One Pager 2 - Exercise - Victoria Bike Lanes

Lisa Helps Highway, Cindy Peckham, Feb/27/2018

The problem is not the bike lanes; it's the bike lanes. They came too soon, without warning, and without operating instructions. In short, they were poorly executed, and ill-timed. Victoria wasn’t ready for their construction, or opening, and there wasn’t enough public consultation, or adequate critical information exchange. A project of this magnitude that impacts so many citizens needs communication to be front and center in its priorities at all times. Even today, 10 months after the first corridor on Pandora opened, many cyclists and motorists still do not understand how the lanes operate. 

The corridors opened under a plethora of activity from the public: anger from local businesses for not being consulted, complaints from motorists over traffic pattern changes, and cheers from cyclists and pedestrians alike. But some suggest that perhaps no one could be heard cheering as loudly as cyclist enthusiast and Victoria Mayor, Lisa Helps. In fact, the newly minted Pandora bike lane corridor has been affectionately named after her as the Lisa Helps Highway because it runs from Fernwood where her home is located, to City Hall, presumably where she works.

Mayor Helps obsession with the bike lane project has been presented to the public as an initiative aimed at protecting Victoria citizens health and the environment. Protection that comes at a pretty hefty price tag. The city originally set aside $7.75 million for the project but the estimate of costs has now almost doubled to $14.5 million, and this is just for the first phase of the project, which works out to roughly $2.7 million per kilometer.

Costs aside, infrastructure, such as the bike lanes are a great investment for a city, and many places all over the world already have them, such as Paris, Dublin, and Montreal to name just a few. They’re culturally enriching and will promote the very things they’re supposed to. Healthier life styles, and environmental sustainability. And perhaps the most compelling reason to invest in them is citizen safety. Cyclists in their own lanes keep everyone safe.

But bike lanes are not going to solve the problems that growth has created. Growth is a good thing, but Victoria needs solid plans in place to deal with the amplified traffic congestion, the increased social problems and the critical housing shortage.

The bike lane project itself seems to be a distraction from more critical issues that require city council’s immediate attention, and require financial investment. It would perhaps be prudent for council to invest some time and energy into these issues, see to the completion of other projects, like the Johnson Street Bridge, and shelf the bike lanes for now. Bike lanes, by comparison are kind of a luxury.

Links to sources used/consulted:

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/mayor-apologizes-over-lack-of-consultation-on-fort-street-bike-lanes-1.3280102

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/day-1-of-separated-bike-lanes-cause-for-excitement-anguish-in-victoria-1.3393542

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=701011

http://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/residents/transportation/cycling/biketoria-pandora-ave.html

http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-bike-lane-cost-stirs-anger-1.23120805

https://www.straight.com/news/1012941/victoria-mayor-and-cycling-advocate-lisa-helps-announces-shell-see-reelection-2018

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/another-3-million-needed-to-complete-victoria-bicycle-lanes-1.23115278

http://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/residents/transportation/cycling/biketoria-pandora-ave.html

https://www.wired.com/2016/04/how-to-make-bike-friendly-city/

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2016/11/why-protected-bike-lanes-save-lives/508436/

http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/keep-unpopular-downtown-bike-lanes-until-2018-city-hall-advises

Class Assignment: Faux Twitter Updates as Social Media Manager at News Outlet

SITUATION

           You are the social media manager for an outlet (newspaper, radio, or TV), in a medium sized town.  You need to do three updates a day – Morning, mid-afternoon, and early evening.  This story is being updated for each time period.  You will have to write a tweet for each time period – each one no more than 240 characters.  Use correct language and incorporate the new information in each one.  Try to grab attention with the first line, and fill in details afterward. 

Morning

Information: Two grade 12 students at Central High were involved in an accident when their car skidded into a tree along a deserted road.  The accident occurred at 2:00 am today. Both students, John Raake and Fred Hohe, were admitted to Victoria General Hospital. You do not know the extent of their injuries, but paramedics indicated they are not life threatening.

Your Tweet: Two Central High students were taken to Victoria General Hospital after their vehicle collided with a tree in the early morning hours. Both passenger and driver appeared to have non-life-threatening injuries according to paramedics, and no other parties were involved in this accident. #Driving #Accident #YYJ

Mid-afternoon

Information: You have just learned that the police are charging both students with underage drinking and the driver (Raake) with driving under the influence of alcohol. Additionally, the passenger (Hohe) is being charged with possession of a controlled substance for a small bag of cocaine that was found in his possession. Both sustained only minor injuries in the accident.

Your Tweet: This just in: The two Central High students that were involved in an early morning single car collision have now been charged with impaired driving and possession of a controlled substance. Though taken to Victoria General Hospital, injuries they sustained are minor. #DUI #Youth #YYJ

Early Evening

Information: Both are starting players on Central High’s Provincial Champion Rugby team.  The principal, James Hardnose has issued a statement that both students are immediately suspended from practicing and laying rugby with the school team because the charges involve illegal use of alcohol and other drugs. The principal cites a school policy, signed by both the players and their parents.

