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The Weirdness That is Victoria Resident Parking

Picture of many cars parked on both sides of a street

Donald Shoup, the author of the high cost of free parking and a god-like figure in the urban circles that look at parking in cities/towns and say “too much, too cheap!” (we’re very popular at parties) died recently. His death reminded me that for a while now, I have wanted to talk about Victoria’s strange and ridiculous neighbourhood resident parking system that rewards already wealthy people with free public land to store their personal belongings.

I’ve always lived close enough to downtown that the parking spots in front of my home had been restricted, either no parking or two hour parking. So I hadn’t really paid much attention to the resident parking rules except to know when I could get away with parking in a residential zone for a few minutes. That changed when I moved to North Park and discovered that around the corner from our new place, I could leave my car parked with zero restrictions, all the time! So, I was curious and started ducking (is that what you say when you use Duckduckgo?!) to see how I could get a permit? Turns out, there are no permits! And it’s FREE! You park your car on your block till someone complains about you, then parking enforcement gives you a ticket. You appeal this ticket with documentary proof of your address, and voila, ticket is rescinded and your license plate is entered into the system. WHAT?!

First off, FREE? Parking especially in Victoria is a scarce commodity, and the people who live in these blocks are already either relatively well-off (relative, don’t compare yourself to the Westons!) or renting from the wealthy. Resident blocks are typically found only in what we call “residential” neighbourhoods, and by residential we mean single family home-heavy, not rental building with hundreds of residents. This is a massive subsidy. In my neighourhood, I see commercial parking advertised for 250-300$ a month. Perhaps there’s less demand in Rocklands, but at a minimum, that’s approximately 160 sq feet (or 15 m^2) of public land that’s paved, maintained and given over to store your stuff (if your stuff is a car, good luck if it’s a tent and you want shelter) for free!

Secondly, a SNITCH DRIVEN SYSTEM? Someone’s neighbour with little better to do has to complain and then we waste city resources on writing a ticket, sending one, an appeals process, all of which is time spent by a city official that generates cost and no revenue? Where does this money come from? I presume from property taxes?

At a time when we’re struggling to pay for the mandatory police-dominated municipal budget and everything else that needs building and maintaining, why are we giving away storage on public space for free? We need to start the discussion around what’s appropriate payment for a resident to store their car in a well-maintained public space. Given it’s not guaranteed parking I guess it can’t be $300 a month which is full retail value, but some reasonable fraction right? Remember that in most of these neighbourhoods, your home already has a garage that’s meant for car storage but has been repurposed as extra house because you can store your car for free. Even if we start at a $200 per year, that gives a permit to hang in the car/sticker so we can stop this snitch-based enforcement mechanism.

Anyway, nothing’s likely to happen given how loud the people who own homes and thus assume ownership of the free parking in front of their homes get, and how afraid councillors are of loud home owners. But I’m still going to advocate for a better system when I talk to someone on council next. Donald Shoup would insist!

Anyway, the always excellent SIdewalking blog has a very informative post on the same issue, check that one out too!

Book cover of the book Brotherless night by VV Ganesananthan
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Brotherless Night – Go Read

Book cover of the book Brotherless night by VV Ganesananthan

I grew up in Chennai in the 80s and got to witness the Sri Lankan civil war from just across the border. I read about it mostly from the Indian English news media (The Hindu, Indian Express) and remember many parts of the conflict: The initial profusion of Tamil groups, the LTTE takeover, the quick suppression of peaceful/non-violent voices by the LTTE, the Indian “peace” mission, and then much of the mayhem that followed, including the killing of Rajiv Gandhi. My opinions were filtered through my pro-Sanskrit anti-Tamil Brahmin upbringing and I don’t remember being especially sympathetic to the cause back then.

This book really took me back and filled in the blanks. I learn history best when told through the experiences of those affected the most, the women, children, “civilians”. It’s a beautiful, extremely challenging history lesson on the Sri Lankan war told from the viewpoint of a young woman growing up in Jaffna. VV’s writing makes you read through the horror of war, the clear and repeated threads of who suffers and how no one involved in violence is “noble” or “heroic”. Read it if you are able, trigger warnings all the way with violence, sexual violence, family violence šŸ™ It is however a story primarily of resistance, survival and how important it is to catalogue the horrors of war as they are happening, and not let that story get buried in traditional war jingoism.

In this world we’re in right now, dominated by war coverage and the daily unchallenged assertions by those committing war that they are “right”, “honourable”, “just”, etc., reading accounts of war from the perspective of those most affected are a reminder. They are a reminder that when you commit to continuous violence, even if it starts as self defense or resistance, there’s no nobility there, no heroism: you’re killing human beings, you’re destroying lives, homes, gardens, libraries, schools, music, love and everything that makes us human. I really wish all war coverage focused on what is lost, not on who gained a bridge or how the great leader sitting in his well-protected mansion is waging the war.

