Updates?

Sorry, I haven’t been updating. I’m on a short-term job working in the art department for a TV movie being shot here in Victoria and spare time to blog has been in short supply. I did manage to give a brief update on one of the most popular posts on this blog according to search engine results: the Centennial Square redesign.

Taylor report update

City Hall released the executive summary of the Taylor report, along with their recommendations on implementing some of the ideas found in it. I’ll comment later when I’ve had time to digest it.

Rob on C-FAX

Thursday, April 9 from 12:30 to 1 p.m., I’ll be a panelist on the Ryan Price show on C-FAX 1070 AM talking about random Downtown things. Click the link to listen live.

Reply to the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition

My responses to the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition (since they’re still not up on their website):

1.) Do you own a bike? How often do you commute by bicycle?

I own two bikes; a 2000 Kona Lava Dome mountain bike and a 1987 Centurion road bike. Both were bought new. Right now the Centurion is my daily driver. I use it virtually every day to commute. My longest commute was Downtown Victoria to Langford. I did this for three years.

2.) How do you propose to expand and increase cycling, walking & public transit in your municipality?

As President of the Downtown Residents’ Association I made sure new developments had the latest bike-friendly features. I heartily endorsed one condo development that proposes to locate the bike storage not deep in the basement but in a high-visibility streetfront location. Efforts like this make bike ownership more attractive and increases use. I encourage parking variances in new developments so automobile storage is not subsidized by all owners and excess parking is reduced. My goal has been to reduce automobile visits into the core and increase bike ridership. More places to safely lock bikes downtown and in other neighbourhoods will help. Education programs for riders and drivers to reduce conflict as ridership increases. I support the construction of bike lanes on the Bay St. Bridge. I support the creation of a car-free Government St. for a trial period during the summer months in consultation with adjacent businesses. I attended last year’s City presentation of the Pedestrian Master Plan and support its vision of an enhanced pedestrian system. As DRA Chair I ensured we had representation on BC Transit’s public commitee examining the Douglas Street Bus Rapid Transit plan. I would advocate enhanced public transit service particularly between Downtown, UVic/Camosun and Fairfield/James Bay. I would advocate a light rapid transit system for Victoria.

3.) What initiatives would you propose to make our streets safer for cyclists, including improving cycle-friendly infrastructure?

I strongly believe in bike paths but I don’t assume they are a substitute for education and good riding skills. I learned this many years ago through Ray Hall’s columns in the GVCC newsletter (I volunteered my time as a cartoonist there in the early ’90s). Even as bike paths grow we must continue to get cyclists to ride defensively as there are still many good commuting routes without bike paths and cyclists must not let paths give them a false sense of security. Educating drivers to co-exist with riders must continue as well. One thing we can do immediately is improve and clarify signage, especially around intersections. Complex intersections such as Pandora and Store are often intimidating to cyclists.

4.) What is your position on the development of a regional transportation authority in Greater Victoria, and how do you see the cycling community being involved in this process?

The cycling community should be a major player as it is the most “urban friendly” form of transportation and as such must not be regarded as merely an add-on to an auto-centric transportation plan. A comprehensive transportation authority would be beneficial as it would break through the silo thinking that hampers broad solutions to transportation issues.

5.) If you were in a position to vote on a large development in your community, how would you ensure that cyclists’ needs are incorporated?

Obviously the GVCC is up to speed on the pressing issues and are in a position to constructively consult. Getting more dedicated cyclists on the relevant commitees, advisory panels and boards at City Hall will be necessary so that it’s not a case of City Hall listening to cyclists–City Hall should be comprised of cyclists!

Seven months and counting!

Tuesday marks the seventh month anniversary of this blog. Thanks to all of my readers and please share it with others that care about our city. I’ll be adding more content soon as this blog evolves into full election mode.

Vancouver needs a new square, too

You might recall my earlier post on the Centennial Square Charette I was invited to this year.

Well, Vancouver is also reconsidering it’s public space, and the Globe reports today on the similar challenges they face in creating a square that is vibrant, safe and welcoming.

It’s tempting to retort that Vancouver’s parks are its “grand space,” but speakers took pains to say these are not quite the same thing. “Edge” phenomena such as the seawall and Stanley Park serve a “centrifugal” function, Mr. Berelowitz argued, that work against one of the chief benefits of a public square – its capacity as a “social condenser.” Renowned landscape designer Cornelia Oberlander (who helped design Robson Square) echoed the idea, arguing that in Vancouver, we hedonistically cater to our own individual social and recreational needs. “So maybe we haven’t been coming downtown,” she said. “Then we have to rethink how we live.”

Achieving density and its benefits will require just such a rethink. But if a public square is going to be part of the solution, we’ll also have to rethink the original motive for these “grand spaces.” The models flashed up on the screen were almost invariably the product of imposing institutional forces with which few of us want to live as dominant social condensers today: cathedrals, Stalinist facades, etc. When we visit those places abroad, what we encounter as visitors may be quite misleading. Density may never have been the objective of the space. It may just be a pleasant contemporary byproduct.

