Neil Young's 1959 Lincoln Continental Convertible

When my colleague David Bell of retail planners/advisers Thomas Consultants Inc. read about Vancouver's proposed electric charging facilities requirement, he asked me whether it would work for Neil Young's Electric Lincoln Convertible. I had not even heard of this car. But as the once proud owner of a 1961 Lincoln Continental Convertible (the one with the suicide doors!) I had to check it out. Here's what I found:Neil Young has decided to make himself an example of how hybrid electric cars can be produced with existing technology and without the loss of style with his Lincvolt, an all-electric version of the awesome 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV Convertible. He's been working with noted alternative energy nerd Johnathan Goodwin and his company, H-Line Conversions, to develop the car, in current form an electric with an on-board compressed natural gas generator. Young wants the 5,000 pound, 19.5 foot long convertible to be an example to everyone that you can convert any car to run cleaner.

The Lincvolt will be entered into the Progressive Automotive X-Prize competition and make an attempt at 100 MPG equivalent fuel economy - a far, far cry from the original mileage. You can learn more about the car and see it's live unveil over at the project website: Lincvolt.com. [Telegraph.co.uk]

Read More: lincvolt, Neil Young Lincoln, Neil Young Lincvolt, Electric Lincoln Conversion, H-Line Conversions, 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV Convertible, johnathan goodwin, Electric Lincoln, Electric Lincoln Conversion, Alternative Energy, Electric Car, Electric Cars, Neil Young

Phil Bonds of the international architectural/planning firm Broadway Malyan tells me UK has been gearing up for electric charging facilities, with the focus being applied to on-street provision (converting lamp standards, pay machines etc)

Bioregional Quintain, the developer of Bed-Zed in Sutton, UK fitted charging facilities to its own parking facilities about 10 years ago. Bonds worked on a major social housing scheme on an adjacent site and included charging sockets 5 years back. The client's rep used to visit their offices in his electric car and leave a trailing electric cord for them to trip over, as it dangled out the window and crossed a busy footpath to his car!

Phil believes that electric cars are definitely the future, "I give it just 5 years to there being 25%
take up". I'm not that optimistic, but I do expect that there will be many electric cars on the road by then. Furthermore, developers will be able to sell the underground parking spaces with charging facilities at a premium, which will more than offset the additional cost of installation.

Electric Vehicle Charging in Multi-family Projects

On July 9th, the Planning and Environment Committee will consider a report proposing that developers be required to install electric vehicle charging facilities in new multi-family developments. I learnt about this initiative after hearing Jeff Fisher, Associate Executive Director of UDI expressing some development industry's concerns regarding this proposal on CBC's Early Edition. The UDI concerns related to cost, the adequacy of electrical supply, and the uncertain future for electric cars. Frankly, I was surprised by the UDI position, so I decided to review the staff report. You can find it on-line at http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/documents/penv3.pdf.
In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess that for many years I have been interested in electric vehicles. When I first started working on UniverCity at SFU, I explored the feasibility of purchasing an electric vehicle for the community from Dynasty Motors . However, provincial government restrictions severely restricted its use on provincial highways so we purchased a hybrid vehicle instead. I still drive a hybrid.

So what is UDI objecting to? The staff report proposes that developers be required to install electric car charging facilities in 10% of the underground parking spaces, starting 18 months from now. The initial proposal was for 20%, but was modified based on UDI concerns. The city will also be investigating public charging stations and installations in its Easy Park lots.

While I can appreciate that this will add some costs, and there will be issues related to allocation of parking spaces to those with electric cars, and metering to ensure that those who charge their cars pay for the electricity, I support the city's inititative. After all, this really is a chicken and egg proposition. The number of electric cars will be limited by available charging facilities, and vice versa! Furthermore, by recently agreeing to significantly reduce the required number of parking spaces in multi-family developments, the city has already reduced the cost of building parking for developers. I expect that the additional costs for electric charging facilities will be significantly less than these savings.In researching this post, I was fascinated to see the different electric charging facilities that are now being marketed and installed around the world. It is apparent that this time, the oil companies and major automobile manufacturers will not kill the electric car. It is coming!And as for me, while I wait for my GM Volt electric car, I have to decide whether to trade in my 2008 Prius for the 2010 Prius with its solar electric sun-roof (which can power an airconditioner to cool the car before you enter) and self-parking capability. I mean, ten years ago, who would have predicted that you could find these features on a gas/electric car selling for under $40,000?

