Vancouver has the worst property crime of any city in North America. Why? Because those charged with the responsibility have failed to do their jobs. It's time we took our fair city back, from the criminals and the powers that be, who are being paid huge salaries for nothing.
It's 4 p.m. on a rainy Monday. From my perch on a Starbucks stool near the corner of Dunsmuir and Hornby, I have seen exactly one bicycle pass in the last 10 minutes. The bike lane is perversely reminiscent of Moscow's limousine lanes, which were reserved for the use of party apparatchiks as they rushed in their limos to the Kremlin. The great Russian masses had to bottleneck down the remaining pavement.
I moved to Vancouver in 1981 and have seen a lot of changes. Property crime it out of control. Little concepts such as the right of way have become non-existant on city streets. Garbage and filth is piling up in back lanes. Previously quiet laneways in the West End have endless streams of "binners" doing their part to transform the West End into the DTES.
And until we demand more from those responsible, it's probably just going to get worse.
