No excuse for this overdevelopment
Re: “Victoria exceeds first year housing target,” Nov. 15.
The story clearly sets out that Victoria council members have been exceedingly eager to pass through just about every development proposal that has been put in front of them.
All of these proposals have been reviewed by professional staff and were recommended against approving. Council in its zeal has approved the many proposals, to the disappointment of neighbourhoods and professional staff.
Now that the housing target has been exceeded, there is no reason (except perhaps nefarious reasons) for council to approve the proposal in James Bay on Montreal, Quebec and Kingston.
This proposal plans to overbuild on the site by double capacity. A high-end luxury tower and townhomes.
Today, council will once again be informed by staff that the proposal should be declined as inappropriate (as they have already done a number of times in previous stages).
James Bay is overdeveloped and does not need this many units added in an overbuilt development.
The neighbourhood is adamantly against this unnecessary densification, and had made it abundantly clear with hundreds of emails, letters, and in-person presentations to council.
Today, we the residents of Victoria will find out how far the councillors are willing to disregard the taxpayers. The very people that they are proposing a 12% tax hike for.
Edy Bradley
Victoria
Weather names? Here’s an idea
Are there actually paid people who come up with our new weather names?
Such as atmospheric river (used to be heavy rain), heat dome (used to be very hot), and now bomb cyclone (used to be very windy).
I’ve got an idea if we get a heavy snowfall. White lightning?
Brock Carbery
Victoria
Let’s see what Eby can do with his cabinet
Voters may be surprised at the number of ministers in Premier David Eby’s recently appointed cabinet equalling the number in the last parliament.
One might have thought that with just half of the members in the legislature, Eby might have consolidated ministries and combined ministerial portfolios in order to reduce the ministerial overhead.
Cynics will decry what used to be termed “jobs for the boys (and girls).” What is a reality of course is that Eby needs to form a cabinet with members representing all regions of the province, including gender parity and ethnic representation so that all British Columbians are represented.
The proof of the pudding will be in what this new administration delivers for its citizens. Eby and his government face huge challenges in this province; let us hope he can confront them effectively.
David Collins
Victoria
Eby gets another chance to do good things
Premier David Eby has a chance to do good things for British Columbians, unless he screws up like the first time around.
It was a close call that he pulled off a majority, which says that a lot of people agree that he screwed up.
I love B.C. and all the people who live here. We know who we are and we deserve a premier who respects that.
Rebecca Evans
Brentwood Bay
Expropriation will make roads fit
I wrote to Saanich with questions regarding the Quadra/McKenzie development project and would like to share the responses.
I asked about the width of the new streetscape designs and whether they were too big to fit into the present road allowances. I also asked about expropriating land for these new designs. This was their response.
“The cross-sections outlined in the draft QMP are aspirational in nature and will require additional property to be acquired from adjacent private land. This will happen over time using a number of tools available to Saanich by way of the Local Government Act in BC. You are correct in your assumptions below that in some areas of these streets the cross-sections are wider than the current road allowance.”
I do question the logic in putting forth a plan that is “aspirational in nature” and will not fit into the current road allowance and will require expropriation of private land to go forward.
Don Sutton
Saanich
Emergency vehicles can use bus lanes
Recent letters to the editor only seem to talk about the loss of traffic lanes from McKenzie Avenue, but ignore that these will be replaced with bus lanes.
It’s really quite simple. Saanich wants to add housing density to the area, but the road system is already close to capacity. In order to increase that capacity, they want to replace a traffic lane with a rapid bus lane that will carry four to five times as many people.
Other letter writers have asked: what about emergency vehicles? In fact, the emergency services have been consulted and they support the plan.
As is the case in other cities, the bus lanes can be used by emergency vehicles, where they are much less likely to get stuck behind traffic than they would in general purpose vehicle lanes.
There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about this project among the public.
It’s a pity that the Times Colonist hasn’t talked more to experts who could inform its readers about the planning principles involved. Instead, it has been a platform for misinformation and ill-informed opinion.
Susanne Deacon
Victoria
Our passwords in simpler times
At what age is it OK to reminisce about bygone days when the only passwords were the combination on your school locker? When you walked out the door with a house key and enough cash to get you through the day, and enough cash at home to get you through the weekend?
Bill Carere
Victoria
Clear rules needed for these new bike lanes
I have my deep concerns regarding the recent changes to the road infrastructure, specifically the addition of pylons, pillars, concrete abutments, and curbs around bike lanes.
These modifications, which I assume were intended to improve safety, have unfortunately created distractions making the roads more hazardous for everyone — cyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike.
One significant issue is the complete lack of published guidelines or rules on how these new bike lanes should be navigated. As a result, we have cyclists going the wrong direction in the lanes, people jogging, pushing strollers, and seniors using scooters all in the same space.
It has created mass confusion and is putting all users at risk.
Additionally, the concrete curbs have narrowed the bike lanes to the point where it’s impossible for users to safely meet or pass each other. Previously, faster cyclists had the option of pulling out into the traffic lane to safely pass slower users, but that’s no longer feasible with the current design.
In short, this has turned into a chaotic and unsafe situation for all road users. I urge the relevant authorities to reconsider these designs and, at the least, provide clear rules and guidelines for the proper use of these bike lanes.
Frank Wilman
Esquimalt
Private vehicles should not be needed
The service offered by B.C. Transit must be attractive to would-be passengers if it is to be fit for purpose. If drivers and mechanics are to be recruited for such a service, they need better pay and working conditions.
We should follow the lead of countries like Germany: when I lived outside Hamburg, a spanking clean, affordable bus ran every 10 minutes on the many city routes, and surrounding rural areas were well served.
I was told that buses run every half-hour all night. The German authorities understand that mass transit is a public service that curbs traffic congestion and its resultant ugliness, pollution and accidents. It makes cities healthier.
In my opinion, an intelligently run city doesn’t need private vehicles. It does need buses, Handi-Darts, taxis, emergency vehicles, delivery trucks and other trade vehicles (because a pile of drywall on a bus is a non-starter).
If for some fantastical reason all private vehicles were to conk out, the government would have to provide alternatives because the need would be obvious. The thing is, the need should be obvious to anyone paying attention.
Hilary Knight
Victoria
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