Taking away bus shelters inhumane
An aura of tension has clouded over our vibrant community and our valley’s most vulnerable populations.
On March 27, the CVRD voted in favour of removing two bus shelters; one beside London Drugs and the other in front of Cowichan High. These are two very popular bus stops; in fact, all routes start and end at London Drugs. This decision is damaging and inhumane as it marginalizes our valley’s most vulnerable, a good portion of whom have no alternate transit options. Those affected include the:
• elderly
• physically disabled
• mentally disabled
• financially unstable
• immigrants
• children 16 and under
• low-income workers
• people from one-vehicle families
• recovering addicts, rebuilding their lives as they wait for bans on their driving licences to lift.
People from these backgrounds are meaningful and valuable in both our valley and our world. Their contributions are just as important as those with reliable transport. Accessibility is keystone to any vibrant and inclusive community, and temporary shelter for public transit users is an accessibility that cannot be taken away. These bus shelters provide those in need with an invaluable and vital link between the Cowichan Valley. These shelters make transport between appointments, grocery shopping, recreation, government assistance, medical visits, and everyday living possible. Taking these shelters away only makes matters for those in need more difficult.
Expecting already marginalized communities to use public transport while standing out in the pouring rain and wind is insensitive to the needs of so many. It’s also counterproductive given our government’s emphasis on using public transit and the recent climate tax increase. Unlike larger cities, most buses in the Cowichan Valley circulate once every three hours. That leaves large gaps of time that people must endure without any comfort or shelter. Imagine for a moment an elderly person with a walker, a disabled teenager going to an after-school program, someone five days clean and sober on their way to a job interview, or someone newly arrived here from an unsafe country, waiting for their only bus home in a downpour. It’s a sad sight but I say this with hope: it’s an avoidable one.
The CVRD’s shelter removal is rooted in concern over a growing social disorder: the illicit drug use in our area. Street people and drug users have occasionally camped in bus shelters, but instead of the CVRD effectively dealing with that issue and making sure current infrastructure remains safe for everyone, they’ve decided instead to simply remove the shelters. This tone-deaf and shortsighted decision has far-reaching consequences at an expense to those with the least to spare.
By allowing the CVRD to take away bus shelters, it opens the floodgates for other public areas to be stripped away, too. What happens when the parks, and then the playgrounds, the trails, the picnic areas, and finally entire walkways are torn away or blocked off because of local government’s inability to safely respond to our current social disorder? We’ll all pay the price, but none so much as our valley’s most vulnerable, who are the ones most likely to enjoy public spaces as an affordable way to connect with the valley. If we lose those spaces, we lose community. We lose connection. We lose accessibility. We lose life. The bus shelters are only the beginning. We need to keep our parks, playgrounds, trails, picnic areas, and walkways safe for future generations. We do not and cannot do this by restricting or taking away access to infrastructure.
I urge the CVRD to reconsider its decision to remove the bus shelters, a decision that is truly a lose-lose for everyone. If you agree with me, I strongly encourage you to email the councilmen ASAP. I’ve been told upon authority that the bus shelters will be removed in a week, so please act now. You can contact the CVRD by emailing the board member.
Aaron Stone / chairperson@cvrd.bc.ca
Sierra Acton / sierra.acton@cvrd.bc.ca
Karen Deck / karen.deck@cvrd.bc.ca
Rob Douglas / rob.douglas@northcowichan.ca
Ben Maartman / ben.maartman@cvrd.bc.ca
Jesse McClinton/ jesse.mcclinton@cvrd.bc.ca
Ian Morrison / ian.morrison@cvrd.bc.ca
Alison Nicholson / alison.nicholson@cvrd.bc.ca
Kate Segall / kate.segall@cvrd.bc.ca
Michelle Staples / mstaples@duncan.ca
Mike Wilson / mike.wilson@cvrd.bc.ca
If you will kindly send an email to each individual, it only strengthens our message, but one or two will do. Alternatively, you can also respond to this email instead and I’d be happy to forward your ideas, thoughts, and concerns to the CVRD councilmen.
Please help now by ensuring that the CVRD maintains safe infrastructure and safe accessibility for everyone. You can do so by forwarding this email to any associated persons you know who would like to see our people-focused infrastructure remain.
I thank you and I look forward to the CVRD’s renewed participation on not only this matter but all accessibility and safety issues going forward. A valley that enables connection and public transport, while separately targeting today’s street issues in a constructive and healthy way, are goals we can all support. I hope the CVRD will support them, too. They need to hear from you — and quickly — so please, write now.
Noah Robertson
Duncan