Background Reminder

 I live in Fairview, own ebikes, tried to offer public input to the bike route grant.  Ended up with the city blocking my emails, emails threatening legal action and a phone call telling me they would take my camera.    Yes they now claim 22 bikes/hr avg, double the pedestrians to 30/hr and vehicle traffic down 50%.   Unsupportable by my dozens of intersection camera video evidence.  

The grant was to reduce GHG's, eligibility required traffic monitoring before and after the project to determine success and GHG reduction estimate.

Video evidence clearly shows 4000 or more vehicles now stop and start daily because they turned all the Fairview 3rd St stop signs so bikes would not have to stop.   Winter video shows vehicle traffic remains about the same, bicycles amount to virtually none.   

The math.....4000+vehicles stop per day.   up to 30,0000/week, 120,000/mo, a staggering 

 1,400,000 per year 

The city planner council presentation claims they have monitored traffic and recently monitored 3rd st. traffic.    I became aware of a consultant camera monitoring traffic in various locations end of May 2022.  I spoke with the person moving the cameras.  City accounts payable showed this consultant was paid $17,000 from May through September, was it for traffic monitoring?    I submitted a Freedom of Information request for the accounts payables to determine what it was for, camera monitoring? data ?   

The city wouldn't provide.

Although the city claims traffic monitoring the grant application, it was required to be FOI available to the public, I have it.   The application says NO monitoring was done on 3rd!

The grant information says the bike route must meet current design standards, it fails sightlines.  No STOP sign is to be placed on the more heavily travelled route without a traffic safety engineers approval,,,,,video evidence clearly shows no STOP sign would have moved.  My latest in person discussion with the senior city planner who submitted the grant application(now promoted to director of something?) he told me to stop wasting everyones time at city hall.

I was asking that he return the STOP signs at Kokanee and 3rd, because video evidence clearly shows hundreds, sometimes over 1000 vehicles stop daily for virtually no bikes.

In order to get the grant, the bike route had to reduce vehicle traffic to below 1000 vehicles daily.  A city planner? someone, sat at the corner of Anderson and Nelson ave. by the old museum and came up with the numbers to get the grant money.   CLOSE the road. So now you see the one way across town blocked.   The grant said no vehicle shortcuts are to be created, video shows vehicles now shortcut on 2nd or Willow to get across town due to the blocking of the end of that block.

The grant was for 2km of bike route.  1km was already signed and deisgnated bike route, you can go to Google Maps, streetview 2012 and find all these bike route signs.

The grant showed $20,000 for a speed reader board, the city used the one they had.

It also showed $72,0000 for signage and painting, since 1km was already signed, the only thing done was painting the white silhouettes of  bikes and adding signage to redirect traffic since the end of Anderson was now blocked.

The grant maximum was $500,000, the city didn't fool around  they got almost the maximum.  Total cost the city admits to $690,000.  It would appear almost all that was spent on 3rd st. 1km.  

Grant eligibility was for a safe, GHG reducing, AAA affordable bike route.

All my emails to everyone including BCATgrants@gov.bc.ca are ignored.

Why do you think the city sends emails threatening legal action, phones me to tell me they will take my camera, and I have a police file and can see the police turning around in my intersection traffic video monitoring?   Because the entire bike route is a total FAIL, dangerous, waste of money and I would suggest a FRAUDulent use and abuse of grant money.  Fraud=knowningly deceptive.

Show me the auditable (this would be something like time stamped video like I provide) to support the claims of 18 bikes/hr avg.  double pedestrians to 30/hr avg. and vehicle traffic down 50% on the bike route.   There is none, this is all BS!

Grant letters of support!

MOTI (ministry of transport and infrastructure) oversee the grant selection.

How did the local MOTI traffic safety engineer provide a letter of support???

How can city managers grant support letters be acceptable?  Hardly arms length!

