102 replies to this topic

[UrbanRail]

Well from what I saw, a lot of Rattenburys work wont be touched by the tall buildings. It would seem that that several blocks from the inner harbour wont become a wall of buildings but have been left as low rise development to protect Old Town, Chinatown and the historic inner harbour. Most of the highrise development will occur along Douglas St (north) and along Yates and Fort (east).

I agree with the writer about putting in a streetcar line(s) like Portland.

As for those living in luxury appartments, I do feel that they would take transit, especially rail, which attracts riders of all incomes. But you have to make it convienent.

[gumgum]

That letter is so beyond logic, it's not even worth talking about.

[Holden West]

Uh, huh. People that live downtown are drivers, as opposed to the residents of Saanich that walk everywhere. Yep.

[davek]

Developers are destroying what attracts residents.

Not much profit in that. Developers want to put up ONLY what attracts residents.

[zoomer]

Just what is a "luxury apartment" anyways!? Why is a 5 to $600,000 condo luxury, while a home in Fernwood at double the size and the same price...not luxury?

[amor de cosmos]

I just thought of something that might be more realistic than finishing the Belleville St terminal since the city wants to have it done by 2010 but apparently has lost its will to do anything. Quebec is having its 400th birthday this year, Ottawa is having its 150th this year... Victoria will have its 150th 4yrs from now, in 2012! Maybe the impending bash in 2012 will give the city some FOCUS & something to work towards, starting immediately. 2012 could come in with a bang rather than a groan that I envision right now. That could be Victoria's "2010 olympics" where a bunch of monuments of historic proportions from the "projects collecting dust" thread could finally get built. We should hype it up also, to make it a more "costly mistake" to maintain the status quo.

[Nparker]

I've also thought Victoria's sesquicentennial would be a good impetus to create some sort of lasting legacy for the city. Let's start with the demolition of that odious landmark from the last major milestone: Centennial Square. That, and the creation of something remarkable to replace the embarassment that is the current Belleville terminal. If I could have one wish for the new year it would be that we finally stop building for the past in this city and build for the future instead.

Happy New Year to all Vibrant Victorians!

[Mike K.]

Great idea about the sesquicentennial!

I like amor's idea to hype this up, too.

[UrbanRail]

Here are some suggestions for legacy projects, when Victoria turns 150 in 2012.
-Replace Belleville Terminal (that allows the coho to be a part of it)
-Redevelop Ogden Pt, similar to Grandview Island, but with a brand spanking new cruise terminal, and a maintenance facility for a future tram system
-Redevelop the parking lots along Wharf St, ie like a new theatre, shops, docks, etc.
-Replace Centennial Square with a new library, perhaps something similar to the one in downtown Vancouver and place a new transport terminal for commuter rail here as well
-build a tram system linking all major shopping areas, tourist destinations, residential, etc in Oak Bay, Downtown Victoria, James Bay, Fairfield, Vic West, Selkirk Waterfront, etc.
-Extend the Government shopping district further north
-Apply bus/transit lanes along Fort, Yates, Johnston, and Pandora
-Build affordable housing
-Develop a Regional Transportation Authority that oversees all aspects of our transportation system; ie E&N Commuter Rail, BC Transit, roads, cycling, pedestrian areas, harbour ferries, etc.
How does that sound?

[amor de cosmos]

if centennial square gets revitalized/renovated for 2012 will it get its named changed to sesquicentennial square?

[gumgum]

^^And close a portion of Government to traffic.
And finally build that walkway from Fishermman's Wharf all way to the Design District along the water.