Victoria artists find success! (back east, that is)

CBC British Columbia reports on the recently announced finalists of the RBC Canadian Painting Competition. A look at the list reveals no Victoria artists on the list of candidates from Western Canada; in fact, all five finalists from the West call Vancouver home.

However, at least two of the artists have strong Victoria connections. Patrick Howlett is a recent UVic Fine Arts grad now working out of Fredericton. I got to meet Patrick a couple of years ago but he and many of his MFA classmates have left Victoria to pursue opportunities in Eastern Canada.

Toronto-based Martin Golland, a finalist representing Central Canada is another former Victorian. Martin and I were part of a three-person group show back in 2006 at Victoria’s Open Space Gallery entitled “Domestic Bliss“.

In addition, in the last month artist and former DRA board member Ingrid Percy has recently taken up residency in Newfoundland, while my former upstairs neighbour, painter Neil MacCormick now calls Montreal home in order to be closer to North America’s cultural capitals.

None of this is terribly unusual for a full-time professional artist. Part of the job requires chasing down essential artist residencies, teaching opportunities and visiting artist sessions. Being close to a major gallery that can consistently show your work is another big plus.

In today’s global society, artists will increasingly be calling many cities “home” as they flit across the globe building their careers. One thing that surprised me when visiting Berlin in the summer of 2005 was seeing the number of Western Canadian artists living and working there. Our challenge as Victorians will not only be persuading the grads of the local art schools to stick around for a while, but convincing artists from other cities to come to Victoria to pursue their careers. Housing affordability, lack of large studio spaces, a flat art market and isolation from the art hubs of New York, Toronto and Los Angeles further challenge local artists.

Pop-up urinals down the drain? [updated]

UPDATE, March 23, 2009: The new Mayor and Council have included urinals (not the pop-up variety as yet) as part of the solution to late night issues, which in turn is one of the new administration’s seven priorities.

UPDATE, December 24: Since a few people are arriving here after researching the topic of pop-up urinals I’ll update by saying the City has killed the idea for now due to budget, warranty and installation challenges.

UPDATE, April 23: I have been assured by the City that the pop-up urinal plan is still going ahead as promised — yes, there are challenges, but none that threaten the project.

The Times-Colonist reports this morning that the City’s plans to install two pop-up urinals appears doomed:

[Bastion Square Revitalization Association President Jaime] Tiampo said city staff were looking for locations in the square for the urinals, but businesses didn’t want them in front of their doors and the city didn’t want them open in the middle of the square where they would less likely be used.

Mike Hill, the city’s downtown co-ordinator, said purchase and liability problems may quash the idea entirely.

Last year city council voted to purchase the European-made urinals that rise out of the sidewalk at night when late-night bar-goers are inclined to urinate in public. By day the urinals are recessed flush with the pavement surface, leaving pedestrian traffic unimpeded.

The only manufacturer of the urinals is in Europe and there are liability and other purchase issues around getting the product there, said Hill.

“It’s turned out to be more complex than we planned.”

I was ambivalent about the pop-up urinal idea. They have been called sexist (women generally can’t use them, although men are the primary culprits when it comes to public urination). They are also expensive to purchase, install, operate and maintain. The temporary ones placed at various locations to test the idea proved popular.

So what’s the solution to the rivers of urine that flow down City sidewalks every weekend? Partly it will be education, reminding bar patrons of the niceties of living in a civil society or suffer the consequences of a hefty fine. Perhaps we should harken back to a low-tech solution–the classic European Pissoir.

The right height for Victoria (and Selkirk)

A little over a year ago, the Victoria Urban Development Institute asked me to speak at their monthly luncheon alongside architect Franc D’Ambrosio. It was billed as a “point/counterpoint” debate but as Franc said later, it was more of a love-fest, with both of us expressing a willingness to see increased height and density in certain Downtown locations.

Afterward, Mike Kozakowski from VibrantVictoria.ca asked if he could put my speech on his website under the “Articles” section and I agreed. As the population of the CRD increases, I think it’s vital that we engage in an intelligent dialogue on densification. So click on over and give it a read. I was pleased to see they added some links to the text so that you can get some extra info.

The speech seemed to go over quite well and there was a thoughtful but brief Q and A session after.

If there is one regret, it’s that I didn’t playfully take Franc to task over his Selkirk Waterfront neighbourhood. Walking through it again last weekend I felt that the lack of density on the site made it feel emptier than it should be. Although the last residential building, 365 Waterfront, is under construction, I feel that there still isn’t the residential density here that makes the area economically viable and dynamic. The cafe was closed on Saturday and many of the commercial spaces on the “main street” have long been vacant. Weekdays bring office workers and the activity surrounding Selkirk’s Montessori School, and weekends bring the brunch crowd to Glo restaurant and rowers to the waterfront docks. But Selkirk still seems to lack that critical mass of people that would make it a unqualified success.

Now, D’Ambrosio is one of my favourite local architects, and we’ve spent a lot of time discussing architecture and urban planning.

I’m not saying that the addition of a modest midrise would have transformed Selkirk into Yaletown or False Creek, but the addition of a few hundred extra residents would have made a visible difference.