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Officially called the Vancouver E-Prix, the weekend will mark just the second time the all-electric open-wheel series has come to Canada, with Montreal’s controversial 2017 event mired in cost overruns, mayoral politics and major NIMBYism. That latter aspect played a big role in the demise of the Vancouver Molson Indy in 2004 after a decade-and-a-half of huge crowds and great racing on the edge of False Creek, just east of downtown Vancouver. Noise complaints from residents, along with encroaching development, saw the Indy pack up and never come back.
Formula E cars are not loud at all in fact, the nearby Skytrain is said to be louder and the track will use some sections of the former Indy circuit, though according to the race promoter, “56 per cent less city streets” than the Indy. Temporary grandstands and other viewing areas will be erected for a capacity for 56,000 spectators.
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Residential property owners in Vancouver will pay a larger share of taxes this year after a divisive vote by city council Tuesday shifted $3.6 million in property taxes from businesses to homeowners.
Despite staff’s intentions to use the tax shift to aid businesses hurting from the pandemic, some councillors panned the idea as an overly blunt tool that would disproportionately help the city’s biggest, most-cushioned companies at the expense of its residents. But their arguments failed to sway the decision, which will see those who own residential property in Vancouver pay a small handful of extra dollars in taxes in 2021.
VANCOUVER More than a year after the City of Vancouver closed a waterfront road to vehicle traffic in one direction, work is now complete allowing cars back in the area. Last April, part of Beach Avenue from Denman to Pacific streets was closed to eastbound traffic in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A section of that road was closed to make room for a protected bike lane that, in turn, gave more room for pedestrians to maintain physical distance on the nearby seawall. Last summer, that roadway was the busiest cycling route in Vancouver, the city says, with more than 10,000 cycling trips made per day.