Re: “Victoria council eager for input on Northern Junk proposal,” Dec. 8.
What does it take to persuade Victoria city council that citizens loathe the plan to hide the 1860s gold-rush warehouses on Wharf Street behind two commercial towers?
Sure, there is a small, vocal group supporting building the two slabs. But they ignore the unimaginative architecture, the disastrous placing of the proposed towers (blocking the end of Old Town), the sale of city parkland and road allowance to the developer and the fact that the proposal flouts the guidelines in the city’s official community plan and the downtown core plan, particularly requiring protection of viewscapes.
The developer’s supporters use the fact the buildings were once a recycling facility called Northern Junk to diminish and demean the buildings. But viewed as 1860s gold-rush warehouses, they have great potential to attract visitors and anchor this section of Old Town and the harbour.
Council needs to assert itself against developers and demand that such proposals meet city guidelines and add positively to the streetscape. And the council needs to press developers to design for the future, as suggested by the city’s own planning department in its Old Town guidelines:
“Consider whether your building and landscape might be worthy of preservation by future generations for their positive contributions to the character of Old Town.”
This plan fails the test.
Sharon and Nick Russell
Victoria
Proposed handrails
not conducive to safety
Re: “Debate erupts over plan for handrails on breakwater,” Dec. 14.
Let’s get this straight: $500,000 is going to be spent putting up railings so that fewer than the zero people who are presently falling off the pier will fall off in the future?
Talk about unintended consequences: With children and others climbing up the proposed railings, I’m afraid that Ogden Pier’s stellar safety record is coming to an end.
Paul Richardson
Victoria
Get terminal building
on sustainable basis first
Re: “Debate erupts over plan for handrails on breakwater,” Dec. 14.
The breakwater was constructed to protect a harbour, not as a public pathway. Labour Canada’s wish to better protect its workers while working on the breakwater can undoubtedly be done in more cost-effective ways. Likewise, insurer’s concerns regarding public liability can be covered by appropriate signage.
In fact, from a risk management perspective, turning the breakwater into a public place will result in higher liability risk, especially if varied forms of transportation are allowed such as bikes, skateboards, scooters, strollers and rollerblades.
The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority has had a questionable level of success undertaking projects funded by public money. The CPR Steamship Terminal building, a historic jewel within the Inner Harbour, once generated more than $600,000 in lease revenue to the Provincial Capital Commission.
Seduced by free federal money, the PCC removed its longstanding tenant, undertook seismic upgrading of the building before securing future tenants and then incurred construction cost overruns of reportedly $2 million. Since then, it has leased the building to the GVHA for reportedly over $300,000 per year. These funds must be coming from the GVHA’s own resources, because to date, no meaningful leases have been secured for the property. In other words, we taxpayers are out of pocket $600,000 per year, not to mention the $2 million required to cover the construction overruns.
Let’s move forward a step at a time. Let’s get the terminal building on a sustainable basis by restoring the former revenue stream, and then talk about the possibility of railings on the breakwater.
Mark Appleton
Victoria
Installation of rails
is long overdue
Re: “Debate erupts over plan for handrails on breakwater,” Dec. 14.
Curtis Grad, CEO of the Ogden Point Breakwater, deserves thanks for the wise decision to install rails on this incredible tourist attraction.
I have been deeply concerned for the safety of others while walking along this beautiful breakwater for many years, particularly children and people with disabilities. I am so grateful that there will finally be put in place, railings to protect those from possible harm, especially when we are experiencing gusty windstorms.
This should have been done many, many years ago and now, I feel that I can breathe a sigh of relief.
Lori Sullivan
Victoria
New trustees’ ideas
should get fair hearing
Re: “Endless search for right answer,” Dec. 12.
The question about whether to have a public question time for monthly school board meetings has gone through every convoluted argument and research avenue that never was necessary. Edith Loring-Kuhanga first made this motion last February.
The deliberate effort of longtime trustees to thwart this opportunity for the public flies in the face of the democratic right of citizens to ask questions at board meetings. It also flies in the face of the democratic right of citizens to expect that when they elect new trustees to represent them, the ideas these trustees were elected on will get fair hearing.
One of the shared goals of the trustees elected a year ago was to bring more accessibility to the school board so we would be motivated to be more caring about public education. But the longtime trustees have block-voted against almost every motion one of the new trustees has brought forward. They only change their votes when influential members of the community wonder why trustees would object to having their votes recorded.
I want to see elected school boards continue to work for their communities, but they can only work when respect is given to all trustees’ ideas, no matter how long they have been in office. To help this along, I will be lobbying provincial government for time limits on the tenure of school board trustees across the province.
Starla Anderson
Victoria
School board scores low
on public engagement
Re: “No answer yet on Q&A quandary at Greater Victoria school board,” Dec. 8.
Following the release of the Greater Victoria board of education review of public engagement practices in selected school districts, I invited the chairpersons of all 60 school districts to complete a survey concerning similar information.
The responses demonstrate that boards are far more engaging than had been initially reported, numerous districts exceeding Greater Victoria’s efforts at stakeholder and public engagement. Continued adherence to the status quo, particularly when it falls so far short of comparable bodies, should be an embarrassment for all concerned. That the neighbouring board in Saanich scored 100 per cent for every measure of public engagement examined only emphasizes the inadequacy.
The board chairwoman’s assertion that public engagement is satisfied through committee meetings ignores the fact that in past years, such key items as the annual budget (this year in excess of $194 million) and class-size reports were presented at board meetings alone, neatly avoiding any opportunity for public comment or inquiry. Indeed, the current process for meeting agendas ensures that the deadline for public presentations passes before the public even knows what topics are to be discussed at the next meeting.
It bears noting that the trustees who have been opposing public question-and-answer periods at board meetings are the same individuals who fought the recording of their votes until media scrutiny shone a spotlight on their conduct. Were it not for the persistence of four junior trustees, this issue, like that of voting records, would never have been raised in the first place.
Rob Paynter
Candidate for the GVSD board in the 2011 election
Victoria
Nexen deal approval
a legacy of disgrace
Re: “Foreign takeovers get green light,” Dec. 8.
It is simply shameful what the Harper government is trying to pass over on the Canadian populace.
This will be a legacy of disgrace. As the importance of resources and environmental accountability is on the rise, the Canadian government is on a downward spiral into short-term gain. I feel sorry for my children and genuine sadness that my generation is going to be held responsible for these essentially rogue actions.
Nothing against China — this is an internal issue.
Scott R.L. White
Victoria
