walking

Drove BC Ferries for 9 a.m. reservation to Tsawwassen and 11;30 a.m. appointment with Dr. Wen at Surrey Thoracic Surgery. Afterward, drove 25km south to White Rock BC and lunch at Charlie Don't Surf Restaurant. Raven our server. Caught 3 p.m. ferry home.

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Labels: vancouver, whiterock

Monday morning we caught the 9a.m. Swartz Bay ferry to Tsawwasssen (Vancouver BC Mainland) and drove to White Rock, BC.

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We were searching for the elusive, northern trailhead to the Semiahmoo Trail.

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We found it -- not along Crescent Road -- but beside the Elgin Centre Preschool, 3530 144 Street, Surrey, BC.

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From there we followed Crescent Rd to Crescent Bay Marina and then along 128th to White Rock Pier

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After parking in the museum lot, we had lunch at Charlie Don't Surf (yes, that's its name) Restaurant. It was recommended by the museum staffer as the best place to eat in White Rock.

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Labels: ferry, vancouver

Tuesday morning I cycled 52km.

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I landed at Tsawwassen Terminal at 11:30a.m. and cycled to Mud Bay Park along the Boundary Bay Dyke Trail (BBT).

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The BBT trailhead is located 8km from the ferry terminal. The access point from the Hwy-17 off the ferry is enough to find but after that it's anybody's guess where the cycling route is located. I followed it to Silverado Plc and once through the park saw a sign on a pathway at 53a St. stating it was to "Mud Bay". I never heard of Mud Bay. A couple of locals were walking by so I asked if it lead to Boundary Bay Dyke. They did not know.

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From studying google.streetviews and Let's Go Biking book, I knew 53a joined 16th Ave to the seashore but was reticent to use it as it has no accommodation for bicycles and has heavy vehicular traffic.

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Anyway, I wound up at the trailhead-in-question and rode the dyke trail for 17km to its end. There was the massive sign stating: "Mud Bay Park". Go figure.

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Now I know if the "Mud Bay" pathway was taken to Candlewyck Wynd and 18th Ave through the South Delta Artists Guild, one would arrive at 58a St. and then 17a St. and the Beach Grove Rd. trailhead. Next time.
Taking Your Bicycle Aboard BC Ferries
 VIDEO Boundary Bay Dyke Trail to Mud Bay Park

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Labels: cycled, ebike, ferry, vancouver

Everything You Wanted to Know About BC's Coal Exports . . . but were afraid to ask because someone may actually tell you the truth.

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Yes, anti-pipeline Vancouver really is North America’s largest exporter of coal

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A city dead set against expanding petroleum exports is decidedly less irked about another type of fossil fuel Ships are loaded with coal at Westshore Terminals in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday February 19, 2014. The terminal is North America's largest single coal export facility Lately, it’s one of the few things that oil boosters and environmental activists can agree upon: Calling Vancouver a hypocrite for opposing carbon emissions while also being the continent’s largest coal port.

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And both camps are correct. According to the data, Canada’s mecca of anti-pipeline sentiment does indeed rank as the largest single exporter of coal in North America. Much of Vancouver’s coal is handled by a single facility that ranks as the largest of its kind on the continent. Westshore Terminals loaded 29 million tonnes of coal in 2017, nearly triple the combined coal exports of the entire U.S. West Coast.

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It’s also right next to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, making it a familiar sight to any passenger aboard a ferry arriving from Vancouver Island. Currently, Westshore Terminals is in the midst of a $275 million upgrade to “replace aging equipment and modernize our office and shop complex,” according to the company “Coal production is a mainstay of the province’s economy, generating billions of dollars in annual revenue and supporting thousands of well-paid jobs,” reads the website for B.C.’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. Coal is the province’s number one export commodity, with $3.32 billion of coal mined in 2016. Much of this is metallurgical coal, which is exported to Asia for the making of steel.

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In recent years, however, Vancouver’s coal ports have also accommodated a massive increase in exports of thermal coal, which is used for the production of electricity. Coal is moved at Neptune terminals, North Vancouver, April 28 2017. Controversially, almost all of this thermal coal is coming from the United States. As lawmakers in Washington and Oregon have begun shutting down their own coal ports due to environmental concerns, thermal coal producers in Wyoming and Montana have simply diverted their product through Canada.

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In August, then-premier Christy Clark called for a ban on Vancouver exports of U.S. thermal coal in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber.

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“They are no longer good trading partners with Canada. So that means we’re free to ban filthy thermal coal from B.C. ports, and I hope the federal government will support us in doing that,” she said at the time.

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In the main, however, Metro Vancouver has benefited handsomely from the presence of the coal industry, according to numbers compiled by the B.C.-based Coal Alliance. Between 2012 to 2017, coal-related companies spent $2.29 billion in Metro Vancouver, including $470 million in the City of Vancouver proper

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One the most visible contributions of the coal sector has been as a key sponsor of the Vancouver Aquarium. In 2012 Teck Resources donated $12.5 million to the attraction, the aquarium’s largest-ever single donation.

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It’s difficult to precisely calculate the lifecycle carbon footprint of Vancouver’s coal exports, given that the city’s ports handle a variety of coal types, each with their own specific emissions profile. But according to emissions formulas used by the Sierra Club, Vancouver’s 2017 coal exports will produce 99.8 million tonnes of CO2 over their lifetime. For context, this is significantly higher than B.C.’s entire carbon footprint. In 2014, B.C. estimated that it produced 64.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent

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It also means that B.C.’s existing coal exports are roughly as bad for the climate as anything scheduled to come out of the Trans Mountain expansion. The completed Trans Mountain expansion would move 215 million extra barrels of diluted bitumen per year. Depending on the kind of Alberta bitumen the pipeline will be moving at any one time, this means that total product shipped through the expansion will emit between 129 million and 158 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over its life-cycle.

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written by Tristin Hopper Reference cited 

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Labels: anthropogenic, vancouver

Wednesday, May 25, 2016 we travelled to Vancouver, BC from Victoria BC via BC Ferries' Swartz Bay/Tsawwassen route.
We parked the limo in Swartz Bay's Long Term parking overnight for a paltry $12 CND.
The duration of our visit was for one day only but the 24-hour parking fit our neeeds.
We caught the 9:00a.m, ferry to Vancouver and returned on the 7:00p.m.

After boarding the Translink #620 bus to Bridgeport Station from Tsawwassen, we bought our Compass Day passes for $7.50 each. Bridgeport Station has five (5) Compass Card dispensers ourside the toll gates and more inside.
There was over 30 people lined up at the only two Compass Card dispatch, vending machines at Tsawwassen Terminal.
No day passes can be purchased onboard BC Ferries vessels nor at Swatz Bay terminal.
Once acquiring our day passes, we hopped the Sky Train to Waterfront Station where we boarded the Sea Bus to North Vancouver.
After disembarking at Lonsdale Quay, we got on the Translink bus #236 to Grouse Mountain.
From the bus at Grouse Mountain parking lot, we walked the steps up to the Skyride ticket booth and purchased two Ultimate Experience tickets for $113.30 CND.

We had a great experience and found all staff members friendly and efficient in performing their duties and responsibilities. The Grouse Mountain Experience is just another reason Vancouver is one of the world's most exciting places to visit. Translink certainly makes it easy to get around at a reasonable cost.

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Here's a video showing the Eye of the Wind VIDEO.

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O.K., here's a 7-minute VIDEO to save you time and money

Labels: vancouver, walked