[Nparker]

Here are some suggestions for legacy projects, when Victoria turns 150 in 2012.
-Replace Belleville Terminal (that allows the coho to be a part of it)
-Redevelop Ogden Pt, similar to Grandview Island, but with a brand spanking new cruise terminal, and a maintenance facility for a future tram system
-Redevelop the parking lots along Wharf St, ie like a new theatre, shops, docks, etc.
-Replace Centennial Square with a new library, perhaps something similar to the one in downtown Vancouver and place a new transport terminal for commuter rail here as well
-build a tram system linking all major shopping areas, tourist destinations, residential, etc in Oak Bay, Downtown Victoria, James Bay, Fairfield, Vic West, Selkirk Waterfront, etc.
-Extend the Government shopping district further north
-Apply bus/transit lanes along Fort, Yates, Johnston, and Pandora
-Build affordable housing
-Develop a Regional Transportation Authority that oversees all aspects of our transportation system; ie E&N Commuter Rail, BC Transit, roads, cycling, pedestrian areas, harbour ferries, etc.
How does that sound?

Excellent suggestions all. Dare we dream they can become reality in only 4 years?

[UrbanRail]

Some of what I and others have suggested can be completed in 4 years, if the citizens and council members are serious in getting their act together. All could be completed in less than 10 years.

We could have a 2 maybe 3 line tram starter system in place by 2012, if we started planning now.

[amor de cosmos]

[quote name='Nparker']Excellent suggestions all. Dare we dream they can become reality in only 4 years?[/QUOTE]

The winning 2010 Olympic bid was announced in July 2003 & John Furlong or whoever recently announced that all their venue construction is complete. It has only been 4 1/2 years. If everyone gets their **** together it could happen. The city needs to get organised though, no more asking the federal government to pitch in cash for non-existent projects (like the Belleville terminal), for example. A lot of stuff wouldn't cost the city a lot of cash though, it would just be approving the right developments.

[quote name='UrbanRail'] Here are some suggestions for legacy projects, when Victoria turns 150 in 2012.
-Replace Belleville Terminal (that allows the coho to be a part of it)[/quote]
yes. it would be cool to have the express, coho & clipper in one building somehow, with just a concierge desk to tell people where to go to catch what ferry (in case they can't read signs for some reason)
[quote]-Redevelop Ogden Pt, similar to Grandview Island, but with a brand spanking new cruise terminal, and a maintenance facility for a future tram system[/quote]
yes
[quote]-Redevelop the parking lots along Wharf St, ie like a new theatre, shops, docks, etc.[/quote]
yes. something like that anyway.
[quote]-Replace Centennial Square with a new library, perhaps something similar to the one in downtown Vancouver and place a new transport terminal for commuter rail here as well[/quote]
definitely
[quote]-build a tram system linking all major shopping areas, tourist destinations, residential, etc in Oak Bay, Downtown Victoria, James Bay, Fairfield, Vic West, Selkirk Waterfront, etc.[/quote]
yes
[quote]-Extend the Government shopping district further north [/quote]
I don't really have a problem with extending the shopping district north (to Chinatown I guess). I'm not a fan of those souvenier stores that are in the southern part right now though.
[quote]-Apply bus/transit lanes along Fort, Yates, Johnston, and Pandora[/quote]
yes
[quote]-Build affordable housing[/quote]
yes
[quote]-Develop a Regional Transportation Authority that oversees all aspects of our transportation system; ie E&N Commuter Rail, BC Transit, roads, cycling, pedestrian areas, harbour ferries, etc.[/quote]
definitely. i see great potential with harbour ferries on our natural 'grand canal'
[quote]How does that sound? [/QUOTE]
fine. at risk of harping, I would add:
- build stuff under Douglas St around the conference centre
- replace cycle bc, budget & crystal court motel with landmark 21st-century buildings
- build a non-improvised waterfront walkway along the eastern shore of the harbour at least to bay st, and also give people a reason to use it
- make ship's point interesting
- build everything else listed in the 'stuff collecting dust' thread
- put the art gallery downtown somewhere?

[UrbanRail]

How about an art gallery at Ship Point?

[amor de cosmos]

How about an art gallery at Ship Point?