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My kid loves statistics and 15 minute cities

My kidā€™s transport goals for the year

We have started this simple diary where my 7 yo tracks each of her trips and categorizes them as car or not car. I find the analog simplicity of this approach to be appealing and Iā€™ll be helping her keep this updated. I am also resisting temptation to add more data to this survey for myself (her project, not mine!) My movement goals are the same as hers, walk and bike as much as practicable leaving driving only for the ā€œitā€™s too far or I donā€™t have even 10 minutes to spare or I have to carry something that won’t fit on my cargo bike, or it’s not safe to bike with a kidā€.

Our life for the most part now fits the 15 minute city model, the concept that “Everyone living in a city should have access to essential urban services within a 15 minute walk or bike.”. Other than my once a week commute to work, almost everything we do is in that 15 minute walk/bike window and while our all age and abilities bike network is still work in progress, the trend is clear (thanks Dave Thompson Victoria City Councilor for the graphic from the CRD transportation survey)

Choices for 2024

When your phone does a thing

Iā€™m not much of a resolver, resolutioner, whatever the word may be. But my phone did show me these very interesting choices of app first thing this morning when I unlocked it and was looking for some app or the other, So Iā€™m going to find the Madonna in this toast and overinterpret šŸ™‚ The left two choices are the new Journal app on my phone versus Bluesky, which means I choose to prioritize writing for myself (or my group chats Iā€™m going to extrapolate here) over social media. On the right, itā€™s streaming versus WordPress, which means I get to prioritize writing (and creating) over consuming. So, be it resolved for 2024!

Also, the icons for Journal and Bluesky are both butterflies and thatā€™s lovely.

Big Wool and Fast Fashion

Cute sheep or not, factory farming is always impactful

 

According to one analysis of wool production in Australia, by far the worldā€™sĀ top exporter, the wool required to make one knit sweater is responsible forĀ 27 times moreĀ greenhouse gases than a comparable Australian cotton sweater, and requiresĀ 247 timesĀ more land.

Source: Big Wool wants you to believe itā€™s nice to animals and the environment. Itā€™s not.

This is an interesting article in Vox on the outsized impacts of large-scale factory farming wool impacts. The article goes into further detail comparing wool to synthetics on impact (Both big, but different), and why plant-based alternatives like Tencel and Hemp and recycling have not taken off. It also discusses the increasing trend of wool blends.

Widespread cheap synthetics haveĀ enabled fast fashion, making it possible for brands toĀ produce stupefying volumes of disposable fabrics. These are now very commonly combined with wool to create hybrid garments. According to the Center for Biodiversity and Collective Fashion Justiceā€™s recentĀ analysisĀ of 13 top clothing brands, more than half of wool items were blended with synthetics, giving them in-demand properties like machine washability

Of course when you blend a wool and a synthetic, it is now landfill material. The issue with clothing (same as the issue with most scaled up factory production) is scale and economics. Fast fashion makes clothes that fall apart in 6 months and are impossible to fix. So whatever the raw material used, this trend ensures high production, quick profit, large impact and large waste. In addition, factory-scaled animal production is not really compatible with animal welfare.

Unless the system changes, which will require a massive re-examination and re-jigging of our financial systems and reward/responsibility mechanisms, we will always have this issue.

Leftover milk solids chocolate balls

Leftover milk solids chocolate balls

When you make ghee, and are careful enough not to burn the batch, the milk solids that are filtered out are great to use up. This site has a bunch of ideas . The one I do most often is a variation of the sweet my grandmother used to make and has my kid asking why I havenā€™t made ghee recently.

  • Mash and mix the milk solids with a spoon till smooth and any of the larger particles or clumps are gone.
  • Mix in some rice flour for structure, and sugar and cocoa powder and continue to mix till you get a smooth consistent thick paste. No proportions, itā€™s a feeling.
  • Ask your kid to taste it and adjust the sugar and cocoa as needed, or taste it yourself šŸ™‚
  • Shape and roll with your hand into a long cylinder and cut into equal portions
  • Make each portion spherical (or whatever shape) and transfer to a container to refrigerate.
  • Once the residual ghee in the mix solidifies in the fridge, youā€™ll get a very tasty bit of chocolate dessert!
Roasted rutabagas are awesome!

Roasted rutabagas are awesome!

This week unlike other weeks, I picked up that rutabaga I usually avoid at the grocery store and it paid off šŸ™‚

  • Preheat the oven to 425 F
  • Cut into 1.5 cm cubes
  • Transfer to a bowl and add salt, mix to coat evenly. Be generous, didnā€™t measure but it was more than a tsp
  • Add spices of your choice, I added 1 tsp kitchen king masala, 1/4 tsp turmeric and 3/4 tsp red chili powder. Mix to coat. Amounts are guidance only
  • Add your oil of choice depending on the spices used, I used canola as a neutral oil and mix to coat
  • Spread evenly and bake in the middle rack for 30-40 minutes stirring halfway till they get golden brown and toasty
  • Garnish with something green to finish, I didnā€™t have any cilantro or green onion on hand, so I used some dried fenugreek leaf which is also tasty

Itā€™s so good! And the right amount of salt (thank you Samin Nosrat)

Why Deport Jaskirat Singh Sidhu?

