Community centres that fought OneCard hardest have biggest demand for cards

Odd but true: the community centre associations that fought hardest against Vancouver Park Board’s hugely popular Onecard are now the centres with the biggest demand for the cards, which provide wide open access across the entire park board system.

Are the associations at those centres that far out of touch with their members?

According to a release today from the Park Board, more than 30,000 cards have already been issued to Vancouver residents, with Hillcrest Community Centre accounting for nearly 20 percent of the cards all on its own. The program flowed out of lengthy bargaining with a majority of the community centre associations.

Yet Hillcrest’s Community Centre Association led the fight against the Onecard and remains outside the majority group of associations that has endorsed the agreement creating the new program.

Then there’s Killarney Community Centre Association, another Onepass opponent, which has distributed more than 2,500 cards to its members. Between them, Hillcrest and Killarney account for nearly one-third of the cards distributed so far.

Perhaps it’s time for members at those centres — who have voted with their feet — to ask why their associations took the extraordinary step of committing tens of thousands of dollars to a campaign against the Onecard, seek disclosure of how much the campaign cost, the source of funds and how the various suppliers were selected.