tenant disputes. Maloney argued the city should provide additional protections beyond the province's scope, particularly in areas impacted by the Broadway Plan, where many renters are expected to be displaced through the city's Temporary Relocation and Protection Policy. 'We're going to have increasing volumes of people being moved out of their homes as the Broadway Plan progresses,' said Maloney. 'We need to make sure that we're focused, that we've got the resourcing and staff needed.' Meiszner responded that existing city staff are already working to support renters through these transitions. 'So we're building thousands of new rental units in the Broadway corridor, and there are some tenant relocations that need to happen,' he said. 'But we have staff already within the city working on that.' In addition to reinstating the advocacy office, Maloney's motion also called for exploring stronger penalties for landlords and developers who act in bad faith. Ultimately, the motion was narrowly defeated in a tie vote, with the four present ABC councillors voting against the motion. After the vote, Maloney said she will continue to fight for Vancouver renters, vowing to one day bring the tenant advocacy office back to city hall. A separate motion by Coun. Sean Orr — declaring housing as a human right — was passed unanimously.
The Province
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Province
Despite voters' rebuke of Vancouver's ABC party, new towers will still be higher, increase density
Douglas Todd: Even though voters elected two progressive candidates last month, council's direction is not about to change in regard to the pace and scale of mega-highrise projects. The two newcomers to council, COPE's Sean Orr and OneCity's Lucy Maloney, voted along with ABC and the rest of council on April 22 to approve the massive plan for the Jericho Lands. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / 10107669A The dominant centre-right ABC Party was hammered in last month's Vancouver byelection, with its two candidates coming in a dismal sixth and seventh. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Despite voters electing two progressive candidates April 5, the direction of council is not about to change regarding the pace and scale of mega-highrise projects in Vancouver, the most dense city in Canada. The two newcomers, COPE's Sean Orr and OneCity's Lucy Maloney, voted along with ABC and the rest of council on April 22 to approve the Jericho Lands official community plan, which gives the go-ahead to arguably the biggest housing development in the city's history. 'It's going to be beautiful and add so much to the area. It's going to be such an amazing contribution,' said Maloney, speaking of the 65 residential buildings, mostly in the 25- to 60-storey range, proposed by MST Development Corp. for the half-empty former military base in Point Grey. A watchdog group, the Jericho Coalition, has proposed an alternative vision for the Jericho Lands: of mostly six-storey apartment blocks. But when CBC radio host Stephen Quinn asked Maloney if she would have been open to supporting a 'happy medium' of density for the Jericho Lands, she said it's too late. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Other areas have been bearing the burden of accepting all the population growth. I guess it could have been lower levels of density if we'd been building low-rise apartment buildings in every neighbourhood of the city for decades. But we haven't,' said Maloney, a self-described 'environmental lawyer' who works with the mining company BHP Billiton. Newly elected Coun. Orr, who describes himself as a Communist and dishwasher, also voted for the Jericho Lands official plan. His emphasis has been on affordability and protecting renters, including those being displaced by the 500-block Broadway highrise plan. Despite the historic significance of the Jericho Lands project, three members of ABC were absent for the vote: Mayor Ken Sim and councillors Brian Montague and Peter Meiszner, as well as Rebecca Bligh, who was recently dismissed from ABC. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. How Vancouver councillors voted – or didn't bother to – on April 22. The small quorum unanimously approved the Jericho lands massive official development plan. Erick Villagomez, who teaches at UBC's school of community and regional planning, predicts little resistance from the two new councillors, or from Bligh and the Green member of council, to the 'monotonous' direction dictated by the ABC majority, particularly in regard to high density. In Villagomez's analysis, the two new council members are 65 per cent aligned on the major issues with ABC, which has been pro-tower and often criticized for ignoring citizen input and reducing demands on developers to provide community benefits. The only candidates in the byelection who do not align with the enthusiastically high-density attitudes of ABC, and who would have offered serious resistance, Villagomez said, were former TEAM councillor Colleen Hardwick and running mate Theodore Abbott. Hardwick, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2022, came in third in last month's byelection, with Abbott fifth. That's despite being endorsed by high-profile professors who specialize in housing affordability, including UBC's David Ley and Patrick Condon. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. CityHallWatch, a group of ecologists, urban designers, architects and former planners who have been monitoring Vancouver politics for 15 years, produced a scorecard before the byelection that detailed how NDP-affiliated OneCity and the Greens have backed ABC on key property development issues. OneCity was represented on council by Christine Boyle before she ran successfully in last year's provincial election, becoming the NDP's Indigenous affairs minister. She regularly lined up with ABC against developer-skeptic recommendations put forward by TEAM. The Greens' Pete Fry and Adriane Carr, who recently retired, did much the same, according to CityHallWatch. The analysis by CityHallWatch, a volunteer organization devoted to 'socially just and transparent' public institutions, shows OneCity and the Greens, and to a slightly lesser extent COPE, had in the past rejected key TEAM ideas, such as: to 'rethink city-wide towers,' 'retain public hearings,' 'pause/replan the Broadway plan' and 'pause/replan the Jericho Lands.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. As Randy Helten, an environmental activist who co-founded CityHallWatch Media Foundation, said: 'OneCity, COPE, Greens, and ABC Vancouver are generally singing from the same song sheet on development, planning, densification and towers.' CityHallWatch produced this scorecard before the April 5 byelection. OneCity, in particular, has been openly endorsed by key players in the pro-high-density movement. They include Russil Wvong, a member of Abundant Housing, a North-American wide, developer-supported organization that advocates for more housing construction. Wvong often posts calls for allies around North America to weigh in to support new highrises in Vancouver. B.C. Premier David Eby has also been strongly influenced by the YIMBY movement, including hiring some of its advocates. The NDP, as a result, has introduced legislation that forces municipalities with at least 5,000 residents to approve four- to six-unit dwellings on single-family lots, and to automatically OK extensive highrise clusters around SkyTrain stations and transit hubs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Although centre-left politicians in B.C. were in the 20th-century known as staunch defenders of citizens' right to challenge mass property development, that alliance has faded. NDP cabinet ministers have joined left-wing civic politicians in accusing citizens who question the scale and esthetics of building projects of being selfish NIMBYs. The issue of property development has caused ideological confusion among progressives. That's partly because many on the centre-left point to data showing that North American cities that have dramatically increased housing supply, especially Vancouver and Toronto, have not lowered stratospheric prices. Condon and Ley, as well as Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley and Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, both of whom have blue-collar backgrounds, say rapid densification is failing to produce the right kind of housing, especially for young families. It's mostly serving investors and land speculators. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Mass upzoning leads to uglier buildings, say many — since Vancouver council and others are allowing developers to build blockier apartment highrises, with less open space and fewer public amenities, in exchange for promising to make up to 20 per cent of their units 'below market.' The trouble with that is, with the real-estate cycle going into a downturn, Vancouver developers who obtained density bonuses are now signalling they need to get out of their earlier commitment to so-called 'affordable housing.' dtodd@ Read More Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks BC Lions News News
CBC
07-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
OneCity's Lucy Maloney elected as 1 of 2 new Vancouver city councillors
Vancouverites chose two new city councillors in this weekend's byelection. OneCity's Lucy Maloney received the second-most votes and joins Stephen Quinn in studio to discuss her goals.
