Just a quick note that if you are in support of more bike and pedestrian friendly infrastructure in our City today might be a good day to head to City Hall.
At 6PM there will be an official public hearing on whether the Official Community Plan should be amended to require bike racks or bike parking facilities on all new and existing multi-family and commercial businesses in the city.
Here is the full handout from the City.
My opinion: if we are serious about encouraging people to get out of their cars then this is a logical first step to make it easier for people to use their bike to get to and from work or to do their business in town.
What do you think? Get to the meeting tonight at 6PM to register your opinion!
7PM:
As usual, there is tons on the Agenda tonight at City Council.
First there will be the presentation by John Mayba for a foot and bike bridge to cross the Rogers Creek ravine near 10th Avenue or the Multiplex.
My Opinion: this is something that really makes sense. It need not be an idea that competes with that of a road bridge, however, in the grand scheme of things that we can afford and that would provide a real new benefit to our city, I believe a foot and bike bridge spanning the ravine would make for a huge improvement in the walkability and bike ability of our City. Unlike a car that only needs a few minutes to make the strip down Gertrude to get to the other side of town, on a bike or by foot, the ravine poses a huge obstacle for people to go around at great cost of time and energy.
This should be something that should be very affordable as well and also able to be contributed to by volunteers. There could also be big benefits to linking in to the walking paths and trails within the ravine. Heck, it could even be a little tourist attraction to lure people off Johnston.
Second. 
There is a letter of support being requested by the City of Nanaimo to support the Island Ferries foot passenger service between downtown Nanaimo and Downtown Vancouver. With massive BC Ferry costs, this is an idea whose time has finally come.
And with the Island Ferry facility setting up shop right beside the railyard in Nanaimo it provides an exceptional opportunity to have visitors and commuters use the service to get all over the Island including here in Port Alberni.
If you were a tourist from Ontario flying into Vancouver and wanted to see Long Beach, would you consider taking the foot ferry to Nanaimo and hopping right on the train to Port Alberni to be your home base? It sure would cut car rental costs and it could be a game changer for our Coty in the summer months.
Come make your voice heard tonight!
Chris