1201 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Isn't Isitt & Co. pushing for a Douglas Street closure in lieu of Gov't?

[dasmo]

Isn't Isitt & Co. pushing for a Douglas Street closure in lieu of Gov't?

Brutal............ One of the main arteries into town....

[sebberry]

Isn't Isitt & Co. pushing for a Douglas Street closure in lieu of Gov't?

 

Sort of... http://www.timescolo...treet-1.1691158

[dasmo]

Oh well... I guess divert the cars and busses onto government street then, widen it, then spend millions on re-making the sidewalks on Douglas and marketing to the tourists and tour companies that government isn't the street anymore.

OR

We could spend a few hundred thousand and just buy a few rising Bollards for four intersections and on signage and marketing to inform the locals about the Government st closure plus build on our free international word of mouth marketing because the tourists already go there...

[Mike K.]

See what I mean about letting downtown decay to a point when politicians will stop wasting our money? We need some decay, we need to see a little sweat under those collars.

Now Isitt is talking about refurbishing the Johnson Street Bridge as the prospect of additional costs rears its head. There's no winning here, just more money thrown at the through, whether it's one endeavor or another.

I personally don't want to expend any money on this initiative. If landlords want to approach the City and say that they think a closure would benefit them, great, let's try it on their dime. But we as tax payers are broke, we need a respite from feel-good expenses and we need to reign in costs while making politicians accountable for their actions.

[sebberry]

We could spend a few hundred thousand and just buy a few rising Bollards for four intersections and on signage and marketing to inform the locals about the Government st closure plus build on our free international word of mouth marketing because the tourists already go there...

 

That in isolation won't solve the problem.  A few more people might walk on the road, that's about it.  In an earlier post you mentioned that the busy part of Uptown is in the area bordered by the grand staircase, Walmart, Starbucks and whatever is on the 4th corner.  It isn't that way simply because some bollards popped up and closed a road to cars, it's that way because it was designed as a pedestrian area from the start.  It has permanent amenities that make it attractive. 

 

For the Government Street closure initiative to be successful, you're looking at a complete, permanent transformation. 

[sebberry]

I personally don't want to expend any money on this initiative. If landlords want to approach the City and say that they think a closure would benefit them, great, let's try it on their dime. But we as tax payers are broke, we need a respite from feel-good expenses and we need to reign in costs while making politicians accountable for their actions.

 

I'm partly with you on this one.  I do think that the city has a role to play in building infrastructure that is attractive to business.  When you have healthy businesses, you have a healthier economy that offsets the investment the city will have made in building out the sidewalks on Government Street.  But the way the city goes about things I have little faith that the investment will come back full-circle.  As long as by-law officers are measuring patios to the centimeter and ticketing businesses for not having renewed their sandwich board fee, I don't see how that will flourish into positive atmosphere for businesses. 

[29er Radio]

That story right before xmas is an excellent example of not understanding
the whole equation, Main St is busy, but it is not the main artery for
Vancouver. Applying logic that "works" elsewhere and applying it there without the full story is crazy IMHO. Whilst we wait for Lisa Helps to produce
her economic plans (due in February I think)all these BS ideas are coming
out. Talk about shiny key syndrome.

We have to change what we have, not work with what we have.

[dasmo]

Sorry, but it is a problem...

[D.L.]

You should take that camera over to Hillside mall!

[dasmo]

You should take that camera over to Hillside mall!

 

I don't care about hillside mall. That's not even in my city!

[dasmo]

Updated to show that access and egress to parkades and parking lots is not hampered at all with this plan. Plus, notice how close all these large parking lots are! You can even park on the waterfront! 

 

Government Pedestrian Boulevard

- Reduced vehicle access lane down to one car width

- Landscaping it so it has a contiguous surface with the sidewalk. 

- Only allowing vehicle traffic between the hours of 1:30 AM and 9:30 AM to allow taxi traffic during closing time and delivery trucks in the morning hours and emergency vehicle access.

- Use Rising Bollards on a timer

 

[jonny]

I bet if we made Douglas and Fort streets pedestrian only those vacant spaces would be snapped right up.

 

There are lots of vacancies. Been that way for years and has only gotten worse in the last two or three. For every one that gets filled up, it seems like five more empty out. A ton of retail spaces have been built over the past few years. Funny enough, the city keeps insisting on ground floor retail. I'm sure the Planning Dept. will adjust just in time for the next boom in retail.

 

The general malaise of the retail sector, online retail, a ho-hum economy and property taxes and water/sewer bills that go up every year and the industry just keeps getting hammered.

[jonny]

I don't care about hillside mall. That's not even in my city!

 

Hillside mall is in Victoria, FYI.

[dasmo]

Hillside mall is in Victoria, FYI.

AHK! it is! 

[dasmo]

It's the worst I have seen it for 20 years. I have worked in the core for over ten. I have fought my brother on the subject of the decaying downtown for just as long so I don't go here easily! But I this is different... 

[jonny]

It's the worst I have seen it for 20 years. I have worked in the core for over ten. I have fought my brother on the subject of the decaying downtown for just as long so I don't go here easily! But I this is different... 

 

I wouldn't call it decaying. I'd bet we have seen more capital invested downtown over the past decade than the previous two decades combined, which a whole bunch more in the hopper.

 

Brick & mortar retail is in a challenging spot. Ecommerce has and continues to take a big chunk of business. Retail is the hardest hit in shaky economic times. Ditto for tourism, which is a double whammy for many downtown shops.

[jonny]

AHK! it is! 

 

[Danma]

I wouldn't call it decaying. I'd bet we have seen more capital invested downtown over the past decade than the previous two decades combined, which a whole bunch more in the hopper.

 

 

Brick & mortar retail is in a challenging spot. Ecommerce has and continues to take a big chunk of business. Retail is the hardest hit in shaky economic times. Ditto for tourism, which is a double whammy for many downtown shops.

 

 

Even ignoring e-commerce, downtown has to compete with all the big box stores, uptown mall, and other competitive forces to succeed... this is a problem across many cities in North America.

 

It reminds me of Vancouver chinatown that, despite the growth of the asian population, is now having to compete with chinese malls in Richmond and Coquitlam and T&T supermarkets. The future looks bright for the community as a whole, but the idea of a centralized destination starts to get undermined when it's ubiquitous and its purpose seems in question. By the same token, central business districts and downtowns have to find their purpose as well and to give people reasons to spend their weekends and evenings there.

[VicHockeyFan]

John Vickers is bringing a closure proposal to the City this week.