The bridges of Santiago Calatrava

As noted in an earlier post, Gregory Henriquez and Mayor Robertson recently announced a pedestrian/cycling bridge across False Creek. The design presented reminded me of the work of Santiago Calatrava, one of the most celebrated bridge designers in the world. In case you are not familiar with his work, I am including a few images. You can check out his work at www.calatrava.com

A pedestrian/cycling bridge over False Creek?

The very talented architect Gregory Henriquez and Mayor Gregor Robertson made news this week with a public proposal to build a new pedestrian/cycling bridge across False Creek. A number of people asked me what I thought of the idea, and I told them that I supported it in principle, having mused about such a bridge during last year's municipal election campaign. Indeed, I included images of similar bridges in Melbourne and Dublin during a subsequent presentation on 12 Great Ideas for Vancouver From Around the World which I presented in the final week of the campaign.

Based on what I was told following my public propositions, my two concerns about such a bridge proposal are its cost, and functionality (especially for commuting cyclists). However, I was seduced by the idea, and decided to take a quick look on-line for other pedestrian/cycling bridges.

One of the first that I found was the Sundial Bridge in Redding California (illustrated above). According to on-line reports, the bridge proposal began with a $3 million price tag in 1995. By the time it opened in 2004, the price had ballooned to $23.5 million.

The Sundial was the first U.S. bridge by architect Santiago Calatrava of Valencia, Spain, whose work is legendary throughout Europe. Some might speculate that it could have inspired Gregory's design!

The 700-foot long bridge is 23 feet wide. It's deck is opaque glass from Quebec. The 14 cables hold up the bridge without needing in-river support, a major design factor because the clear-running Sacramento is a salmon-spawning stream as it runs through Redding.

The bridge takes its name from a 217-foot high pylon, which acts as a giant sundial, on the north side of the bridge. The shadow follows such a large arc that the measuring circle can record time only four hours a day (11 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT) on summer solstice.

My favourite blogger Frances Bula, who is away in Europe recently shared her thoughts on a pedestrian/cycling bridge (see www.francesbula.com) as have many of her readers. Like so many things in life, one could argue for and against such a proposal. However, whenever comparing propositions from other cities...London, Melbourne, Dublin and so on, one does have to be careful to consider the context of the idea.

What I do find a bit odd about the Mayor's recent announcement, however, is its timing. After all, on July 13, his highly publicized proposal to alter the Burrard Street Bridge to accommodate cyclists will begin its trial period. Why did he announce an alternate proposal just now? Is the timing serendipity, or strategically determined, in anticipation of some serious negative feedback on his Burrard Street trial. While many fear that the bridge trial will fail, I would like it to succeed, even though the last trial cost my good friend Peter Ladner a lot of support in many circles.

And as for the cost of this proposal, I can say with certainty that should this proposition progress, a bridge design along the lines presented by Gregory will likely cost significantly more than $45 million. The city engineers know this too. I wonder if the Mayor asked them. Somehow, I don't think so!

EMBERS: it has nothing to do with fires!

During the course of the last municipal election, I came across a very interesting organization in the city. EMBERS helps people who are unemployed and homeless by training them, and finding them work. It quietly goes about its activities with little fanfare, but with considerable success.

Like most similar organizations, it needs to raise money, and last month, it held its inaugural EMBERS’ Against All Odds Golf Tournament Fundraiser. Sadly, I had to miss it, but more than 90 golfers enjoyed a beautiful sunny day at Tsawwassen Golf and Country Club and over $7,000 was raised. This is not a lot, compared to what many other tournaments raise, but the money will help a lot of people find work. To quote Lois Brassart, the Executive Director:

"EMBERS is all about miracles and second chances. We believe that strong individuals make strong communities and that every individual needs a strong foundation to build a secure future.

There are three basic needs we all share. We need health. We need shelter. And we need to be productive in life, to be able to contribute to a larger community. EMBERS helps people become productive again and create an income for themselves through employment. Many of the people we work with have faced major set backs and life challenges that makes it difficult for them to participate in the economic mainstream of our society. EMBERS works with people to help them create an economic future through work they love.

