Is Vancouver a better place in the decade since the 2010 Olympics?

Thursday, September 05, 2024

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Fond memories of Vancouver circa 2010 more than just Olympic nostalgia

Hey, remember the Olympics?

Expect to hear that a lot the next few weeks as we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Golden Goal, the Cauldron Arm That Just Wouldnt Lift and everything in between from the 2010 Games.

There will be plenty of warm nostalgia for the Olympics, and while part of that comes from the rose-coloured glasses that arrive for any retrospective, part of it is from just how much Vancouver has changed in the last decade.

And not necessarily for the better.

Statistics can only tell so much of a story, but here are some:

- In the last decade, the benchmark price of a home on the west side of the city went up by 69 per cent, and 97 per cent on the east side (not that you need to be told this, but incomes havent risen by nearly that much).

- The number of homeless people in Vancouver, according to the citys annual homeless count, has risen by 30 per cent.

- The vacancy rate in Metro Vancouver decreased by nearly half, from 1.9 per cent to 1.1 per cent, while the average rent increased by 47 per cent, from $1,006 to $1,480.

- The number of overdose deaths in Vancouver per year spiked by more than 800 per cent from 2010 to 2018, before going down slightly last year.

Not everything has gotten worse, of course particularly if you own a home and like cycling or craft beer and plenty of people continue to see Vancouver as a beautiful world-class something or other.

To read past issues of Metro Matters, click here

But the next few weeks of reliving Olympic memories will doubtless remind many Vancouverites of a different era in this citys history (say from Expo 86 to the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals), one where an upward trajectory seemed more certain.

Of course, thats one, perhaps overly nostalgic way to look back at the Olympics. One wonders how our local politicians will remember it.

The Look Back

1. Ride-hailing

A week after the City of Surrey agreed to a regional business licence model, two other remaining questions were settled, courtesy of the courts: the taxi industry had its injunction request against Uber and Lyft rejected, and the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that Surrey had to stop fining Uber drivers.

Read more

2. Vancouver

Its ba-aaaaack! A giant crystal tower next to Waterfront Station was first proposed in 2015 but disappeared after it was widely panned. But its been resubmitted to the citys development permit board and doesnt require a vote by council all of which is to say, get ready for a few months of scintillating architecture debate.

Read more in the Globe and Mail

3. Anmore

It seems incredible that school kids in Metro Vancouver have been playing next to a contaminated sewage site (nicknamed Fecal Mountain) for two years, but never doubt the ability of five different types of government to drag out a solution. Anmore council approved a big step forward on Tuesday, but it now falls on the school district to come to an agreement.

Read more

4. Victoria

Political discussions about the homeless population are nothing new in the capital, but the current question is whether RV campers are allowed to take up parking spots along oceanside Dallas Road for extended periods of time. Bylaw officials are enacting new rules, but given debates around RVs across southwest B.C., the issue likely isnt going away.

Read more

5. Lobbying

It was Mr. Stewart goes to Ottawa, as Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart and a phalanx of other local leaders were in Canadas capital for a week of lobbying efforts, focusing on (say it again with me) more money for transportation and affordable housing and getting the feds to allow a safe supply of drugs.

Read more in the Vancouver Courier

The Look Forward

1. Richmond

Can municipalities do much about non-Canadians having children in local hospitals, known (for better or worse) as birth tourism? Not particularly, which is why a Richmond council motion this Monday focuses on lobbying the federal government but it also asks staff to report back if there are any local efforts that can be made.

2. Vancouver

Council is back in session with a number of new motions, including one to support the release of information around the controversial sale of Little Mountain's social housing site a decade ago, one asking staff to explore creating a cultural rent bank for artists feeling the squeeze, and another moving forward with a new independent auditor generals office.

3. Surrey

Another Monday, another potentially raucous council meeting. Coun. Brenda Locke will have another motion trying to delay the transition to an independent police force, and Coun. Linda Annis has one motion asking staff to explore new ways of creating affordable rental housing and another one concerning the ride-hailing industry. Bring your popcorn.

4. North Vancouver District

Finally, there could be a couple of developments in the long-running pigeon saga worth watching. First, further court dates on the conflict of interest petition could be determined. But the district is also expected to receive the results of an investigation by former deputy attorney general David Loukidelis. The bigger question: when will it be released?

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That's it for us this week! Check out the latest headlines at cbc.ca/bc and follow our municipal affairs reporter, Justin McElroy, on Twitter. And if you have any questions you might want answered in a future mailbag, drop Justin a line at metromatters@cbc.ca.

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