I have decided to throw my hat in the ring and have applied to the Board of Directors of Vancouver’s Co-operative Auto Network.  The Board of Directors is elected by members of the Co-op on the General Annual Meeting which this year will be on January 27th, 2010.  Five of the eight members are to be elected during this years AGM.  If you are a member you should have received an email indicating where the AGM is held.  If not, please contact the Co-operative Auto Network directly.

Please find below my Statement of interest.  Good luck to all candidates, and to me too.

________________________________________

By providing a middle ground to owning a vehicle and relying on transit and cycling, the Co-operative Auto Network contributes to improving the lives of its members, our communities and the environment. It is with this vision in mind that I offer my abilities to CAN and submit my candidacy to the Board of Directors.

My priority, as a member of the board, would be to expand the Car co-op network into the suburbs (Surrey, Richmond, etc.). This would benefit not only potential members currently living in the suburbs, but also those who occasionally require a vehicle in suburbia. Other projects are to provide documentation in other languages, keeping sound financial management, providing better access to the Board of Directors and a review of the complain process.

Living in South Vancouver (Marpole) since 2001, I joined CAN before there was a vehicle in my neighbourhood. Since then, my involvement has included volunteered for a few presentation shows and working in the main office as a Call Centre Manager and a Member Care Co-ordinator, first on a full time basis, then on-call, from 2007 to 2009. Fluent in French and English, I also speak decent Spanish and basic Cantonese. I am currently completing on a part time basis a certificate in Sustainable Community Development at Simon Fraser University. I also comment on social and environmental issues in a monthly column in L’Express du Pacifique newspaper and on the web: www.vancf.net.

Thank you,

Frédéric Van Caenegem

Congratulation to Translink’s unelected board to have schedule they Annual Meeting on Election day (May 12). This decision ensures there will be as little as possible media coverage regarding decisions taken on that day. A day that has been scheduled and made public just a few years ago by the provincial legislature!

Frédéric Van Caenegem

Before you vote, watch this video and tell all your friends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhccpzI4lbQ

Few have been as honest and insightful as former Deputy Premier Christy Clark on CKNW yesterday. Here’s the video everybody needs to see before they vote in Tuesday’s provincial referendum.

As Christy says, this is the most important vote we’ll cast. Please forward this to everybody you know.

Regards,
Shoni Field
British Columbians for BC-STV

This comment was published in today’s 24hrs.

Megan Albrechtson’s article (24 hours, March 10) about economical modes of transportation was very interesting, but I think one alternative can be added. Between owning a car and using transit (or rather a complement to both), there is car sharing. Car sharing is provided by two organizations in the Vancouver area: the Co-operative Auto Network and Zipcar.

Frédéric Van Caenegem

A terrible tragedy, that cost the lives of two people, happened near Granville Island a few weeks ago:
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/in-the-garden/dead+near+Granville+Island/1267133/story.html

Back in November, I sent an email to the city of Vancouver about the same dangerous pedestrian crossing.  You can read the correspondence here:
http://blog.vancf.net/2008/11/22/an-example-of-bureaucratic-efficiency/

The City fixed the problem quickly. But, this crossing remains dangerous and is an example of urban design oriented toward car-friendly urbanism. Which happens to be often pedestrian-unfriendly design.

I do not know exactly what happened on that tragic day, I did not witness this terrible tragedy and I can not remove the responsibility of the driver, who was impaired at the time of the accident.

I can only send my condolences to the family and friends of the victims.

A few days ago, I sent an email to the City of Vancouver Engineering Department to advise them that the “pedestrian detector” (not sure how to call it) at an intersection near my workplace was not working.  My hopes that this would be looked at were very slim.  I was, firstly, quite surprised to receive an email the following day saying they will look into the issue.  I was even more surprised three days later when, coming at this intersection as I usually do, the detector was actually fixed and working properly!

Someone has established good internal communications inside the Engineering  Department of the City of Vancouver.  Bravo!  Please find below the email exchange.

Frédéric Van Caenegem

________________________________________

From : Frédéric Van Caenegem
Send : November 22 12:36:33
To : Engineering Records Management

Hello Darren
Thank you for looking into this fixing the problem.  Great internal communications!
Sincerely,
Frédéric.