EMBERS has two employment programs. EMBERS Microenterprise Program works with people on low income and helps them turn their dreams and talents into small businesses. Every year EMBERS provides training and support to 75 aspiring entrepreneurs. Our other program, EMBERS Staffing Solutions, connects employers with graduates of drug and alcohol recovery programs, people starting over in life who are committed to living life clean and sober. In 18 months, EMBERS Staffing Solutions has employed more than 100 workers from the addiction recovery community, giving them a second chance in life. "

At a time when governments are spending more than $1,000 per bed per month for shelters, I would love to see more assistance given to worthwhile organizations like EMBERS. For more information, check out:

EMBERS Staffing Solutions
Creating Futures: Changing Lives Through Employment
604-692-0782 (office)
604-561-6750 (cell)
www.embersstaffing.com

Silver Star Mountain Resort: it sort of reminds me of Albania!

What possibly could be the connection, you might ask. It's the colours...the use of colour to create a particular sense of place. In Albania, it was the brainchild of Tirana mayor Edi Rama, an artist who decided to create a new civic pride by painting the city's decaying buildings in an almost unimaginable range of colours and patterns (see my July 3, 2007 blog entry, or my Vancouver Sun story which is now posted on the Tirana Municipal website at http://www.tirana.gov.al/?cid=2,58,1502).

At Silver Star, I'm told it was an early planning decision to use colour to help create a delightful place. I had never been to Silver Star in the winter, but was recently there to look around, (and visit a daughter who was pretending to be a doctor for a month in Vernon).

While it is somewhat 'Disneylandish' I was still impressed with what I found. Although the place was somewhat deserted (I was told the summer season really starts on Canada Day), the use of colour was truly delightful. So here are some pictures, and thanks to our good friends who made our stay in Silver Star so very pleasant.

Thank You Think City

According to the Think City website, "since 2002, the Think City Society has helped citizens understand the issues facing their communities while developing collective solutions to protect the environment, strengthen local economies, advance democratic rights and ensure access to quality public services."

I first became involved with the organization during the last municipal election campaign. It organized a workshop and subsequent candidates' debate (moderated by the Georgia Straight's Charlie Smith) addressing housing affordability, community participation in the planning process, and electoral reform. I was impressed.

I was therefore pleased to accept a recent invitation to submit an article on my proposal to provide interim affordable housing using factory built modules. Below is my 'op-ed'. You can learn more about Think City at http://www.thinkcity.ca/Think City Minute

By Michael Geller

I have been interested in the idea of using factory-built relocatable modules as affordable housing since 1970 when I won a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) traveling scholarship.

That was the year of "Operation Breakthrough," a US government initiative to promote factory built housing, and my travels included visits to housing factories across America. I subsequently developed this idea as my university architecture thesis. Today, I see the opportunity as follows:

Throughout Vancouver there are vacant sites that could be used for interim housing for the homeless and others seeking affordable housing. These sites vary in size and location. Some are 'infill' locations along urban streets; others are larger undeveloped 'brownfield' locations. Some are privately owned; others are publicly owned.

While each property will ultimately be developed at some time in the future, many could be available for short term use with certain incentives. The resulting housing would not be a replacement for permanent homes. Rather, it would be an interim solution which could be available until adequate permanent homes are developed. Thereafter, the housing modules could be put to other uses.

I see an opportunity to develop different housing solutions including:
• a modified version of 'workforce housing' with individual sleeping rooms, shared bathrooms and cooking/living areas;
• small units comprising a sleeping/living area and a private bathroom; and
• self contained units for singles and families with cooking facilities

In addition to the housing units, there would be communal living spaces and live-in manager/support units, where appropriate.

This housing could be owned by government, non-profit organizations, or private companies and installed on private and publicly owned lands. Support services could be provided by the same non-profit organizations that are currently providing services to those in single-room occupancy (SRO) hotels and other more permanent forms of housing. While priority would be given to those who are homeless, the communities might include other households, resulting in a broader social mix.

In terms of design, the units need not look like 'trailer parks' as some critics fear. The housing could be one or two storeys in height and very attractive with a variety of exterior design treatments to fit the neighbourhood. One approach might be to create decorative murals, such as a forest or urban views over metal siding. The units would be designed to applicable provincial and municipal building codes.

Based on my research with two major modular housing companies in the lower mainland, I have determined that the housing would cost approximately $110 per square foot. When one adds in the costs of installation, site servicing, consultant and other fees, the cost per unit ranges from $37,000 to $46,000 depending on unit size and bathroom arrangements. Design, approvals, construction and installation would take approximately four months.

In summary, this is not the solution to house the homeless. However, it could be a cost effective and speedy solution for many people desperately seeking decent shelter.

Michael Geller is a Vancouver based architect, planner, real estate consultant and property developer with four decades’ experience in the public, private and institutional sectors.