Did the city transit manager know that this would require a dedicated priority plowing and sanding addition to his staff?  Add the extra GHG's and costs for equipment, sand salt and maintaining all 12 turned stop and start  zones at the now all turned 3rd st. STOP signs on grade?  Did he even write the letter?  I have no problem suggesting that knowing my history of this cities dishonesty and deception.

The West Kootenay Cycling Coalition provided a grant letter of support, I have it in the FOI information supplied.

It came from the home 2nd st. resident address of a past WKCC director, purporting to be from the WKCC.   I happened to search and found the WKCC was a non profit dissolved months before.....the previous address a doctors office(known bicycle advocate) in town.  Wouldn't this make the letter fraud?  The WKCC has since been reborn, in Trail.

Did the EcoSocity know that  over a million plus vehicles now stop and start annually, increasing GHG's when they wrote their grant letter of support?

How about the IHA letter of support? The bike route was to promote health, ebikes are just electric motorcycles, the opposite is occurring.

The bike route was to be AAA, thats grades of 3% or less.  Nelson is built on a mountainside 10 to 15% grades.  Grant money is to benefit all, the only thing AAA about the bike route would be for 3rd st. residents.

There is no way out for this city, and the lack of due diligence on behalf of the BCAT grant selection committee, its time for honesty.  The bike route fails everything it was intended to be, affordable, GHG reducing, Safe and AAA.

I became aware of this cities dishonesty and deception upon the Community Solar Garden. Thats a long story, but it was the first time the city emailed me threatening to block my emails.  Ever since I have been extremely uncomforable with what I know, Nelson hydro fiances, very uncomfortable, particulary in the previous decades.  Did it represent a well managed electric utility, in my opinion a slush fund for the city, thats another story.  Now that the BCUC is finally asking questions after decades, the light is shining on that.

 How did this happen?  I believe its the world histeria on climate emergency and city councl who think Nelson taxpayers will save the world from climate change. 

The bike route project was led by councilor Brittny Anderson, now our MLA, including Rik Logtenberg, his first electon campaign was we only had 10 years left to get carbon and GHG reductions or the world was doomed.  He continues, and was re elected.

Councilor Jesse Woodward, in his first election campaign he stated he grew up in the valley and never had an actual job.   He is a climate fear monger.

None of the 3 above  councilors live in the city.

Finally councilor Keith Page, who rents, was part of the bike route quorum that took over city council.  One of his statements regarding my complaints and emails regarding the bike route  "some people have difficulty with change, these are STOP signs get used to them".

Enough for now, I will be the change.  To date I haven't been able to get any notable support, local social media seems controlled by city hall and I get comments removed or blocked.  The city paints me with the crazy brush and its working.  So I will continue, you the public need to know, when some of you begin to get made enough you might get behind me.   I have a long list of all those who I have emailed showing the danger/expense/waste/incompetence etc.  

I haven't moved the needle at all.   The community solar garden got an award!  Why wouldn't I expect the bike route to get an award, its the same thing, except it can kill someone.

I get a lot of negative and little positive about my position and informatioon.

I hear, "there is nothing you can do".  "I'll leave it up to you"  and the one that irks me the most

"I don't have to drive there, I don't give a damn".  Well, think about it, 3rd st. and all 12 turned stop signs are now priority plowing and sanding.  Just like the bus route and emergency route to the hospital.  While you uphill are looking for plowing, salt and sand, wait until they are finished on 3rd st and all the STOP signs.

It will change, these STOP signs will be returned, hopefully the roadbloack at Anderson and Nelson Ave. will be removed, and maybe some responsible will be removed?  Or at least not voted in again.   Hopefully there will be no tragedy at the dangerous 3rd st intersections.  Two possibilities, they admit the mistake, or a tragedy, inquiry, lawsuit and it will all be revealed.  I am not providing opinion, you need to know this.

Ask for the traffic safety engineering approval and traffic monitoring to support turning all Fairview 3rd st. stop signs.   I have many times provided email addresses in many different social forums, it appears everyone thinks someone else will do something, and nobody does anything.