STAY CONNECTED TO VIBRANTVICTORIA
WHAT'S HAPPENING ON CITIFIED VICTORIA
There's a gorgeous thread coming together on skyscraperpage.com about [url=http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=127194:cdc0c]Urban Waterfronts[/url:cdc0c] (started by "block43" with the question, "What makes your cities waterfront great? Is it an attraction? Designed well?"). Raggedy13 blows us away with a series of Vancouver photos showcasing the seawall -- and not just the Stanley Park bits of it. Lots of great photos of urban waterfronts around the world (although mostly US). Victoria gets an honourable mention, but no photos yet. Anyone up for a contribution?
Urban waterfronts discussion on SSP
Started by
Ms. B. Havin
, Mar 15 2007 08:31 AM
25 replies to this topic
#1
Ms. B. Havin
-
- Member
- 5,052 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 08:31 AM
When you buy a game, you buy the rules. Play happens in the space between the rules.
#2
G-Man
-
- Moderator
-
- 13,821 posts
Senior Case Officer
Posted 15 March 2007 - 08:34 AM
Victoria does not deserve to be mentioned, our mistakes are too numerous.
#3
aastra
-
- Member
- 20,912 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 10:20 AM
The walkway on the Coal Harbour side is practically brand new and very nice. Many Victorians reject this sort of thing because (they claim) it's the Vancouver way, but nothing could be further from the truth. Victoria was BC's pioneer re: the pleasant urban causeway, but Vancouver and other cities have run with the idea while Victoria has stubbornly dragged its feet for a hundred years.
#4
G-Man
-
- Moderator
-
- 13,821 posts
Senior Case Officer
Posted 15 March 2007 - 10:33 AM
I was at the Coal Harbour walkway last week and there was not a soul on it. I personally find it a little sterile and would caution Victoria from going that direction. I would have preferred to see more retail and perhaps have foregone the vast grassy expanses in favour of more buildings or at least more usuable "urban space". It just kind of reminded me a wider Laurel Point walkway.
#5
gumgum
-
- Member
- 7,069 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 11:32 AM
Funny. I was on it last week as well. The emptiness might have had something to do with the fact that it was pissing it down.
#6
Mike K.
-
- Administrator
-
- 83,985 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 12:10 PM
In the summer that place gets busy.
Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.
#7
G-Man
-
- Moderator
-
- 13,821 posts
Senior Case Officer
Posted 15 March 2007 - 12:29 PM
Funny. I was on it last week as well. The emptiness might have had something to do with the fact that it was pissing it down.
I was there for a conference. One of the days was pretty nice and still it was fairly empty. In fact the Coal Harbour area in general was pretty dead.
#8
aastra
-
- Member
- 20,912 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 12:30 PM
I was at the Coal Harbour walkway last week and there was not a soul on it. I personally find it a little sterile and would caution Victoria from going that direction.
If Coal Harbour's causeway is sterile, what word would you use to describe the Songhees walking path??
#10
Mike K.
-
- Administrator
-
- 83,985 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 12:43 PM
I dunno, you guys would be surprised. I'm on the Songhees almost everyday and I would hardly call it sterile. There's always pedestrian traffic there and in the summer it's very active.
The walkway is the really one of the only benefits of the entire Songhees bedroom community (the other benefit is having built something over top of a wasteland).
The walkway is the really one of the only benefits of the entire Songhees bedroom community (the other benefit is having built something over top of a wasteland).
Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.
#11
G-Man
-
- Moderator
-
- 13,821 posts
Senior Case Officer
Posted 15 March 2007 - 12:45 PM
But imagine what that walkway could have been if there were a few shops or cafes. Some more public art. Better transit access or harbour ferry access. Less car oriented po-mo leaky condos.
#12
Mike K.
-
- Administrator
-
- 83,985 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 12:47 PM
Very true. It could have been a different beast altogether.
But describing the walk-way irrespective of other variables I would deem it a success. It's certainly busier than it's sibling directly across the harbour facing Laurel Point et al. A lot of the traffic on the walkway isn't local, either, so it attracts as many people from other hoods as it does nearby residents like myself.
