DBIA Needs To Talk To The People In The Gateway
Tuesday, May 22, 2012 @ 3:45 AM
When you drive through the Gateway Business Improvement area, you don’t take very long to decide that what they have been doing in that end of the city has been first class.
When you consider that the businesses in that area are situated right next to some of the toughest neighbourhoods in Prince George, they haven’t done a good job , they have done a fantastic job of sprucing up their area.
You can see the transformation when you enter the area along 20th, it stands out from all other areas, including the downtown, and while the downtown has far more money for "sprucing up", they have been severely lacking in the approach.
Lacking in the approach perhaps driven by the fact that the Downtown DBIA had been under the guidance of a group that saw it as a means to promote industry, making the area look good came in a distant second.
For all the hoopla that was tossed around by the former Publisher of the Citizen of what the DBIA would become, it fell flat on its face and it will be up to the new group to try and get the DBIA back on the rails.
There is money and there is a will, all the new group needs is the desire to get there. They might want to start that process by first talking to the people from the Gateway, there is no doubt they have it right.
I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.
Comments
I have to agree. It really does have a better feel than the rest of downtown. Its all the little things; the lights in the sidewalk trees, the brick sidewalks/accents. It all adds up and gives the Gateway the ‘life’ that is so sorely lacking in the rest of downtown. It’s not perfect, but given the super tough area, its pretty damn amazing. The City and the DBIA need to think bigger by thinking smaller sometimes–making targeted small(er) aesthetic changes adds up!
The DBIA needs to take a lead role in fixing up first ave. This entrance to the city gives a terrible impression. A friend of mine at CN says they were ready to come to the table with some money to partner with the city and enhance the area but all that changed last november.
With the change at city hall and cuts being the new mantra with Council, it is no longer a priroty. Maybe the DBIA can take up the partnership with CN if the city is no longer interested.
Let me guess, the Gateway BIA doesn’t have a full time employee and doesn’t rent an office either.
Does the DBIA really need a full-time employee and an office?
I’m guessing a good chunk of the DBIA’s $200k budget is wasted on this alone.
I’ve never heard of a more apples-to-oranges comparison. Perhaps Ben would be better off suggesting the DBIA talk to other BIAs across the country that are centred in their respective downtowns and deal with downtown issues.
Oh, right, they already do that and have since their founding…
Gateway is a 1 km long arterial thoroughfare with a relatively high traffic volume. Basically its merchants are car oriented, destination businesses.
It is dominated by car dealerships from the point of view of shear area, followed by tire and muffler businesses, car lease, two service stations, two fast food drive in restaurants, one motel, a community centre, a small commercial office building, and about 350 feet of retail frontage which is comprised primarily of city wide destination stores such Ave Maria and a Petas
From the boundary of Gateway at 17th and Victoria to the boundary of the original DBIA at 7th and Victoria is ¾ of a km. The mix of businesses begins to change, but they are still predominately destination businesses which serve most or the entire city ranging from medical offices, to fast food drive ins, fitness centres, and beginning to serve those who work in the vicinity. Retail frontage is increased, on service station remains which I suspect will also be relocated in the near future as have the others along that part of the automobile oriented strip.
That part of the Central Business District (C-1 zone) has done quite well with tree planting. In fact, they are the most mature of the sidewalk trees. Other than that, we have the 3rd avenue and, in part, George street âbeautificationâ programs which may or may not have included the work of the DBIA, although I do not recall that. In either case, I believe part or most of the cost of that went as a levy against the various merchants who either had to participate or chose to participate. There are a few âislandsâ outside those areas which have trees planted along their businesses. Two that come to mind immediately are SpeeDee Printers, who also did a major streetfront facelift, and the Coast Inn of the North.
The original Downtown CBD has about 6km of business street frontage. The dynamics of downtown challenges and those of the Gateway are totally different. We have a relatively large central office worker population, some larger hotels which have been losing market share to new hotels along the highway arterials, as well as a set of services such as restaurants and financial institutes which serve the businesses, workers and hotel residents as well as a smaller and diminishing city-wide clientelle who tend to do banking in their regional shopping centres.
