1257 replies to this topic

[G-Man]

Thanks Sparky! I did change enough to buy some water at the airport and my cousin had said that using Canadian cash worked in most instances but of course it was that one time it didn't come together.

[LJ]

When I was in Cuba, they gladly accepted US cash.

[G-Man]

US cash is not as wanted as it once was. Preference is definitely for the Euro or the Canadian Dollar. USDs are still taken in some places though it is more challenging for them to change them so less sought after. 

[G-Man]

We've talked about ferries from Oak Bay before. I suggested there was an option Victorians have never tried that could work well for commuting/day-tripping...

Just a reminder, officialdom in Oak Bay was cool on the idea of hovercraft service. But small boats and a handful of passengers like I'm talking about would obviously be a much more natural fit for the marina environment.

Tip of the hat to Aastra whose research just made it to the Oak Bay News via me today.

https://www.vicnews....assenger-ferry/

[G-Man]

Latest blog post is up. This time with little review of the new addition to Songhees Park. 

 

https://www.sidewalk...he-next-chapter

[G-Man]

New post up. This one is all about tacos downtown. If I missed your favourite place let me know!

 

https://www.sidewalk...wntown-victoria

[G-Man]

New post up on Sidewalking Victoria. Likely not to be a popular one on VV but that's okay. Would love to hear your comments anyways. 

 

https://www.sidewalk...an-call-buttons

[Mike K.]

I suspect you'd see a lot more late-night red light runners if the pedestrian crossings were 95% bluffing and no pedestrians were crossing. That may make things more dangerous.

 

The late night speeder issue is a serious one, though, and I think we need to bring photo radar back. I know it wasn't popular, but clearly we need it as too many drivers aren't getting the message.

[G-Man]

New post up today. This time on some great gardens to visit besides Butchart.

https://www.sidewalk...t-with-butchart

[G-Man]

Another post up on Sidewalking Victoria. This time I come up with a plan for our heritage parking lots

 

https://www.sidewalk...ur-parking-lots

[aastra]

I still think the best approach would be to regard those lots as if they were two more blocks of downtown that just happen to be on the west side of Wharf Street and just a bit lower than the normal level of downtown. So there would be a mixture of waterfront public spaces (seamlessly extending from Wharf Street at the same level as Wharf Street) with commercial units on the lower level that look like typical downtown/old town commercial units except they're right on the waterfront.

 

In other words, the philosophy shouldn't be "this is where downtown ends, what a relief!" but rather "this is where the downtown scene fronts onto the harbour." Don't try to create an escape from the downtown/old town milieu. Try to create a mini district that works as the refined & finished waterfront face of downtown/old town.

 

And the walkways and staircases from Wharf Street should suggest the natural continuation of downtown streets as much as possible. They should seem like streets that were closed off and converted to pedestrian-only routes.

[Mike K.]

We should route Wharf Street down along there.

[Nparker]

Turn the parking lots into the CoV's widest bike lanes.

[Mike K.]

I’m afraid there is nothing that can be done there, unless we want to forever give up the public’s view of the harbour from Wharf Street and hand it over to whomever the operators/residents of the future buildings are.

Anything above a single storey will block the harbour view. That’s likely why nothing has ever been done there, with visionaries knowing that their architecture will never win over a public who will forever give something up for a structure they’ll never even see from their downtown vantage point. D’Ambrosio tried to put something together but it was a design meant to be viewed from Vic West.

It’s just a botched waterfront, from an architectural perspective. The only thing that makes sense there is community space (other than its practical purposes as parking), maybe restaurants tucked away next to the walls with large patios extending towards the water.

[aastra]

 

Anything above a single storey will block the harbour view.

 

Did the new (Vancouver) convention centre block views? Or did it create much better views?

 

Come on. You extend the street level over the footprint of the existing parking lots. Views wouldn't merely be preserved, they would be improved and extended. New construction wouldn't necessarily need to be higher than street level, although it easily could be higher than street level via small footprints in selected spots.

For example, why should anyone care about the view from the sidewalk on the east side of Wharf Street in front of the Harbour Square Mall building? A small street level building could occupy the west side of Wharf Street there, and "the view" could be mightily improved by having a much wider sidewalk and abundant patio space all around it, that much closer to the water.

Edited by aastra, 05 November 2022 - 03:57 PM.

[aastra]

 

It’s just a botched waterfront, from an architectural perspective.

 

Where's the "do it like Europeans do it" lobby when you need them? That's not Saskatchewan riverfront. It's downtown/old town city waterfront. Redevelop it with that model in mind.

[Mike K.]

It’s no accident that all buildings along the waterfront there have a strong relationship with the street.

There are no apologies about it, architecturally.

I just can’t see private equity agreeing to below-street buildings or buildings with a roof level with the street.

So if that just leaves the City to do the work, they’ll build something that may appeal to what you speak to, aastra, but it’ll be another commercial boondoggle that the City is already known for. The commercial units will suffer, and we’ll have another retail dead zone.

[Barrrister]

Might be a good site for the Marine Museum. 

[Nparker]

Might be a good site for the Marine Museum. 

That's a colonial/settler concept.

[aastra]

Do these things block the view?