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Housing People - What Works?


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#41 Icebergalley

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Posted 05 February 2007 - 10:46 PM

Are you guys actually suggesting that Victoria cops are racing to non-emergency calls at 100 miles per hour?? That's a heck of an allegation.


Please, don't put words in my mouth..

#42 aastra

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Posted 05 February 2007 - 10:56 PM

Please, read that quote again and notice the interrogative form.

#43 aastra

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 01:19 AM

Sorry, it just dawned on me that I might have totally missed what you folks were agreeing about. Are you saying the police in Victoria are unique for blasting their sirens while driving around at normal speeds? If so, I misunderstood completely. Although I have to say I've never had the impression that they drive any slower than the police in other cities.

#44 Mike K.

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 09:11 AM

^me neither.

I think the whole siren issue is a victim of Victorians perceptions of Victoria that aastra brought up a while back. aastra discussed how Victorians who stumble upon Broadway or Commercial in Vancouver are shocked over the wide traffic corridor and state that there's "nothing" like it in Victoria (they downplay Victoria's corridors like Mackenzie, Douglas, Blanshard, etc). And then there are those who claim that they can get from point A to point B in Victoria in mere minutes, and how Vancouver's traffic is infinitely worse across the board. Then with a slip of the tongue they'll complain that it takes 50 minutes to drive 18 kilometers from the west comms to downtown during heavier traffic. There's also the one about how small Victoria is physically, etc, with a common example used referring to how "far" the Tsawwassen ferry terminal is from downtown Vancouver unlike in Victoria where it's just up there north of downtown. Which is bull, as both terminals are roughly the same distance from their respective downtowns.

So this siren thing is the same. In VICTORIA, these sirens are somehow strange, silly, unnecessary and too frequent. In other cities they must be necessary or just frequent enough because they're in OTHER cities.

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#45 Holden West

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 09:14 AM

I've started a siren thread since this has little to do with housing! :D

http://www.vibrantvi... ... 8993#18993
"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

#46 G-Man

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 09:28 AM

Hmmm... For someone that didn't want to be a mod...

Oh Well thanks for getting us back on topic. So five years in the future some more services have moved downtown what else does downtown need to do for families downtown?

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#47 Baro

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 12:18 PM

Affordable familly sized housing space.. that's about it.
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#48 Mike K.

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 12:27 PM

^which could come in the shape of townhomes at the foot of condo towers. Why don't we see more of them? Why isn't council advocating that more be built?

Or better yet, why aren't our local housing cooperatives cost-sharing the development of such townhomes with private developers? Surely to construct a dozen units at a reduced cost due to the scale of a condo development is financially viable. Hearing councillors lament that condos are offered at 2-bedrooms isn't a solution; it's apathy.

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#49 G-Man

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 12:50 PM

Too true. The townhouse solution is a good one and apart from the Corazon and 860 View we have not seen to much in that area. Actually there is still one at 860 View that I would love to live in. 2 bd 2 ba 1150 sqft $370 000. I know that is still expensive but it is a very cool space, nonetheless.

One thing that New York has that we don't and I think I have mentioned it before is that there are tons of pocket parks all over the city. If you want to have families downtown than these need to be incorporated. Also because I know Aastra will say that this is not in Victoria's nature, I don't think any new area need to be set aside. We have these spaces that are currently going wasted.

I am thinking of some of the traffic islands we have all over downtown that are currently just for looking at as you drive by. They are in no way for pedestrian.

Here are some examples from NY:






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#50 Holden West

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 12:53 PM

Paris has some nice little parks as well. Not fancy "look but don't touch" gardens but useful small parks for families with benches and swings.
"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

#51 G-Man

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 12:56 PM

So imagine the open area at Johnson Street Bridge being Fenced nicely with an iron wrought fence. The centre consisting of pavers and benches.

Or take the triangle at the Western edge of Harris Green on Pandora and turn it into a mini Herald Square (first pic in my last post) with chairs and tables and some public art at one end.

These spaces exist now we are just not using them.

Visit my blog at: https://www.sidewalkingvictoria.com 

 

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#52 Holden West

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 01:30 PM

I think there's a fear that any attempt at making an attractive "gathering place" will become a hangout for undesirables you wouldn't necessarily like your kids interacting with.

But if Paris and New York can do it...
"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

#53 G-Man

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Posted 06 February 2007 - 01:58 PM

So if making any area of the city nice is just going have undesirables using it than why bother doing anything :)

I think that attitude would play badly in front of cameras if that is indeed the feeling city hall has.

Visit my blog at: https://www.sidewalkingvictoria.com 

 

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#54 aastra

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Posted 08 February 2007 - 11:37 AM

...whenever I walk around Yaletown I see few children, except those in strollers.


The Alaska Airlines article I mentioned in another thread tells us there were 4,400 children living in downtown Vancouver in 2001. Assuming this "downtown" includes the west end, I'm wondering how many children live in the equivalent downtown/James Bay area of Victoria?



#55 G-Man

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Posted 08 February 2007 - 12:41 PM

Good point Aastra, also if take that same area and ask how many people live that area we would see that Victoria is indeed a dense and walkable city.

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#56 aastra

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Posted 08 February 2007 - 06:51 PM

What would it be, about 16,000? Maybe a bit more.

#57 G-Man

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Posted 08 February 2007 - 08:02 PM

Sounds about right.

Visit my blog at: https://www.sidewalkingvictoria.com 

 

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#58 zoomer

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Posted 08 February 2007 - 08:47 PM

wow, that's a great comparison aastra. I'm of course assuming it's exactly the same scale. That would be a great image to post on SSP for those Canadians who don't realize the size of Victoria's downtown. Of course, Vancouver also has the densely populated surrounding neighbourhoods.

#59 aastra

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Posted 08 February 2007 - 08:56 PM

Yes, they're the same scale. Note how much space the Burrard/Granville/Cambie bridge ramps take up in Vancouver. It's hard to imagine them transplanted to Victoria. Also, Ogden Point is absolutely huge. In Vancouver that place would have 15 highrise towers on it.

#60 zoomer

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Posted 08 February 2007 - 10:10 PM

/\ no kidding about Ogden Point.

Aren't they planning on removing a couple of the on ramps for the Granville St bridge, opening up a couple prime development lots?

anyways, speaking of comparisons.. check out Hillside Mall..what a giant waste of land. Hopefully the parking eventually goes underground, with some higher density housing and less "mall-like" retail taking its place. Haven't seen any progress on their expansion plans for a while.

Look how much land Hillside would take if we dropped it on downtown (yah, I know an outline instead of a solid red blob would have been better!):






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