Burnside Gorge Neighbourhood Plan Phase 3: Open House Responses The following comments were written on poster boards at two public open houses: Gabriel Ross, October 26, 2016: 14 attendees Days Inn Uptown, October 29, 2016: 34 attendees 1. Establish heart of the neighbourhood Jutland and Cecelia will require extra-wide sidewalks Delta-Gamma Street: This corner is very dangerous to walk with a stroller No residential development on commercial land at Garbally Jutland-Gorge Intersection Calm traffic and enhance pedestrian crossing: How? Crossroads style (Broadway & Cambie): Doctors, imaging, grocery, offices (Garbally Road west of Gorge Rd.) Dunedin Street: Concern about a heritage block being across from light industrial. Light industrial now is graffiti walls and ugly cars! (2 up-votes) Jutland Road at Cecelia: The hill makes it challenging for an urban village. Cars are accelerating through the space rather than slowing down. Difficult area to walk right now. (1 up-vote) Jutland Road is very busy. Difficult for pedestrians to relax and enjoy space. Jutland Road is currently the main artery to access Gorge Rd. and Bridge St. industrial area. Where or how will traffic be diverted? Jutland centre high street very positive Limit 3 storey Jutland Road Town Centre. (1 up-vote) (placed on transportation board) Develop Jutland Road as a tree-lined shopping street with distinctive urban design. (1 up-vote) Maintain flowering trees along Manchester Road. (1 up-vote) Voting Somewhat unsupportive: 1/25 Neutral: 1/25 Somewhat supportive: 3/25 Very supportive: 20/25 2. Protect and Enhance Industry How will Rock Bay shelter be part of the new vision for the Rock Bay area? Love the concept for Bridge Street. (1 up-vote) Bridge bicycle and pedestrian is a must for this! (1 up vote) Keeping light industrial is very important. Remove industry creating odours. (e.g. composting) Uses are compatible between residential and industrial. Consider on a case by case basis residential in Rock Bay for eyes on the street to discourage vandalism and break and enters. (3 up-votes)
Allowing commercial on street level would/might help alleviate evening issues / discourage vandalism. Agree more eyes on street! Light industrial and some live/work would be good here. Incorporate art to create unique branding for Rock Bay. (1 up-vote, 1 down-vote?) Somewhat oppose: 1/24 Somewhat supportive: 1/24 Very supportive: 22/24 3. Reconnect with the Waterfront : look at getting more medium density housing along gorge as well as mixed-use Create pedestrian bridge between Goose and Arbutus Park vs. going up to street (1 up-vote) Please prioritize connection from Goose to Arbutus Park (2 up-votes) Harriet Road Waterfront: Improve public space, considering views, activities for all ages, the potential link to trails in Saanich, and possibilities to access the water. (3 up-votes) Develop a waterfront park if the Gorge Road Hospital site is redeveloped in the future. (2 upvotes) Develop an environmentally sensitive waterfront pathway, on land or on water, from Arbutus Park to Lotus Street. (7 up-votes) Locate a small boat launch somewhere in the neighbourhood, west of Selkirk Village (2 upvotes) Continue habitat restoration activities along the Gorge Waterway and Cecelia Ravine, with extended design guidelines for new development. (4 up-votes) Very supportive: 26/26 votes 4. Create Better Pedestrian and Cycling Connections : Stop! Electric bikes and scooters on the Goose. 2 up-votes, 1 down-vote. Don t stop pedal assist or scooters inclusiveness for different abled please. 2 up-votes Burnside & Washington needs 4 crosswalks and lights. These intersections already have signals and crosswalks. (Burnside & Washington.) Love the connection to Maddox. Light the Goose. Solar lights. (15 up-votes) Need to also consider facilities for safe and secure bicycle storage. (1 up-vote) If Jutland is going to be a destination street (great) we should revisit a bridge across the ravine to make it easy to access from the west. Conflicts with trucks. (Bay and Bridge intersection) Divert cycle traffic from Galloping Goose to bridge crossing Rock Bay.
