2247 replies to this topic

[RFS]

Yawn. Another 6-8k people have moved downtown in the last few years, there are essentially no residential rental vacancies, new construction is booming, businesses are doing well, and tourism is thriving. But don't let actual facts get in your way.

You can both be right. Is there a construction boom downtown? Yes. Is downtown a vile cess pit of open drug use, discarded needles, human urine, and drugged out zombies? Also yes.

[Mike K.]

Yawn. Another 6-8k people have moved downtown in the last few years, there are essentially no residential rental vacancies, new construction is booming, businesses are doing well, and tourism is thriving. But don't let actual facts get in your way.

The entirety of the City of Victoria increased by 5,800 people between 2011 and 2016, and a total of about 7,800 if we push back to 2006.

[Greg]

The entirety of the City of Victoria increased by 5,800 people between 2011 and 2016, and a total of about 7,800 if we push back to 2006.

 

And you think what percentage of that growth took place in Fairfield?  <grin>

 

Unless you think all the new condos that have replaced surface parking really are sitting empty, the increase in residents has been dramatic. This article says 1500 new units in just 2018-2019, although I'm not sure how reputable the source is:

 

https://victoria.cit...-2018-and-2019/

[Mike K.]

Oh sure, the increase has been dramatic but not to the point where 6,000 new residents are living downtown and certainly not 8,000.

Between 2011-2018 there have been 1,750-2,000-units added to downtown and HG, so let’s say 1.5 residents per unit (being generous) and we get 3,000. That not exactly a small feat, though.

[Victoria Watcher]

i actuallly think downtown population increase might be closer to 1,500 at best over the last decade.

I’m being strict on downtown here. dvba boundaries. east of blanshard is harris green or fairfield etc.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 25 January 2019 - 02:58 AM.

[tedward]

Is downtown a vile cess pit of open drug use, discarded needles, human urine, and drugged out zombies? Also yes.

As someone who travels through downtown twice daily during the week, this is utter nonsense. Maybe two blocks of Pandora have a lot of homeless on them but "downtown" is a lot more than a couple of blocks. If "downtown" was a person they would be well advised to sue you for defamation. LOL

[sdwright.vic]

Since you can only add residents at the rate new inventory is added would be another point. Its not like the vacancy rate is high.

[Coreyburger]

As someone who travels through downtown twice daily during the week, this is utter nonsense. Maybe two blocks of Pandora have a lot of homeless on them but "downtown" is a lot more than a couple of blocks. If "downtown" was a person they would be well advised to sue you for defamation. LOL

 

Indeed. I work in one of those two worst two blocks (800 block Pandora). Yes, it is worse than a few years ago in those blocks, but downtown outside of that hasn't changed all that much. There were always a homeless people throughout downtown and beyond (believe it or not, there are homeless who don't want to come anywhere near Our Place because they are trying to escape that life or don't want to be sucked into it).

[RFS]

(believe it or not, there are homeless who don't want to come anywhere near Our Place because they are trying to escape that life or don't want to be sucked into it).

I have no trouble believing that at all. I wish our city council understood that

[tjv]

The classic refrain of someone who never goes downtown. 

Absolutely, and my reasons stated are why I avoid downtown.  Almost every service is available outside downtown with loads of free parking.  It sure beats having to walk onto the roadway because bums have taken up the entire sidewalk which happened to me recently.

 

Downtown has really deteriorated under Helps

[Mike K.]

As someone who travels through downtown twice daily during the week, this is utter nonsense. Maybe two blocks of Pandora have a lot of homeless on them but "downtown" is a lot more than a couple of blocks. If "downtown" was a person they would be well advised to sue you for defamation. LOL

 

Poor social behaviour is not limited to those two blocks, though.

 

Centennial Square is outside of those two blocks, as is the 'whaling wall,' etc. 

[Nparker]

Someone was carjacked in Langford back in December. I'll never go there now.

Children were murdered in Oak Bay. Sounds like a dangerous municipality to me.

 

A man was assaulted in Saanich. Better take this off my places to visit.

You can see how the case can be made to never visit any part of the region. 

Edited by Nparker, 25 January 2019 - 03:30 PM.

[rmpeers]

Yes, downtown has very visibly deteriorated in the past few years. Less safe, signs of drug use abound, general unpleasantness. There are large swaths of the city that I avoid now and I feel terrible for colleagues I know who work on 800 block Johnson.

Edited by rmpeers, 25 January 2019 - 05:28 PM.

[tjv]

Someone was carjacked in Langford back in December. I'll never go there now.

Children were murdered in Oak Bay. Sounds like a dangerous municipality to me.

 

A man was assaulted in Saanich. Better take this off my places to visit.

You can see how the case can be made to never visit any part of the region. 

Meanwhile I can leave my house wide open in Central Saanich and run to the grocery store.  What's it like in the North Park area, do you leave your front door wide open and run out for a bit?

 

Of course CoV is the most dangerous municipality in the CRD

 

By violent crimes the CoV is the 27th overall most dangerous municipality in Canada

Assaults:  #15

Homicides #74 (Oak Bay with the children murders is 101)

Firearms offences #103

Robberies #22

[Nparker]

Meanwhile I can leave my house wide open in Central Saanich and run to the grocery store...

Without the CoV Central Saanich has no reason to exist.

[Greg]

https://www.facebook...?type=3

 

This post from the Downtown Residents Association claims downtown growth similar to the made up numbers I posted. Hard to tell what they mean by "border" though.

[Mike K.]

We’re sort of flogging a dead horse here.

Since 2004 absolutely there have been 5,000 new residents (when including residents along the “borders,” whatever that means). But three census cycles is not “a few years,” nor did those few years bring 8,000 new residents to downtown. They didn’t even bring 6,000.

Over the last decade 3,000 people have moved to downtown Victoria. And when adding under construction units that will push us out into 2022-2023 to reach 7,000 new residents. 7,000 people over 20-years ain’t so bad, but that’s not 8,000 in just a few.

[Greg]

^Fair enough.  But this was all in response to the original post about downtown going to hell. And in reality, the data suggest new people are moving downtown about as fast as developers can get units built for them to move in to.

[Victoria Watcher]

if you’d like to live in a view condo (tall) or a concrete condo downtown is almost all you can do. if songhees is out of your price range.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 January 2019 - 10:22 AM.

[Mike K.]

^Fair enough. But this was all in response to the original post about downtown going to hell. And in reality, the data suggest new people are moving downtown about as fast as developers can get units built for them to move in to.

Yup, for sure.

Downtown is not everyone’s cup of tea but it’s very popular as a place to reside. I do think, though, that we can do better to ensure people’s safety and reduce criminality in the core. But what city has that figured out, right?

To VW’s point, Sayward Hill in Saanich is concrete, and Langford is now getting into the concrete apartment game with Danbrook One downtown and Westhills’ latest condo plus the upcoming highrise. Bear Mountain, of course, already has the tallest concrete tower outside of downtown and there are more to come, plus Colwood’s Royal Bay has towers in its master plan as does Two Waters, which is the revived Esquimalt Lagoon project.