Your Tweet: Central High Provincial Champion Rugby team suspends two players for breach of school policy says Principal James Hardnose. The students and their parents signed a policy prohibiting illicit alcohol and drug use. The students are facing impaired driving and possession of a controlled substance charges after their car struck a tree early this morning. Both students had sustained minor injuries. #Rugby #ProvincialChampions #YYJ

Class Assignment - Topic: Free Tuition, Style: Editorial, Word Count: 350-500

Tuition Debate: No Clear Answers, C.J. Peckham, February 18, 2018

Free tuition for post secondary education in Canada may just be a really expensive bandage. Tuition is at an all time high in Canada according to the MacLean’s article, In the Millennial job market, a Bachelor’s degree isn’t enough, and todays graduates are drowning under massive student loan debt they simply cannot afford to pay back. There are some who believe the answer is to foot the bill for Canadian students and offer them free education. While this is a tempting concept I have to wonder what it really does to eradicate the problem, or even if the correct problem has been identified. It’s easy to find reasons to support this position. Since entering grade school students are spoon-fed the idea that a post secondary education is the only way they can secure a good future for themselves. A fact which can easily be bolstered by statistics of increasing demand for skilled and educated workers since the late seventies and the matching rise in post secondary enrollment rates.

However, there are many reports that point to a larger problem as the root cause of student debt loads. The CBC article, ‘The millennial side hustle,' not stable job, is the new reality for university grads., sheds light on the challenges many of todays students face upon graduation when they try to enter the workforce. In it they quoted Kimberly Ellis-Hale, an instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario who had surmised that a good education used to mean a good job but that she no longer believed this was the case.

The jobs simply are not there, and many graduates find themselves unemployed or underemployed. Additionally, it’s been suggested that a Bachelors Degree has become common and is no longer viewed as valuable as it once was by todays employers who are looking for graduates with either experience, and/or specialized training, so many are finding they need to return to school to be competitive in todays job market.

Granted, free tuition could be an option to consider in the reduction of student debt loads until these larger problems could be resolved. But even this presents its own new set of problems and challenges. What stipulations would be in place to ensure the program was not abused? How would the program be administered, who would qualify for it and where would the money come from to pay for it?

There don’t seem to be any clear solutions or answers in this debate, only strong opinions on both sides. But one thing is clear. As much as free tuition could assist with student debt load problems it does not equate with job availability, or security, and it does nothing to put disposable income into the pockets of a generation of graduates who could stimulate the economy.

These are the people who are supposed to be shaping and building the future of Canada.

Perhaps the bigger and more looming question then is; If not them, then who?

_________________________________________________________________________

Citations/Links Considered:

https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/03/02/Universal-Higher-Education-Canada/

https://globalnews.ca/news/2924898/university-tuition-fees-rise-40-per-cent-in-a-decade/

http://www.macleans.ca/work/jobs/in-the-millennial-job-market-a-bachelors-degree-isnt-enough/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/when-a-university-degree-just-isnt-enough/article579230/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/millennial-jobs-education-1.4009295

https://theeyeopener.com/2017/10/going-back-having-a-bachelors-degree-isnt-enough-anymore/

https://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/5518188-should-post-secondary-education-in-canada-be-free-/

https://acuff.me/2014/11/people-dont-value-things-dont-value/

http://business.financialpost.com/opinion/why-free-tuition-helps-all-the-wrong-students

http://www.brockpress.com/2015/09/yes-education-should-be-free/

David Lennam Provides Dose of Reality to Journalism Students at Camosun College

Class Assignment: Invu and Write
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But Why Freelance? - Cindy Peckham, February 05, 2018

David Lennam, was assaulted while giving a speech on freelancing at Camosun College Lansdowne campus today. Lennam is a Canadian journalist, producer at Shaw Cable, and a CBC radio broadcaster. The assault was part of a ruse the talented Lennam had staged to drive home a point to journalism students that they must not only be observant, but also prepared because the news can happen right in front of them. “As freelancers you’re out there trying to find a story and you’re not getting paid all the time so you’ve got to observe”, he said.

Lennam believes the world is in crisis in many ways right now making this a very important time for journalists in terms of content, and despite his concurrence that there are decreased prospects in traditional media, and a decline in pay rates, he thinks many opportunities still exist.  He offered students a great deal of insight on how to tap into those opportunities, ranging from pitching to editors, finding the leads and developing stories. Lennam said, “Whenever you have a story, there’s probably another story – and it might be a better story if you look a little deeper.” He also stressed the importance of reading and becoming generalists so students, as journalists’ can draw from a wide breadth of knowledge and be able to write about anything.

Lennam made it clear that freelancing is not an industry where people go to earn money. It’s a tough gig to get into, and one that requires people to develop thick skin and keep pitching even when their query letters are being ignored, and rejected. He also didn’t shy away from the truth when he told students that when you get published you open yourself up to a lot of feedback, and often it comes as criticism.

After internalizing these brutal but real remarks from a highly successful, professional freelancer it may naturally lead to questioning why someone may still wish to pursue it as a career path. The answers are of course as unique and varied as the individuals who have chosen it. But perhaps none so eloquently sum it up as Lennam himself when he said, “We write because we want to write, we write because we have stories to tell, we write because we want to change things.”