Speed along Dunedin and Sumas Street is a problem. Mainly large commercial trucks, but also general vehicle traffic. (1 up-vote) A walking/bike connection to Mayfair from the Goose? Do not restrict trucks from Jutland. Important link for business and industry. Arterial roads are for businesses to transfer materials by truck. Where will the truck traffic from Jutland be diverted to? Garbally is a bad idea, as well as Bay. John Street could be an option. (1 up-vote) Crossing improvements Burnside at Washington: 2 up-votes, 1 down-vote Burnside at Jutland: 1 up-vote Balfour at Gorge Road: 1 up-vote Gorge at Garbally: 1 up-votes, 1 down-vote Gorge at Jutland Road: 2 up-votes, 1 down-vote Gorge at Rock Bay Ave: 1 up-vote, 1 down-vote Blanshard Street at Topaz Ave: 2 up-votes Douglas at Spruce: 1 up-vote Douglas at Finlayson: 1 up-vote, 1 down-vote Douglas at Speed: 1 up-vote Connection across Rock Bay: 6 up-votes Garbally-Bridge Street connection via Public Works Yard: 1 up-vote Trail connections Shoreline pathway along Point Ellice to Bay Street: 1 up-vote Waterfront walkway from Goose to Lotus Street: 4 up-votes Connection from Goose to Burnside Road, Napier (improveents): 1 up-vote Overall: Somewhat supportive: 1/18 Very supportive: 17/18 5. Encourage Housing Diversity Preserve single family neighbourhood even from townhouses. Garden and secondary suites are OK. More seniors housing How do we ensure housing remains affordable? Encourage diverse housing option encourage Burnside Gorge area to include families again Don t want to wind up in a corridor between two 4-storey buildings! Access to light. Respect existing setbacks. {Gorge Rd. between Harriet and Irma} Mixed use redevelopment with bottom level below grade facing Cecelia Ravine w/path off Burnside to park and Goose. [400 block Burnside Road} Limit social housing especially in motels. Encourage more family size supportive housing as opposed to single resident accommodation. Better transition between industrial and proposed heritage conservation areas. Beautify adjacent street; parklet; lighting. {Dunedin Street} (4 up-votes) Speeding is a huge issue along Dunedin and Sumas. Concerned this will increase with Jutland Village. Traffic Study? (1 up-vote)
Since moving to the area, I tend to get out of the area when outside, i.e. walking, biking, bussing. going to neighbourhoods with a heart, walkways, etc. This plan gives me hope. Corner of Burnside & Sumas concerned about land use and heights. Application for a twostorey commercial use was not supported by neighbours & turned down by Council. Mixed use buildings with shops on the ground floor and residences or offices above, generally up to 5 storeys (Urban Village areas): 1 up-vote Multi-unit buildings along Burnside Road between Napier and Machester. May include offices on the ground floor. (1 up-vote) Humber Green: Residential mixed use or commercial buildings up to 6 storeys. 1 up-vote Light industrial businesses on the ground floor, compatible with housing above. 1 up-vote Multi-unit buildings or townhomes up to 3 storeys along Cecelia and Sumas. 1 up-vote Neutral: 2/13 Somewhat supportive: 3/13 Very supportive: 8/13 6. Accommodate Performance and Festival Spaces Discovery as festival street : Festival street idea potential to copy/paste elsewhere Would love to see Discovery Street ripped up and redone with brick or stone, planters, trees. No more discarded gear or needles. Discovery as festival street : Voting Very supportive: 14/14 Amphitheatre in Cecelia Ravine Park: Great location as it encourages people to bicycle to it This will go well with newly replanted areas along creek with native trees Terrific venue for music/performance art. Clean up sewage odour from sewers (1 up-vote) Amphitheatre in Cecelia Ravine Park: Voting Neutral: 1/23 Very supportive: 22/23 7.A. Calm the Arterial Streets: Gorge, Government, Bridge Choking traffic is going to: o slow down buses o slow down emergency vehicles *** o create bumper to bumper traffic o increase pollution o do NOTHING to decrease single occupancy vehicles o create more aggression in frustrated drivers o Give bikes a false sense of safety as they still need to cross intersections
