148 replies to this topic

[spanky123]

Those rats can be really devious. Could be 6 months or more before they are finally exterminated. By that time all of the grass will have grown back ...

[todd]

Really, never?  After 30 years even Chernobyl recovered, well, sort of...

 

On the bright side Chernobyl and Fukushima exclusion areas are now tourist attractions. Currently considering the Fukushima boat tour, comes with complimentary Tyvek suit.

[smudge queen]

a petition to encourage a playground on the site https://www.change.o...&fb_ref=Default

[mbjj]

I doubt grass will grow back there of its own accord. Even trying to patch our lawn with new grass seed doesn't always take very well. Probably be a lot of weeds. I wouldn't walk on it if there's truth to needles being spread about.

[Bingo]

The right thing to do.

 

A children’s playground will replace a former homeless camp at the Victoria courthouse next spring once traces of methamphetamines and other chemicals have been removed from the site, the B.C. government announced Wednesday.

Minister of Citizens’ Services Amrik Virk said neighbourhood residents supported the idea after the tent city closed in August.

“It was just the right thing to do, to have a location for children to play — to have those sights and sounds in a city core,” said Virk, whose ministry is the landlord for the courthouse.

- See more at: http://www.timescolo...h.DUPh1PXQ.dpuf

 

[spanky123]

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said the park and playground will serve a growing numbers of families that are unable to afford houses and are moving downtown. “We’re seeing lots of families moving into two-bedroom condos and those children need places to play, and I think that’s the impetus behind it,” she said. “Certainly, we’ve been pushing ourselves to create a downtown playground for some time.” - See more at: http://www.timescolo...Q.BwtcIAXn.dpuf

 

Really. I work downtown and rarely ever see kids. I don't know of any daycares or schools in the downtown core either for that matter. Also didn't realize that it was cheaper to move downtown then it was to live in the burbs!

Edited by spanky123, 03 November 2016 - 06:30 AM.

[VicHockeyFan]

Certainly, we’ve been pushing ourselves to create a downtown playground for some time

 

 

Where can I find documentation of this push?

[Mike K.]

Where are these families, exactly?

I will wager that the biggest users of that park will be kids from the school tent city nearly shuttered. Or whatever is left of their enrolment.

[jonny]

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said the park and playground will serve a growing numbers of families that are unable to afford houses and are moving downtown. “We’re seeing lots of families moving into two-bedroom condos and those children need places to play, and I think that’s the impetus behind it,” she said. “Certainly, we’ve been pushing ourselves to create a downtown playground for some time.” - See more at: http://www.timescolo...Q.BwtcIAXn.dpuf

Really. I work downtown and rarely ever see kids. I don't know of any daycares or schools in the downtown core either for that matter. Also didn't realize that it was cheaper to move downtown then it was to live in the burbs!

There's a daycare at the ministry of health building, on View by Yuk Yuk's, the downtown synagogue and several of the downtown churches.

[Mike K.]

Townline will be building a playground as part of Hudson Walk 2. And just short stroll from the courthouse is Beacon Hill Park with a substantial children's play park.

[Nparker]

Townline will be building a playground as part of Hudson Walk 2.

That makes me wish I still worked at the Jack Davis Building. 

[Dietrich]

There is a daycare on View Street above the laser tag place. While we may not see an abundance of children roaming about downtown, it's true that there are more families appearing in condos and plenty of single parents living in apartments in the area. They'll build it and it will be used, you'll see. Not sure why there seems to be any griping or naysaying about it - what would you propose otherwise?

[Mike K.]

More people are trying to get their children out of the downtown core than to live in it. I believe the mayor may have been fed incorrect information if she believes that Victorians with small children are more attracted to downtown than ever before.

 

The daycare on View seems to draw people from further afar who work in downtown and have a convenient place to drop their kid off.

[Dietrich]

Still doesn't speak to why putting a playground there may not be a good use of the space. I think it's a great idea. Juno made a good point about the family court being there. Frequent users will likely come from the Vancouver/Cook street areas - plenty of kids around there and it'll be closer than Beacon Hill. It might even bring summer camps back to the Y, which used to use that space and Pioneer Square almost daily many years ago.

[Nparker]

...The daycare on View seems to draw people from further afar who work in downtown and have a convenient place to drop their kid off.

Those same people may choose to take their children to a conveniently located playground during their lunch breaks or after work in the summer.

 

Ultimately, the cost of putting a playground in this area is a small price to pay to prevent another tent city from forming.

[Mike K.]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I think the playground is a great idea and I had advocated that it ought to be built from day one.

 

But I disagree with the mayor's statement that people with small are children are flocking to downtown Victoria because it's affordable. There is absolutely no evidence of this, and yet it's presented as a fact now.

[Nparker]

...But I disagree with the mayor's statement ...

This is pretty much just common sense.

[Bingo]

Where are these families, exactly?
I will wager that the biggest users of that park will be kids from the school tent city nearly shuttered. Or whatever is left of their enrolment.

 

The real reason for the park might not be as a playground for the children, but as a deterrent for another tent city.

 

“The City of Victoria has explicit bylaws that prohibit camping on playgrounds, so there will be no camping on this site period,” he said.

- See more at: http://www.timescolo...Q.TmY1PPDo.dpuf

[Mike K.]

But isn't this provincial land?

Now I'm confused.

[VicHockeyFan]

But isn't this provincial land?

Now I'm confused.

 

They are just going along with the spirit of the City rules.  No big deal.