11779 replies to this topic

[sebberry]

Better lighting might also help and maybe some bicycle cops making regular patrols.

 

Oh it's totally a crime superhighway.  I'd consider living close to the Goose a drawback rather than a benefit. 

[Mike K.]

Of course you can walk to a Langford restaurant. That's what people in the suburbs do. And no one needs to drive to Costco.

Kidding aside, there's nothing wrong with either of those. But when you talk about things like not going downtown to eat because it is too hard to arrange transportation home, and driving to Costco to stock up, you're pretty much describing a suburban lifestyle. And there's nothing wrong with that if that's what you want.

It has nothing at all to do with a suburban lifestyle, though. 99% of the Capital’s population won’t eat at a restaurant in downtown Victoria on a Thursday night (outside of COVID). And most of Langford Costco’s clientele are urban residents driving to the store, say my contacts at the Langford store. Yesterday at Costco I ran into two people I know, one from Oak Bay, the other from Rockland

The common perception is for us to assume everyone else wants what we individually want, or that our personal choices are better than other people’s personal choices.

[Mike K.]

I think Langford's 'problem' is that people still look at it through the 'dogpatch' lens: ramshackle houses, jacked-up camaros, etc.. It's a cultural distance rather than a physical one..

It’s a thing for the 50+ age demographic. Just like Gordon Head was viewed as a ho hum faceless suburb by today’s 80+ demographic that considered it cheap housing on farmer’s fields.

[Ismo07]

It has nothing at all to do with a suburban lifestyle, though. 99% of the Capital’s population won’t eat at a restaurant in downtown Victoria on a Thursday night (outside of COVID). And most of Langford Costco’s clientele are urban residents driving to the store, say my contacts at the Langford store. Yesterday at Costco I ran into two people I know, one from Oak Bay, the other from Rockland

The common perception is for us to assume everyone else wants what we individually want, or that our personal choices are better than other people’s personal choices.

 

Yeah the region uses Costco for sure, two lanes now off Millstream to head back towards View Royal and beyond...  99%??  Such a weird way to look at it.

[m3m]

In my friend group, which is largely made up of people that have grown up in victoria in the late 90's - 2000s, there still is a stigma about living in the westshore.  It's weird. 

[zoomer]

Nothing wrong with Colwood and Langford, but it sure would be a depressing place to live in you didn’t have a car and you like city life. Some gorgeous nature attractions and parks, good recreational facilities, some decent neighbourhoods that will mature and become desirable in their own right over time. Will it ever clean up the mess of suburban shopping sprawl and develop a decent town centre is a fair question though. Probably.. many decades from now. Used to be a lot of the crime happened out there, but with the drug/homeless problem downtown gets the spotlight for that. If we ever get a hold of that the Western Communities will regain that honour as crime rates are closely tied to a young males.

[On the Level]

Nothing wrong with Colwood and Langford, but it sure would be a depressing place to live in you didn’t have a car and you like city life. Some gorgeous nature attractions and parks, good recreational facilities, some decent neighbourhoods that will mature and become desirable in their own right over time. Will it ever clean up the mess of suburban shopping sprawl and develop a decent town centre is a fair question though. Probably.. many decades from now. Used to be a lot of the crime happened out there, but with the drug/homeless problem downtown gets the spotlight for that. If we ever get a hold of that the Western Communities will regain that honour as crime rates are closely tied to a young males.

 

I think it depends on your lifestyle and interests. 

 

If you like to work on cars, have an interest in woodworking, want a reasonable sized garden instead of a community plot, want to be able to afford a small boat at the marina, want to fish at a lake, do some serious hiking, then you are going to be attracted to somewhere like the Westshore.  Downtown simply isn't going to offer a lifestyle that you find rewarding, healthy or interesting.  You're not going to understand why anyone would chose to live downtown.

 

If you would prefer having what you need closer to home or at least within cycling distance, like going for coffee or the bar scene, spend time in manicured greenspace instead of the forest, oceanside pathways instead of the beach, then downtown is going to have what you are looking for.  It's going to be refined and accessible.  You would find the Westshore isolating with nothing to do.  You're not going to understand why anyone would chose to live in the Westshore.

[Midnightly]

 

 

Does a Gordon Head resident not need to drive to Costco?

 

 

they don't need to drive but they will have a dang hard time getting home with their purchases after going into costco
 

[Awaiting Juno]

Here's what is frustrating with current council, little consideration is given as to whether or not the consultation that they engage in is likely to be biased. As an example, the consultation on bike infrastructure in Victoria was called Biketoria. It was hugely successful in engaging those who either already cycle or would like to cycle. What it failed to engage were those with disabilities (see the human rights case by the blind regarding the bus stops, transit users, pedestrians and motorists. As a result, the engagement and consultation process was biased and resulted in approval of projects that fail to meet all needs.  Then when this point is brought up - that engagement wasn't adequate, they demand that it was, without considering how it was rolled out. Now if it had been called "MOVEVictoria" or "VictoriaGO" and took a comprehensive look at the transportation system, maybe just maybe we wouldn't be spending money on projects that fail to meet all needs. 