But describing the walk-way irrespective of other variables I would deem it a success. It's certainly busier than it's sibling directly across the harbour facing Laurel Point et al. A lot of the traffic on the walkway isn't local, either, so it attracts as many people from other hoods as it does nearby residents like myself.
Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.
#13
Icebergalley
-
- Member
- 596 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 02:48 PM
G-Man
I'm curious
What level of harbour ferry access do you envisage?
A scheduled system like they tried a # of years ago? or something I'm missing the point on?
I'm curious
What level of harbour ferry access do you envisage?
A scheduled system like they tried a # of years ago? or something I'm missing the point on?
#14
G-Man
-
- Moderator
-
- 13,821 posts
Senior Case Officer
Posted 15 March 2007 - 02:54 PM
Well I have a beef with the harbour ferries because 2 summers ago my wife and I decided that we would walk from Downtown to Westbay and then take the harbour ferry back. I believe this is when they were advertising the harbour hops on the radio and stuff. So we got there and waited for the ferry which came along promptly but the guy did not want to go back downtown as he was doing a tour so wouldn't take us even though he would be going back in that direction.
I just think it would be nice if there was a couple of boats that ride in say a circle in one direction around the harbour once every half hour.
I just think it would be nice if there was a couple of boats that ride in say a circle in one direction around the harbour once every half hour.
#15
Galvanized
-
- Member
- 1,196 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 04:13 PM
The Songhees walkway needs a marina.
Past President of Victoria's Flâneur Union Local 1862
#16
Mike K.
-
- Administrator
-
- 83,985 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 04:39 PM
^we can thank the City for screwing that one up. And later screwing taxpayers in a multi-million dollar lawsuit it lost.
Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.
#17
Icebergalley
-
- Member
- 596 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 04:45 PM
I was disappointed too but it was because Harbour Ferry's quit doing the Harbour Hops.. I had used them 2 years ago to get from Downtown to dragon boat practice at the Selkirk.. I would walk or mooch a lift back and that made the $4.00 farr the same as the bus fare back and forth..
There are a lot of STOPS for the ferries and more planned at Railyards and Dockside..
Maybe your circular rooute will become a paying proposition for them in the future..
There are a lot of STOPS for the ferries and more planned at Railyards and Dockside..
Maybe your circular rooute will become a paying proposition for them in the future..
#18
Icebergalley
-
- Member
- 596 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 04:53 PM
Derf..
If you're talking about a marina at Royal Bay ? would an application survive the environmental assesment?
I was walking about Songhees a couple of weeks ago and the map that the Vic West Community posted on some of the electrical boxes. It shows some of the harbour area on that shore as having an important marine habitat.. (important enough to be mapped... ) Also, that side of the harbour is now out of bounds to motorized craft..
It's too bad that the "Spinnakers" harbour ferry dock is so far from Spinnakers..
If you're talking about a marina at Royal Bay ? would an application survive the environmental assesment?
I was walking about Songhees a couple of weeks ago and the map that the Vic West Community posted on some of the electrical boxes. It shows some of the harbour area on that shore as having an important marine habitat.. (important enough to be mapped... ) Also, that side of the harbour is now out of bounds to motorized craft..
It's too bad that the "Spinnakers" harbour ferry dock is so far from Spinnakers..
#19
Mike K.
-
- Administrator
-
- 83,985 posts
Posted 15 March 2007 - 05:02 PM
No, the one at Mermaid Quay in Songhees. That's what the half-circle is for along the walkway.
The City rezoned the condo with a marina then rescinded their decision for whatever reason. Taxpayers were on the hook for over a $1 million.
The City rezoned the condo with a marina then rescinded their decision for whatever reason. Taxpayers were on the hook for over a $1 million.
Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.
#20
Holden West
-
- Member
- 9,058 posts
Va va voom!
Posted 15 March 2007 - 05:07 PM
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009
-City of Victoria website, 2009
You're not quite at the end of this discussion topic!
Use the page links at the lower-left to go to the next page to read additional posts.
Use the page links at the lower-left to go to the next page to read additional posts.
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users