Subject: RE: Pedestrian crossing on 4th under Granville Bridge
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:32:13 -0800
From: Engineering Records Management
To: Frédéric Van Caenegem

Hello,
The following message was sent from the electrical office:
Thank you for advising us of this pedestrian crossing problem. We will look into the matter.
Thank you,
Darren

From: Frédéric Van Caenegem
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 9:45 AM
To: Engineering Records Management
Subject: Pedestrian crossing on 4th under Granville Bridge

Hi!
Just wanted to advise that the pedestrian crossing on 4th avenue, under Granville Bridge, is not working properly.  The detector on the North side is not functioning, therefore it never gives enough time to cross the street.
It should be fix rapidly, at this crossing is a blind spot for drivers who can’t easily see pedestrians.
Frédéric

ICBC and many police departments in the province have started a campaign to increase security at intersections.  You can read more here: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2008/11/07/7334016-sun.html.

I’m wondering at all if we should abolish the right to turn right on a red light. I know it is a very unpopular measure, but I have seen so many times drivers only looking left at incoming traffic and turning without realizing pedestrians crossing the street on their right. Once I saved my (then fiancée, now wife) life by knocking on the vehicle’s hood of a driver who did not bother looking to the right. Another time, I saw a man doing the same thing, saving his dog’s life undoubtedly.

Many drivers don’t seem to know that drivers are required by law to immobilize their vehicle before turning on a red light and that pedestrians have the right of way over automobiles. I know this idea is very unpopular, but saving lives has no price.

Also, advise for pedestrians: MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH DRIVERS. I always make eye contact, and it is why my wife is alive (or at least not crippled) today.

Mayor Sullivan’s so called online survey on UBC transit line was a farce.  The survey never asks if you support or not the UBC line, it just asks “Why do you support UBC Transit line?”  I answered, “I don’t”.  The survey also asks: “if the UBC line was built, would you use it?” To such a general question, I answered, “Yes”, meaning I would probably use it at least once in my life-time.  87% of the respondent answered yes (like me!).  So, according to Sam Sullivan, just about anyone supports the UBC line!

Published in Vancouver’s 24hrs newspaper: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/

In response to Mark Stevens (24hrs, November 09), you should know that a new car is barely less polluting then an old one. Car pollution comes partly from emission, but also from the manufacturing of the car itself with parts being built here and there and assembled somewhere else then shipped to… you get the idea. If you buy a used car that might pollute a bit more then a new car, at least you won’t contribute to the pollution going into building the car itself. That being said, the best is to not use a car at all and use public transportation. But that is a whole different story.

Here is an email I sent to Translink and the remarkable answer I got!
Frédéric.
__________

From: “TransLink Customer Relations”
Objet: RE: New Trolley buses
Date : Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:59:59 -0700
De : “TransLink Customer Relations”

Frederic,
I have processed your concern to Translink, who purchased these buses.
Customer Relations
Coast Mountain Bus Company
Tel: 604-953-3040

—–Original Message—–
From: Frédéric Van Caenegem [mailto:vancf@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 7:13 AM
To: TransLink Customer Relations
Subject: New Trolley buses

Hello!

I writing you regarding a problem that often arise in the new Trolley buses: I get dizzy. At the beginning I tough it was due to some personal reason. But after a while, I noticed that this happens only while riding the new trolley buses. And talking to other people, I realised I’m not the only one.

I noticed that the new trolley buses have higher acceleration and deceleration. That might be great for a sports car, but I don’t think it should be a positive feature in a public transportation vehicle. This abrupt movement makes, I am sure, a lot more people uncomfortable in the buses (dizziness, lack of balance, falling down). Which brings me to other problems with the new Trolley buses.

They have less seats, which is an unusual move considering they generally serve the already most crowded bus lines. They also seem a little bit smaller, but I’m not sure of that. Also, they seem to concentrate even more people by the back door.

I think perhaps, Translink should have signs to tell people not to stand by the exit door, like there is already signs to tell riders to let seats for the elderly or to remove backpacks. There should be more signs though, and multilingual too.

Also, what is the point of the “buzzer” pamphlet if it’s always about 6 weeks late in the buses??? I started to see in the last few days the August 2, edition???

Oh, one positive point, I like the windows in the new trolley buses! They are both secure (I think) and let fresh air in. Contrary to the ridiculously small windows in the packed of people exhaling CO2 in the B-lines. Unless you can change the fact that people breathe (which I hope you can’t), the B-lines needs bigger windows.

Thank you,
Frédéric.