Friday, July 31, 2015

Time for fresh ideas Nanaimo —
South Downtown Waterfront needs
an open design competition

I have concerns in regard to the South Downtown Waterfront Lands process that began in 2013 under the leadership and guidance of VIU VP Dave Witty. The early months included a greater degree of civic inclusivity than Nanaimo had experienced before. The site opened up for boots on the ground information fair and shuttle bus tours of the site. A visioning process that included a well attended public presentation by former Vancouver Co-Director of Planning, Larry Beasley. A design charrette composed of many and disparate stakeholders. The formation of a City advisory committee, chaired by Dr Witty to "aspire to establish a set of Guiding Principles and a high level vision for the general area”. The committee’s report “Framing the Future” was presented to Council in early 2014. The committee last met on May 1 of this year and minutes of that meeting are not on the City’s website.
The report —
http://www.southdowntownwaterfront.ca/p/home.html
strongly urged Council to consider the establishment of a public development corporation governed by a detailed charter, to oversee development of the site which Larry Beasley described as having “transformative” potential for Namaimo and which former Councillor Fred Pattje called “Nanaimo’s last urban frontier.” From the report—

There is a long tradition in Canada and the United States of local governments creating special purpose public development corporations. These corporations are designed to implement longer term public policy objectives, particularly for special areas of a municipality that require extraordinary attention, and a unique combination of public and private sector participation. Clearly legislation in British Columbia provides for such entities, and there are many variations across the province.
On July 20, three months after the last committee meeting and five months after the last meeting minutes were posted, Staff presented the following Master Plan Terms of Reference report to Council—
http://nanaimocommons.blogspot.ca/2015/07/httpswwwnanaimocauploadedfilespathsites.html 
The recommended charter and development corporation are rejected by Staff. They make it clear they intend to control every aspect of the site working with Staff friendly consultants. From the report to Council—
The Planning and Design Section will be responsible for this project, with consultants engaged for key plan components including land economics, stakeholder engagement, land use and transportation planning. The necessary Request for Proposals will be prepared for issuance in July 2015.


Has the committee been disbanded? • Why were its key recommendations rejected by City Staff? •  The "potentially transformative" site needs not only to follow Dr Witty’s guidance, it requires an open design competition. 

Time for fresh ideas Nanaimo.


In these sleepy days of summer I have been unable to get clarification from any of the principles who were involved with the excellent work done Dr Witty’s committee but I will continue to try get feedback. Has the committee been disbanded? Why were its key recommendations rejected by City Staff?
The site needs not only to follow Dr Witty’s guidance the further development of the site requires an open design competition. Time for fresh ideas Nanaimo.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

From CityLab
Getting smaller cities walking

After counting pedestrians on hundreds of blocks (sampled for different densities, districts, and Walk Scores), a group of researchers found that active uses (i.e., well-trafficked buildings or busy parks, schools, and cafes), street furniture or items (from benches to fire hydrants to ATM machines), and first-floor windows (measured by window-to-facade ratio) all had statistically positive relationships to the number of pedestrians
But are these findings applicable elsewhere? There’s so much that sets New York apart from other American cities: its density, its walkability, its spread of urban versus suburban development, among others. What about smaller towns? What are the design traits that most encourage pedestrian activity on these streets? Read more: New Study Shows Urban Design Matters When It Comes to Pedestrian Activity in Salt Lake City - CityLab


From @slowstreets —
"We tend to underestimate the total cost
of automobile transportation"

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

From The National Film Board
City Limits with Jane Jacobs, 1971

City Limits by Laurence Hyde, National Film Board of Canada


Monday, July 27, 2015

Nanaimo downtown harbourfront @storify

#Nanaimo harbourfront walk cc @MikeVelonas

Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Saturday, July 25, 2015

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Sidewalks are a social space... oh, and
they can also be used for walking



Saturday, July 25, 2015

Nanaimo South Downtown Waterfront master plan terms of reference report
has been sent to Council

BACKGROUND: On 2013-MAR-27, the City purchased 10.8 ha (26.7 acres) of land and water from Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway along the southern Nanaimo waterfront (1 Port Drive). Since that time, a number of initiatives have been undertaken to prepare the property for redevelopment, including environmental studies and select demolition work. The 2015-2019 Financial Plan identifies completing the plan as a priority for 2015; the planning process is scheduled to begin in September 2015 with a target completion date of February 2016. 
The next step is to issue a Request for Proposals for consulting services based on the attached Terms of Reference. The purpose of the Master Plan is to provide specific guidelines for future land use, transportation, servicing, open space, trails and environmental protection, as well as phasing of development for this portion of the south downtown waterfront. The long-term vision for the area includes enhancement of the downtown waterfront, improving connectivity of the south downtown with the surrounding neighbourhoods, and creating opportunity for a new regional transportation hub.
The report was presented to Council on July 20. Pdf here


Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Our streets are dangerous by design and
we know how to make them safer.
What’s stopping us?

Our streets are dangerous by design and we know how to make them safer. What’s stopping us?@seabikeblog @StrongTowns

Posted by The Sidewalk Ballet on Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Did threat of Councillor personal liability determine fate of the Colliery Dams?


Sunday, July 19, 2015

Surface parking lots least productive use
of land and harmful to walkable, sociable
urban neighbourhoods.


This strategic gateway to the #Nanaimo Old City at Fitz and Selby is City owned and used for surface parking. On any...
Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Sunday, July 19, 2015

Downtown #Nanaimo surface parking lots occupy about 35-40% of available land. If this is the lands highest and best use, returning maximum ROI, we're in trouble.
Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Sunday, July 19, 2015

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Catch 22: people must first risk death & injury before streets are made safer


Friday, July 17, 2015

The most creative ‪#‎pedestrian_crossings‬ in the world | @BuzzlyWeb

The most creative #pedestrian_crossings in the world | @BuzzlyWeb

Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Friday, July 17, 2015

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

‎#CollieryDams‬ get the facts: www.collierydams.org @SaveCollieryDam

#CollieryDams get the facts: http://www.collierydams.org @SaveCollieryDam

Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Tuesday, July 14, 2015


Sunday, July 12, 2015

SSS Manhao have announced
they won't be proceeding with
Conference Centre hotel project


Thursday, July 9, 2015

Infographic: City parks around the world @thiscitylifeyvr @Builtvisible

Infographic: City parks around the world @thiscitylifeyvr @Builtvisible

Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Sign the petition! Let the City of ‪Nanaimo‬ complete due diligence on the ‪Colliery Dams‬


Sign the petition! Let the City of #Nanaimo complete due diligence on the #CollieryDams
Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

From Price Tags — Cheap and stealthy way to reduce road capacity in North Van

This is a great Road Diet technique that allows traffic engineers the ability to test the new intersection configuration and tweak the design prior to any major construction commitment. Its also a cheap and stealthy way to reduce road capacity without the anger and suspicion of motorists. Read more: The Daily Scot: Road Diet in North Van | Price Tags

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Municipal elections don’t usually result in a mandate like the senior levels of government do. In the Federal and...

Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Thursday, July 2, 2015