What's Wrong With.... - Word on the Water

 In the "What's Wrong With..." series I look at some really cool experiences, businesses, streets, etc. that I have come across, and ask, why can't we have this in Kamloops and/or BC and/or Canada?

I do want to acknowledge that no single regulator is at fault, nor do I believe that any regulatory branch or insurance company or lawmaker is out to ruin our lives nor do they have malice in their minds. Each is reacting to dangers (potential, anticipated or real) and attempting the best they know how to mitigate them. Health, Fire, Police, Parks, Zoning, Building Code, Ventilation, Business Licensing, Arts Approvals, etc. - are all doing what they think is best, but the large view of things is what I believe is lacking, and reviewing each of our roles in each of these things I believe is in order. 

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from the website.

"Word on the Water" - is a canal boat in London, or as the business identifies a "book barge". Currently moored just north of Kings Cross/St. Pancras Stations in London, UK. But its much more than boat. It's also a bookstore! This absolute gorgeous little and quaint operation is overseen by a similarly unique individual - Paddy the Proprietor - who spends his days playing music, reciting poetry, reading of course and imbibing on the quayside while processing payments. 

The ambiance and routine performances on the rooftop attract crowds big and small to enjoy one another's company. Other days, like the one we visited, had simply some recordings playing and some folks spent some time by the water perusing, reading, comforted by the proximity of strangers and people watching. "It's a Vibe" the young people would say.

from the website

But this little business, a fantastic little income for a small owner/operator - is completely illegal in Canada and Kamloops. Yes it is true; Kamloops does not have a canal on which to moor a converted house boat - but in spirit, why would we not want to have such a unique and interesting landmark in which to spend some time? What social disorder are the laws which prevent something like this from happening, saving us from? What anarchy would ensue in Canada should a little bookstore be allowed to open in an unconventional setting? Or a small crowd be allowed to linger, enjoy eachothers leisure, and maybe even partake in a beverage while doing so? Here we call that loitering.

Remember, this is a new business in a new development, not something grandfathered in from a hundred years ago when life and limb were left unprotected. This development features such high profile offices as Googles Europe headquarters and thousands of apartments from ultra-luxury to affordable.

So now I will lay out all the reasons why we could not have this here in Canada, most of them boiling down to something resembling liability, or certainly most would use that as the final excuse.

• You can see that the canal has no railings, folks just walk next to the water and manage to not fall in. There is no signage to tell you not to fall in the water
• Speaking of signage - there is none to tell you the ceiling on a houseboat is low, or where the exit is or in fact emergency lighting for if the power went out - it is assumed you can find your way out of a 25' hallway 
• The "gangplank" on which to climb aboard into the interior section is steep, and the floor is not level. We would never allow this 'ramp' to exist in Kamloops - yet I am sure many of us have taken a water taxi in Victoria, Nanaimo or Vancouver and managed just fine. 
• The hallways are too narrow. The ceiling is too low. Yet folks are expected to be coordinated enough to climb in and out of a vehicle for every trip with a head height they could not stand up in.
• The walls are not adequately insulated, in fact its not even heated. None of this would pass building code. While a Kamloops business would likely need heating, in Penticton, many places just shut in the winter, and without running water, don't need heating.  We would not actually allow this in Kamloops.
• The floor/"stairs" are uneven. Yet our sidewalks all over town change elevations, have slopes. 
• The exterior shelves would be completely illegal - not even sure how many rules they would be breaking! Accessing a business from the foot path? 
• Performances for the public would not be permitted here in Canada without City Approval, Parks Approval, Risk Management Approval, BC Transit, RCMP, Fire etc. Insurance would have to be provided, crowd management security and safety plans filed, checked and inspected for each performance.
• Freely imbibing a glass of wine on the street, while enjoying your book or taking in the scene or the performance..... well simply impossible! Here you can be fined if you serve cider instead of wine on a extremely costly special event permit. Despite open drug use all over town, having a beer on the beach enjoying the weather...
• Noise complaints from the residential in the area, of which there is much, due to the 'crowds'
• No parking is provided, folks have to walk here. In Kamloops you need to have a certain number of parking stalls per xx Sq.Ft. to open a business - on your property.
• Minimum lot size - there is a minimum size of lot to even allow a building to be on. If this boat were a building instead of a boat - it would be substantially smaller the minimum size of building allowed.
• Lighting is not to standard, must have a minimum lumens in all areas, so the headlamp Paddy wears under his outdoor umbrella for processing payments would be simply impossible
• Processing payments on the sidewalk, simply impossible. 
• All businesses in Kamloops must be on a road large enough for a fire truck, even lanes are don't count even though they could and do fit a firetruck regularly - this pedestrian only quayside- never. We could never have smaller firetrucks like they do in Europe - why? That I cannot answer.
• Those decorative pots are tripping hazards. If someone walked into one - they might trip.
• Who was the HVAC engineer? How can we ensure that the air circulation in there is going to be enough?
• No bathroom for customers - you have to use the public one a few hundred meters away.
• The bathroom for staff is tiny - in Canada it would have to be wheelchair accessible.
• Every business in Kamloops must have at least 1 fully handicapped 100sq.ft bathroom. This while business is barely 100 sq.ft.
• And of course - navigating all this regulation - which itself is a moving goal post - is in itself a reason things like this cannot happen in Canada. Even if you could overcome all this regulation requirement, the time, effort and expense of doing so eliminates the possibility of this being a sustainable business.

How can it be, that something that is clearly so loved by its community, something clearly so cute, lovely, small and innocent be made illegal by so many overlapping laws in our Country? How can we promote access and rights and yet prevent someone from achieving such low-barrier self employment?

We want to ultimately be inclusive of all abilities. There are spaces in Word on the Water that could not be accessed by someone in a wheelchair - yet in my 25 minutes spent poking around someone in a wheelchair perused the outside bookshelves, bought a book, and got a picture in front. Did they think that this space was so horrible? This space is run by a person who may struggle to find employment and meaning in the normal market, but this low barrier to entry for entrepreneurship provides meaning and an income in a way inaccessible to him in Canada.

In Canada, we want to protect people from themselves don't we? In our car centric design rules and regulations we have among the highest traffic fatalities in the world - so why would we forbid such safe pedestrian spaces like this to exist? We have high obesity rates and health complications from sedentary lifestyles and yet don't give folks anywhere to walk to. We have increasing social disorder and feelings of alienation. Our country trusts their neighbours among the least in the world, yet we regulate out of existence third places such as these that cost nothing to be a part of. 

In most of the world - Latin America, Asia, Europe - there would be little if any regulation holding back such a cool little business. London, one of the worlds largest, most thriving capitals of culture and wealth feel just fine supporting this business. London's courts, lawyers, society, politicians and regulations support a foundation on which average folks can embark on a dream and see if it works. Here in little Kamloops and Canada, with so so so much less to lose, seem to somehow be evaded by it.  There are tens of thousands of such businesses throughout London - giving self-supported opportunity to immigrants, dreamers, neuro-divergent and self-driven folks who have no accessibility in our society here in Kamloops.

So I ask - what is so wrong with this? How are we protecting the very people our regulations are supposed to be helping? What is so wrong with Word on the Water for it to be so illegal here in Kamloops and Canada? And when did this change? In the past we were open to such opportunities:

The North Shore Barbers in Kamloops - a business I love to look at, that has great character, would be illegal to reopen in Kamloops.