Train cyclists to follow rules of the road. They do NOT follow the laws. Ticket cyclists who break laws. Congestion tax o people in outlying municipality who are coming into Vic in single occupant vehicles are creating the problem so tax them $10 per day for coming into Victoria o use that $ to improve traffic infrastructure and transit options o e.g. London (UK) does this tax applies to people in outlying municipalities o could implement for rush hours only, Monday Friday, reduce impacts on downtown business (1 up-vote) Congestion tax once transit is adequate Disagree with congestion tax difficult to lease/rent spaces Interim measures good for Gorge Move all bike lanes to secondary roads. No to changes to Gorge Road East. No Biketoria. Bikes help to show that Gorge is now a 40 km/hr road. Slow traffic in this area and get people out of cars. Consider turning one vehicle lane as parking during non-peak hours, to slow traffic. Really worried about having an AAA bicycle route on Gorge, especially if it is a frequent bus route. Like the idea of bike lanes on Bridge. Not supportive at all: 4/26 Somewhat supportive: 4/26 Very supportive: 18/26 7.B. Calm the Arterial Streets: Burnside Road, Jutland Road : Light rail transit should be in place before you restrict traffic flows. (1 up-vote) Consider {installing} conduit/pipes for hydro with frontage works when new development occurs. Grants talk to BC hydro. Traffic division of Vic PD needs to crack down hard on distracted drivers and speeders on Burnside Road in particular. Standing at a bus stop, the average is about 3 every 5 minutes. Burnside needs cycle tracks. Conventional bike lanes are inappropriate for this road. This is the right cross section {as shown} for Burnside Road. On-street parking on Burnside Road: 1 down-vote Not supportive at all: 3/25 Somewhat supportive: 1/25 Very supportive: 21/25 8. Continue Development on Douglas Street that Supports Rapid Transit Limit parking with residential buildings in the Douglas Corridor; promote car share and transit use. {concern for impacts of more drivers in the area} Centre lane rapid transit works
Light trail transit would be a good long term goal, hopefully preserving trees along corridor. Perfect location for higher density development. Push Mayfair Mall to accommodate future planning. Allow nature everywhere (1 up-vote) With new development, create plazas serving the two future transit station (1 up-vote) Voting Neutral: 3/22 Somewhat supportive: 2/22 Very supportive: 17/22 Overall, how supportive are you of the Burnside Gorge Neighbourhood Plan? Neutral: 1/31 no comments Somewhat supportive: 4/31 Love the green space and waterfront ideas. Very concerned about choking traffic flows and creating gridlock. Minority of cyclists seem to be dictating to majority of residents to make vehicle use as inconvenient as possible. But vehicles are commuters from other municipalities. They won t ride bikes for 10-20 km trips. (Most commutes in Victoria are 7+ km, while most bike trips are 3km). Put in light rail and ensure better transit options (not stuck in traffic) before you change traffic flows by eliminating lanes. How long will cycling connections to Washington take? Very Supportive: 26/31 Great concept plans. Will be a vibrant community. Hope it happens quickly. Love the plan! I think that the plan should also encourage/incentivize developers to further incorporate low-income/subsidized housing to not push people out. Love the plan. Make it so. Thanks. The plan as-is is great. (Add grocery store in area) Safety is the #1 issue for me everywhere Improve the appearance of Cecelia Ravine Park from Burnside Rd. Get rid of chain-link fence. Any grocery retailers interested in building in our neighbourhood yet? Love green space. Want/like to idea of zoning flexibly to enhance the neighbourhood.