[sablefish]

The City also seems to be making more use of the generic term "road safety improvements" in place of "bike lanes" or "cycling infrastructure". Thing is, this is likely to lead to more projects like the one on Richardson, not fewer. Nobody likes traffic through their neighbourhood - that's why suburban street plans look like spaghetti.

 

If you solicit urban residents' input on traffic in general, they are going to want to choke it off in their neighbourhood (while complaining, of course, when some other neighbourhood does the same).

 

Here's an excerpt from the FGCA's input on the Richardson plan (emphasis mine), where you can see that bikes weren't their only concern:

 

 

....

The Task Force knows that many people who drive in or through Fairfield Gonzales will be concerned about ease and speed of travel. Also, people on many streets are concerned about keeping traffic on their streets slow, safe, and low volume. The Neighbourhood Bikeway design would divert a large proportion of Richardson traffic out of Fairfield Gonzales entirely, at Cook Street and Foul Bay Road. The intent is to stop the use of Richardson as a commuter route, and encourage commuters to use east-west arterials such as Pandora / Oak Bay Avenue, Fort, and Fairfield. The remaining lower volumes, which originate locally....

....

Returning Richardson St to its role as a safe, inviting, neighbourhood connector that’s attractive for trips to school, trips to neighbourhood shops, and as a bike connector to the downtown network, makes our wonderful neighbourhood even more inviting. 

[zoomer]

Thanks for sharing that sablefish.

I'm all in favour of slowing traffic, but not so sure about diverting traffic. This has resulted in Cook Street being constantly backed, but as a pedestrian I can now cross Vancouver Street downtown anytime I want because there is virtually no car traffic on it.

And isn't this policy of diverting traffic outside of neighbourhoods an elitist one and kind of ironic for this current crop at city hall? Homeowners have traffic diverted away to roads lined by lower to middle income apartment buildings, meaning a few benefit significantly while far more have a worse outcome. Picking winners and losers.. and the winners win again? Just a theoretical take here..

[mbjj]

Richardson has never been a neighbourhood connector, lol. Trips to neighbourhood shops? But how if it's blocked in three spots? If a person lives on Richardson, even getting out onto Fairfield is tricky and it will be getting much worse. 

[rjag]

Anyone driven Cook from Pembroke through to Pandora recently? Especially now that they've screwed the pooch with Vancouver. Its an absolute $hitshow. 

 

Quadra from Burdett to Fort is way busier now, not unusual to see traffic backed up from Fort to Nearly Courtney...and dont attempt to turn left off Broughton. 

[Ismo07]

Anyone driven Cook from Pembroke through to Pandora recently? Especially now that they've screwed the pooch with Vancouver. Its an absolute $hitshow. 

 

Quadra from Burdett to Fort is way busier now, not unusual to see traffic backed up from Fort to Nearly Courtney...and dont attempt to turn left off Broughton. 

What time was that at?  May have to look at expanding the 2nd lane tow away route along Quadra leaving town.  These days it starts at 4pm, maybe needs to be 3pm or even 2pm.

Edited by Ismo07, 09 April 2021 - 03:17 PM.

[A Girl is No one]

What time was that at? May have to look at expanding the 2nd lane tow away route along Quadra leaving town. These days it starts at 4pm, maybe needs to be 3pm or even 2pm.

Twice I’ve been caught on Cook between Pembroke and Pandora over the last week. Off peak hours and the traffic was a mess.

[rmpeers]

Councillor Andrew's popularity must really be triggering the Together Victoria kids. I see their assorted trolls are going after him on twitter, even that BCGEU TV puppetmaster is joining in the bullying.

Stephen, if you're reading, stay strong and brave, you've clearly got Potts and company worried.

[sebberry]

Anyone driven Cook from Pembroke through to Pandora recently? Especially now that they've screwed the pooch with Vancouver. Its an absolute $hitshow. 

 

Quadra from Burdett to Fort is way busier now, not unusual to see traffic backed up from Fort to Nearly Courtney...and dont attempt to turn left off Broughton. 

 

It's pretty slow going along that stretch a little after 4:00pm.  Turning up Bay to Shelbourne would be a faster way home but I like to do my part to add to the congestion and pollution. 

[Stephen Andrew]

Councillor Andrew's popularity must really be triggering the Together Victoria kids. I see their assorted trolls are going after him on twitter, even that BCGEU TV puppetmaster is joining in the bullying.

Stephen, if you're reading, stay strong and brave, you've clearly got Potts and company worried.

Thank you for your support. I haven’t seen the comments.

What I will say about the general attacks on positions is they are overreaching and ascribed to motivations that I do not hold.

I try to have a respectful dialogue at the council table, I prefer to work out conflicts behind closed doors and do the work I was elected to carry out.

When I say or do something that someone doesn’t agree with, they are entitled to let me know. Whatever their position,
I listen. I also reflect on their position. That’s our job. I take it very seriously and everyday I think about the enormous trust given to me.

When I can, I offer pragmatic suggestions to either policy or procedures.