A few things could work there I think. Besides the art gallery I saw a thing in the TC years ago about a Victoria opera house at that location & that would work too. So would that Bing Thom community thing in the collecting dust thread. Whatever goes there would have to be world-class (like the Leg & the Empress) because it would be one of the first things people see when they arrive on a ferry or a floatplane.

[Caramia]

If it were an art gallery, I would hope it had a place to create art as well as to showcase it. That spot is too important for something that isn't alive. I'd love to see something like an art gallery with studio spaces for artists in residence (the residency program could combine international artists and local talent) and access for people to watch the creative process (think Starfish gallery). The spin offs could be retail, coffee shops etc etc etc. If they followed the model of the "Firestation" in Dublin Ireland, it could be coupled with a youth skills training program that worked in synergy with the arts space - hiring the teenagers for catering, cleaning, and all those other services that arts studios need.

I'm just dreaming now.

[amor de cosmos]

EDMONTON - The Alberta government is creating an Olympic Secretariat to help the province reap the benefits from its proximity to the Vancouver Olympics, a minister said Wednesday.

Cindy Ady, associate Minister of Tourism Promotion, said the province is setting up the organization to take advantage of the fact that Alberta's world-class training facilities, a legacy of the 1988 Calgary Games, are going to be in the spotlight in the two years leading up to 2010 Winter Olympics.

http://www.canada.co...9c-efda52586514

It's an utter disgrace that Alberta is doing that & Victoria isn't. How often does something like the Olympic Games come to this region? Alberta's government understands that it's an opportunity that other cities can only dream of, but for some reason Victoria's doesn't. I can just hear people going to the Olympics & saying "What do you mean Vancouver isn't the capital of BC? Really? ... but the capital is only a 1 1/2 hr ferry ride away?!"

[UrbanRail]

But are u surprised?

All the energy that goes into the *****ing from the NIMBYs, CAVEs and BANANAs regarding any changes to the city. I keep on hearing what they dont want, so what do they want?
The complete lack of motivation, vision and leadership from our local mlas (NDP and Liberal), mayors and council members when it comes to bring in positive change.
There are several areas in the city core that sit vacant and rotting from disuse.
Look what has happened to several events that have been cancelled.
The complete lack of coordination of region planning among the 14 districts, municipalities, towns and cities.

Until this has been dealt with, I cant see our city taking advantage of the Olympics coming in 2 years.

Hopefully I can be proven wrong.

[amor de cosmos]

The complete lack of motivation, vision and leadership from our local mlas (NDP and Liberal), mayors and council members when it comes to bring in positive change.
There are several areas in the city core that sit vacant and rotting from disuse.
Look what has happened to several events that have been cancelled.
The complete lack of coordination of region planning among the 14 districts, municipalities, towns and cities.

Some sort of agreement like an MoU between the 13 municipalities, the CRD, local MLAs, local MPs & local native groups could fix that. It could say all the governments commit to preparing for Victoria's 150th, for example (whatever that means). A memorandum of understanding isn't necessarily legally binding and there's no penalty for one party unilaterally withdrawing, so it's less formal than a contract. All it does is say that everybody who signs it agrees to work towards some goal & basically not to screw over the other people who sign it. I think something like that would go a long way to getting the region to work as a unit, as least on one big issue anyway.

Until this has been dealt with, I cant see our city taking advantage of the Olympics coming in 2 years.

Hopefully I can be proven wrong.

I think it's definitely possible, even though Victoria doesn't have the resources of the Alberta government. The stuff brought up earlier for the sesquicentenary won't be done by 2010 but there's no reason Victoria can't still promote itself as the capital of the province Vancouver is in, for example. All it takes is a change of mindset. Maybe if the city decides to make something of its 150th birthday tourists who come here in 2010 will see Victoria has its own "olympics" we're prepping for. Some projects could be done in time for 2010 & others not. I can't believe Victoria hasn't been doing more though.