A federal judge has dismissed applications from the truck driver who caused the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash in Saskatchewan and was fighting deportation back to India.

Source: Federal judge dismisses latest bid to stay in Canada by trucker who caused Humboldt Broncos crash | CBC News

I find the practice of involuntary displacement (deportation) of Canadian residents for crimes committed to be unjust and cowardly regardless of the crime.

  • Firstly, the concept that the consequences you face for your actions as a resident of Canada depends on your papers is unjust. We would not be deporting a Canadian born citizen for any of their actions. See for example, Tenessa Nykirk. She hit someone who suffered serious injuries while speeding and texting, but she’s not going to deported. Deportation for offences committed is a holdover practice from citizenship laws that were enacted to act as gates especially for “undesirable” immigrants. Yes, I’m aware that Sidhu’s crime violated the Terms and Conditions of his residency, those T&Cs are unjust!
  • Secondly, I find the concept of outsourcing Sidhu’s longer-term rehabilitation and restitution for victims to another country to be cowardly. The problem happened in Canada, the victims were Canadian residents, and the restitution needs to happen here (how one family “forgave” Sidhu). He’s not “somebody else’s problem”.

American Caste andĀ ’90s flashbacks

Always like when I’m validated for something I said 25 years back

Wilkerson rigorously defines eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, heredity, and dehumanization. She documents the parallels with two other hierarchies in history, those of India and of Nazi Germany, and no reader will be left without a greater understanding of the price we all pay in a society torn by artificial divisions.

Source: Isabel Wilkerson

I moved to the United States in the late ’90s and my growing up “high-caste” in India meant I was fairly clueless around understanding discrimination/racism directed at me. I do remember many conversations I had with white people around stereotypes, and one of the FAQs in these conversations was around “Oh you have a caste system in India, here in the US we’re all mixed and it’s different”. Even in my relative cluelessness at that time, I remember responding with “Oh, FFS you have a caste system, it just looks different and not enough people call it that, and then if I was a couple of drinks in, would go on to discuss slavery, African-Americans, class as connected to money and more”. I’d go on to state “your racism is the same as our (I identified as Indian at that time) casteism”. So, I’m glad this book came out and was very highly regarded. I hope to read it sometime.

To Read! Dark PR by Grant Ennis

In his new book, Dark PR: How Corporate Disinformation Harms Our Health and the Environment, Grant Ennis ā€” a lecturer at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia ā€” identifies the ā€œnine devious framesā€ that corporations such as automobile manufacturers and road builders use to advance their interests, manipulate the public and maintain a status quo that harms human health and the planet. 

Image Book cover of Dark PR by Grant Ennis
The War on Cars Podcast on Dark PR

I love the War on Cars podcast for its great content detailing how cars and cities aren’t BFFs. And I specifically liked this podcast with Grant Ennis the author of a new book Dark PR as it connects the much larger and universal public relation framing on every important issue to the specific subject of cars. While I have not read the book yet (my desire to read non-fiction is not always matched by action), you should listen to the podcast, and here are the 9 frames divided into 3 themes šŸ™‚

  • Big Lie – Serves to deny, obfuscate and redirect
    • Denialism: Deny deny deny.
    • Post-Denialism: It’s happening, it’s not bad, it’s actually good!
    • Normalization: This is inevitable, deal with it.
  • Pseudo-Solutions: Solutions that are anything but
    • Silver boomerang: Here’s an amazing solution that won’t solve the problem and will rebound into profit for us!
    • Magic: Ooh look, if y’all do this one thing that will be available tomorrow, the problem will be solved, so don’t worry about it today
    • Treatment trap: Sorry your air quality sucks, but here’s a great air purifier for only 399.99
    • Victim blaming/individualism: It’s all your fault, if only you’d composted moreā€¦
  • Complicated frames
    • Knotted web: This is such a difficult problem, here are 10000 different aspects blah blah blah, oh good, you’re asleep!
    • Multifactorial framing: To solve this problem you have to do x, y, and z all at the same time, all of the above! Dilute dilute dilute!

As you look at various issues affecting us like housing, climate change, city planning, wars, drug poisoning, you name it, you’ll see one or more of these frames in use.

Anyway, listen to the podcast, it’s edifying.

This post is thanks to my friend Sherwin who updated my website yesterday and reminded me that low-expectation writing can be fun! As he just messaged me, “CLOSE YOUR EYES AND TYPE” (caps all his).