1201 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

Yes to Warf, no to Wark and no to Wharf.

Yes to Worf? 

[nagel]

Not sure what the benefit of having cars go through there is when there's no stopping or parking areas.

[On the Level]

Not sure what the benefit of having cars go through there is when there's no stopping or parking areas.

To drive up the road without stopping or parking.

[dasmo]

Yes to Worf?
Worf.jpg

He he... I visualize a small dog. Warf Warf... Warf Warf Warf.... Warf Warf....

[On the Level]

I'm actually OK with changing Government to be a no car area, but only if it was part of a larger project.  There would need to be some cohesion with Bastion Square.  Without enough effort and change, there would be risk that it would just turn into another "hangout" like Centennial. 

[sebberry]

I'm actually OK with changing Government to be a no car area, but only if it was part of a larger project.  

 

Unless you're going to turn Government into purely a pedestrian area with pedestrian friendly features (fountains, seating, play areas, whatever...) it'll just end up being an empty road with a couple of retractable bollards at each end so the delivery trucks can get through at 6AM. 

[johnk]

It would have been car-free 25 yrs ago in Europe. Its our prettiest d/t street, nice character buildings with a lovely opening out to the IH. Its not an artery by any means and people can't shop or buy a drink from inside their cars. Apart from deliveries why isn't it pedestrianized? is really the question.

[VicHockeyFan]

Pacific Treking building for sale:

 

https://www.realtor....Columbia-V8W1Y9

 

 

PRICE REDUCED! Fantastic freestanding building on Government Street. Nearby neighbours are The Gap, Starbucks, Eddie Bauer, MEC and others. Vacant possession. Built mid 1980's of concrete and steel and in excellent condition. Not Heritage.

 

 

$3.6M

[aastra]

 

“Government Street is by some arguments the most successful street in the downtown. Rather than taking the best street we have and changing it we should figure out how we can make other streets more like Government Street,” Young said.
from Times-Colonist

 

It's funny because there shouldn't be any mystery here. The changes that turned Government Street from what it was to what it is now are very recent. We're not talking about ancient history. If you want to do the same thing to other streets then the process should be straightforward. Do the same thing to other streets. 

 

https://archives.vic...k-looking-north

 

https://archives.vic...k-looking-south

 

https://search-bcarc...street-victoria

 

Victorians just seem to love overlooking the bigger picture while they spend time, money, and angst on re-working and re-conceptualizing the same few things: Government Street, Centennial Square...

Edited by aastra, 07 February 2019 - 03:08 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

government is the most successful street in town because almost all tourists want to go to the empress legislature tourism centre harbour and museum and governmentst.is the way to "downtown" for them on foot.  somebody screwed up wharf re drawing pedestrians that way though.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 07 February 2019 - 10:39 AM.

[Jackerbie]

government is the most successful street in town because almost all tourists want to go to the empress legislature tourism centre harbour and museum and governmentst.is the way to "downtown" for them on foot.  somebody screwed up wharf re drawing pedestrians that way though.

 

Wharf has a sea of parking lots on one side and ground floor offices on the other. There's no engagement with the street until you hit Bastion Square.

[Brantastic]

I think a car ban on Government could work well if adequate furnishings, kiosks, plantings, etc. were employed to fill the space between the sidewalks. But I agree with Young's point of simply taking the model that works and extending it to other streets. I think if anything, the existing Government streetscape should be extended past Yates to Chinatown (though perhaps different tree plantings and furnishings past Pandora). Potentially further if northern Government Street were to morph into some sort of trendy post-industrial brewery district, which I could see it becoming one day. 

[dasmo]

Except the other streets actually do move the traffic so why not simply expand on this success rather than f*ck with other areas. You know, BUILD on the success.....  Making Douglas a pedestrian street? Idiotic. Warf? Maybe but first build something there so people will want to walk warf.... Otherwise leave it for the traffic reroute around the pedestrian boulevard that should be Government. 

[Hotel Mike]

If there is a real desire to make Government Street pedestrian, then the road has to be filled in. The whole street should have a consistent brick surface. When the trucks need to make deliveries in the morning, they just drive over the bricks. At a certain time, say 10:00 a.m., the bollards are raised and no mechanized transport is allowed.

[MarkoJ]

I spend quite a bit of time in Zagreb since I own a condo there and I love the pedestrian free zones. I take the tram to the car free main square and then there are hundreds of restaurants/bars/coffee shops I meet up with friends at. Such an awesome atmosphere with packed places and people walking by. 

 

 

[dasmo]

Just think how much money the city could make renting patio space....

[DustMagnet]

I spend quite a bit of time in Zagreb since I own a condo there and I love the pedestrian free zones.

 

You mean roads?

[spanky123]

I spend quite a bit of time in Zagreb since I own a condo there and I love the pedestrian free zones. 

 

Lots of million plus population cities in Europe and elsewhere have plazas which were once streets and have now been repurposed as pedestrian thoroughfares. I think that the rationale is a little different than that being proposed by council though and the 5 people who use Government street between October and April may not be sufficient to support a full redevelopment from tacky tourist shops to high end retailers.

 

In my opinion it is inevitable that Government street will soon be closed to traffic under this current council. The scramble crosswalk is the first step in making travel so cumbersome for vehicles that it naturally starts to migrate elsewhere.

[Nparker]

...the 5 people who use Government street between October and April may not be sufficient to support a full redevelopment from tacky tourist shops to high end retailers...

This is a big part of the equation that our local council does not seem to grasp: we simply don't have the necessary population to make Government Street a viable year-round pedestrian only thoroughfare.

[Cassidy]

Victoria isn't in Europe, and trying to turn a small North American city into a European city is not only a waste of time and money ... it's generally undertaken using a "Disneyland" methodology simply because the express purpose is to "imitate", rather than to have something organically develop based on the geographical "place" and the general culture of the city and its residents.

 

Victoria doesn't do a lot of outdoor cafe space for one very basic reason - which is that the weather here sucks for 9 or 10 months of the year (at least for the purpose of sitting outdoors and eating a meal, or drinking a beverage). As a result of that weather situation, Victoria has developed its own unique character.

 

Government Street works well for what it is, which is a hard core tourist drag (like Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls), so what's the point of turning more "real" streets into more Government Streets?

It's not like Government Street has foot traffic so densely packed that you're shoulder to shoulder with other pedestrians as you walk about (like Midtown Manhattan).

Indeed, 90% of the time (or whenever there isn't a cruise ship in port), Government Street is basically empty.

 

Tourist trinket shops, t-shirt outlets and candy bar stores don't make a downtown, and Government Street most definitely isn't something to be emulated on other streets in Victoria.

Edited by Cassidy, 08 February 2019 - 09:42 AM.