Vancouver Rundown Friday November 3, 2023

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Nov 03, 2023

Summary

She’s arguably the biggest concert ticket in the world. Taylor Swift will be coming to Vancouver for three dates in 2024 - an announcement that has tourism leaders and politicians rushing to take credit. The stop on the Eras Tour comes as Vancouver gets slammed for a lack of hotel rooms not to mention the provincial government’s move to put the brakes on Airbnb.

Other stories…

The University of British Columbia is being sued by two students over claims of a long history of antisemitism at its Metro Vancouver campuses and Kelowna campus. The $15 million lawsuit, filed by two unnamed students, claims to represent all Jewish students who attended the university since 1998. Similar lawsuits have also been launched against Toronto Metropolitan University and Queens University.

Ken Sim became mayor saying he wanted to get rid of Vancouver’s ‘no fun city’ reputation. However, the group in charge of the Vancouver New Years Eve Fireworks says it’s been cancelled again this year. The Vancouver NYE Society blames the move on a lack of sponsors and rising costs. The downtown fireworks have not been held since the start of the COVID pandemic.

Planners with the Township of Langley are now considering ways to push for rapid transit on 200th Street between the neighbouring City of Langley and the Fraser River. It comes as preliminary work gets underway for SkyTrain expansion from the King George Station in Surrey to downtown Langley. More than likely, any initial rapid transit on 200th would involve special, dedicated rapid buses. Any move toward such a plan would require a major investment from financially troubled TransLink.

That slight break in the rain will come to an end late Friday. Expect showers through most of the weekend…it’ll be windy at times. Here are the latest conditions from our private weather station in Surrey.