The Environmental Assessment office Cleared the RAV line's proposal for a cut and cover tunnel down Cambie.

This was of course no surprise. It is pretty clear that the issue only went back to the Assessment office to prevent it from becoming and election issue during the Provincial election.

I really think that RAV should offer some sort of compensation for some of the businesses in the area. Or at least offer some services to help those businesses out.

While I think it is true that for many of the businesses the increased access that the RAV line will provide will increase their business in the long term, some businesses wont be able to survive the reduction in traffic that the construction will surely cause.

I tend to agree that outright subsidy of the businesses is not a good precedent and could be extremely difficult to do. However, RAV Co and InTransit have a lot of leverage and could surely use some of that to help the businesses out. Some things they could do:

1. Increase the amount of free parking in the areas effected by construction by using allowing more parking in the residential areas during the daytime, working with parking lot owners, and other spaces,
2. Provide information about how to visit the various businesses that are effected in weekly bulletins, Newspaper advertising, on their webpage etc. They should name the effected businesses how you can continue to visit them and give them some space for promotion in these publications.
3. Work with the property owners to renegotiate some leases to allow lower lease rates during the construction period with higher ones afterwards to reflect the expected business cycle.

Any other ideas? contribute them below.