However, this week I put my foot down about the mendacity presented in council about those who support public safety. It has to stop.

I did not “win by-elections” by “poor bashing”. I believe I won through pragmatic policy and listening to the needs of our community.

At every opportunity I advocate for raising literacy (key indicator of poverty, poor health and other detrimental issues), advocate for more mental health and addiction support, continue to search for solutions to stable housing, and the list goes on. However, I do not do any of this work and then virtue signal. I do it because that’s part of my job. Those councillors that know of my intentions understand where I come from. Those who are truly ignorant - in the true sense of the word - create tropes in a vacuum and then try to weaponize it.

I believe the majority of our community want to be heard, respected and not gaslit when it comes to issues that so readily harm safety for ALL.

They fail to educate themselves to what’s actually taking place - even the horrific dangers that exist in bad policy of tent encampments.

Real facts:

The caseload for those working in the field of sexual exploitation of youth, is very high. We are talking about children here, some as young as 11 - maybe younger? That’s disgusting and we as a community - all over the capital region - should be ashamed we allow this to continue.

We are also talking about unhoused women who are repeatedly raped several times day. One woman so out of touch and living with cognitive developmental challenges, she can’t even give a statement to police so crown can lay charges. NO, housing first strategies will not work here, we need to support and protect these women.

And there is the man who pimps out women for $20 a time to buy drugs.

THIS is what is on my mind. THIS is the reality I face and want to change.

THIS is what we need to talk about.

Behind the scenes I’m trying to get something in place to address this. We have known about this for years. Thank heaven for former Councillor Helen Hughes who years ago championed these issues and advocated to me to raise awareness.

here we are more than 20 years later and we still haven’t resourced this dirty little secret to the level we can immediately eradicate this crime from our community. These are our children for God’s sake.

It’s time to step up and be counted. Every one of us. Do you want to continue with bad policy or what?

Apologies for the length, but I am tired of others trying to say what’s in my heart.

[Awaiting Juno]

Thank you for your support. I haven’t seen the comments.

What I will say about the general attacks on positions is they are overreaching and ascribed to motivations that I do not hold.

I try to have a respectful dialogue at the council table, I prefer to work out conflicts behind closed doors and do the work I was elected to carry out.

When I say or do something that someone doesn’t agree with, they are entitled to let me know. Whatever their position,
I listen. I also reflect on their position. That’s our job. I take it very seriously and everyday I think about the enormous trust given to me.

When I can, I offer pragmatic suggestions to either policy or procedures.

However, this week I put my foot down about the mendacity presented in council about those who support public safety. It has to stop.

I did not “win by-elections” by “poor bashing”. I believe I won through pragmatic policy and listening to the needs of our community.

At every opportunity I advocate for raising literacy (key indicator of poverty, poor health and other detrimental issues), advocate for more mental health and addiction support, continue to search for solutions to stable housing, and the list goes on. However, I do not do any of this work and then virtue signal. I do it because that’s part of my job. Those councillors that know of my intentions understand where I come from. Those who are truly ignorant - in the true sense of the word - create tropes in a vacuum and then try to weaponize it.

I believe the majority of our community want to be heard, respected and not gaslit when it comes to issues that so readily harm safety for ALL.

They fail to educate themselves to what’s actually taking place - even the horrific dangers that exist in bad policy of tent encampments.

Real facts:

The caseload for those working in the field of sexual exploitation of youth, is very high. We are talking about children here, some as young as 11 - maybe younger? That’s disgusting and we as a community - all over the capital region - should be ashamed we allow this to continue.

We are also talking about unhoused women who are repeatedly raped several times day. One woman so out of touch and living with cognitive developmental challenges, she can’t even give a statement to police so crown can lay charges. NO, housing first strategies will not work here, we need to support and protect these women.

And there is the man who pimps out women for $20 a time to buy drugs.

THIS is what is on my mind. THIS is the reality I face and want to change.

THIS is what we need to talk about.

Behind the scenes I’m trying to get something in place to address this. We have known about this for years. Thank heaven for former Councillor Helen Hughes who years ago championed these issues and advocated to me to raise awareness.

here we are more than 20 years later and we still haven’t resourced this dirty little secret to the level we can immediately eradicate this crime from our community. These are our children for God’s sake.

It’s time to step up and be counted. Every one of us. Do you want to continue with bad policy or what?

Apologies for the length, but I am tired of others trying to say what’s in my heart.

 

And hopefully next election will bring more allies and a team of people who want to actually solve problems and make a difference. 

[mbjj]

We have a family member who's moving over to near the Cedar Hill Rec. Centre. When visiting is allowed, the most direct route used to be straight up Cook and cross over at Hillside. However, Cook is so darn clogged now, we're scooting over sidestreets and going straight up Fernwood, then crossing over at Hillside where it turns into Cedar Hill Road. 

 

I understand that soon a left turn will be allowed from Quadra onto Burdett. In the meantime, we turn right by the playground, then turn around in a driveway, then cross back over Quadra. I've seen others doing likewise.