Both the GBIA and DBIA exist to âimproveâ their businesses. Hence the name, business improvement area. The GBIA seems to have completed its corridor beautification project. Where they go from here with their $100,000/year, I do not know. In addition to annual maintenance, I am wondering if there is another long term project they can take on or wish to take on.
They have been extremely good community citizens since they make the drive to and from downtown from the south of the city very pleasant. Kudos to a job well done.
The DBIA has a considerably different task, in my opinion. They have twice attempted to do it by showing the City and its planning role the types of options that ought to be explored. Initially it was the whole notion of a permanent farmers market, and added to that the notion of downtown as an entertainment centre. They have also often attempted to have people events downtown, most of which have been successful as an event, but the $30,000 or so per event really has not left a legacy of more people coming downtown.
The more recent attempt was based on imagery of what George Street and adjacent areas could look like âif onlyâ. That followed up an earlier âSmart Growth on the Groundâ effort by the City with some provincial money.
People are spinning wheels. Some 14 years after the DBIA has started, nothing has changed. In fact, things like banner programs, Christmas light programs, etc. have as good as disappeared.
I think the GBIA should talk to the businesses along Queensway in the old South Fort George area. I think there are many similarities there â another entrance to the City which could use some sprucing up and with a bit of help, could probably grow some new businesses to fill the âbaldâ spots.
You are bang on bohemian!!!!
The “Petas above should have read “Total Pet” … for those who care … ;-)
Let me just expand on the Christmas lights program. Merely my opinion of course.
The City spent a lot of tax money to build a Christmas lights display on Connaught Hill. As people said at the time, we already had a “free” one put on by the Candy Cane Lane group.
So, like good business oriented Councillors, we get to pay to see those lights. I understand that they pay for themselves, but I ma not sure.
I realize that if those lights were put up on the key streets in downtown they would not return any money to city coffers, just like paying for the winter games will not return any money to the city coffers. But, they would be an investment in promoting the downtown, just as the winter games are an investment in promoting the City.
Imagine Civic Centre square lit up with some of the types of display on the hill; City Hall plaza; the Court House; the park in front of the RDFFG; Knox United Church; a City parking lot with booths for a Christmas market organized by the farmers market group …….. and the yellow stairs from the library up to the top of the hill …… and whatever else people can think of ……
The nest time, put money into celebrating downtown rather than the top of a hill that pedestrians do not get to see.
That is the other big difference between the GBIA and the DBIA …. one is predominately vehicular in nature (how often do people actually walk on the paved sidewalks in the GBIA?) and the other predominately pedestrian where people actually are close enough to notice what the walking surface is.
I wish UNBC would put on a winter/spring series on the dynamics of urban development. Required attendance by all those on Council and senior administrators having anything to do with urban planning.
Speaking of winter games ….. hopefully someone is looking at how the downtown of this City will be lit up at night for that occasion – all the major Civic buildings, major downtown streets, with a program of how private businesses and the DBIA WILL get involved.
There is the Xmas/Winter lights legacy for the downtown!!
Is such a program on the go or not? If so, is it a secret what is in the early proposal stage?
psst wrote: “The DBIA needs to take a lead role in fixing up first ave.”
I think first avenue needs to be fixed up and again, it needs to be fixed up in the next two years so that there is a visible improvement. That would mean that those people coming into town and travelling to ski venues to the east on a daily basis will not be looking at industrial blight.
If we want to show off our City beyond its friendly folks, we need to get to work. Friendly folks are not the images which will be sent across the country.
1st Avenue has nothing to do with the DBIA. The DBIA’s boundaries extend up to a portion of 1st Avenue, but do not include 1st Avenue.
The DBIA boundary includes the businesses on the south side of First fom Victoria to close to Queensway.
Look at that side, then compare it to the Gateway to see what has to be done, then work with the City to fix the north side of the road … install a sign after the work is done extending a welcome to the DOWNTOWN and shame others to the east to do something about their properties.
It is pretty easy once one changes their mindset.
Comments for this article are closed.