Bike Lanes In Victoria

Cyclists put themselves in danger every time they get on the road. The debate about bike lanes and cyclists in Victoria is on going. Not only can biking on the roads be dangerous for cyclists but also those in cars. 

“Adding in all the costs of phase one, including the completed Pandora Avenue bike lanes and the Fort Street section under construction, the total cost is expected to be about $14.4 million dollars nearly double the amount originally set aside.” Says April Lawrence from Check News. 

If this project is going to cost the city so much, why not come up with a better solution. Perhaps overhead passes or barricaded bike lanes, although more expensive, could be a safer plan of action when trying to make the city, bike friendly. 

The city says like them or not, all 5.4 kilometres of downtown protected bike lanes will be finished by early 2019.

How much will the $14.4 million dollars really be improving biking conditions here in Victoria?  

Although it seems this is already happening, maybe eventually there will be a better solution to keep all road users happy and safe.

https://www.cheknews.ca/victorias-protected-bike-lanes-will-cost-twice-amount-originally-set-aside-395698/

Free Tuition

Free Tuition

Lynnea Bruce

February 17th, 2018

For many people, post secondary education is not an option. Even if college or university is a possibility, it’s likely that student loans will be a mandatory part of the process. The average Canadian students debt is estimated to be in the mid to hight $20,000 range. In a BMO survey students said they predicted that they would owe close to $26,300 after graduation. (Sagan, A. 2014) Those debts not only cause financial stress but they prohibit people from getting on with their lives after graduation. Many students don’t understand the consequences of having student loans and the long term effects. Quite often graduates have a hard time finding permanent or long term jobs. That makes it very difficult to pay back those loans especially while trying to keep up with other bills and responsibilities. 

“In January 2014, the youth unemployment rate in the country was 13.9 per cent, according to Statistics Canada. In 2013, young people in the Atlantic provinces and Ontario had the highest unemployment rates, according to a report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.” (Sagan. 2014) In January of 2014, according to Statistics Canada, the youth unemployment rate in the country was 13.9 per cent. (Sagan. 2014)

In 2014 Barak Obama announced his $60 billion community college initiative to provide two years of community college for free, to anyone willing to work for it. The White House believes that they could help over 9 million students with this initiative (Dash, S. 2015) Free tuition could be a very good thing when met with certain conditions. In Obama’s free tuition plan requirements would be put in place. Requirements such as, they must be enrolled at least half time, must maintain a 2.5 GPA, must make steady progress to completing their studies and they cannot have an adjusted gross income above $200,000. (Sagan. 2014)

I feel that those conditions should be taken a step further. As unfortunate as it is, money is a powerful motivator. People generally care more when money is at stake. My concern would be that, if students were not paying for their education, they just wouldn’t care as much. Would student still show up for classes or would they feel it unnecessary because they didn’t have a financial commitment to the program. I believe the best condition that could be put into place would be, to have students pay for their schooling upfront with the promise of being refunded on their completion date.

Free tuition would make education a possibility for so many more people. The more educated our society is, the brighter our future will be. 

Dash, S. (March 4, 2015) A guide to Obama’s free community college plan. Retrieved on February 15th, 2018 from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-dash/a-guide-to-obamas-free-co_b_6801726.html

Sagan, A. (March 11, 2014) Average student debt difficult to pay off, delays life milestones. Retrieved on February 17th, 2018 from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/average-student-debt-difficult-to-pay-off-delays-life-milestones-1.2534974