I am sure bylaws will be out in full force rubbing their hands as they write tickets…all in the name of the winter games.

Well since downtown is usually dead you think these businesses would welcome any possible customers.

P Val,

You keep saying downtown is dead, but I work DT everyday and I can tell you, it most definitely isn’t dead.

Something else about Winter Games.
I hope the City has Replaced the Burnt Out Light Bulbs
in the Clock at the Winter Olympic Plaza.

Everyone complains that bylaw officers don’t do enough and now there are complaints that they are going to enforce rules?
Oh right, its bcracer and the winter games, everything is a whining complaint. Carry on.

Downtown should be hopping with all the visitor we have coming. The clubs and bars will be packed. Oh wait…

Being partially handy capped from standing or walking for more than 10 minuets I’d love to attend events downtown but won’t even attempt to for 1 reason. PARKING .

Thanks phje, I agree with you. I work DT as well. Not only that, I work close to the 6th Ave Shelter, I have never been harassed, nor am I concerned about my safety.
I dislike people who admit they never come downtown, but seem to know what is or is not going on there. P Val get off your computer and actually come down and have a look around. You should be pleasantly surprised.

personal attacks interceptor,
I thought higher of you than that.
guess I was wrong…

Downtown in fact looks terrible. Dirty run down buildings needing to be torn down, or upgraded. People hanging around on street corners with no place to go, and nothing to do. Streets that are laced with potholes, and look terrible.

In other words. GRUNGY. I sincerely doubt that our downtown will make an impression on anyone. Perhaps if they party hard while they are here they will not remember what the place looks like.

The only lasting impression Prince George will have on visitors, is just how isolated it is, and how grungy it is.

waaaaaa waaaaaaa waaaaaaaa…it seems like we always have the same old saws cutting the same old wood!
Honestly if PG is such a disgusting, grungy, craphole of a city WHY are you still here?
To coin a phrase from a few years back, perhaps it’s time for a lot of people on the blog to get the heck out of dodge. I mean it should be easy enough to find a place that meets all of your holier than though standards!
In closing, perhaps it’s time to realize the fact that we live in a winter city, with winter city issues such as snow removal, ice, pot holes, grungy looking streets due to the need to sand and salt. It’s not going to get prettier just because we want to waive our magic wands and make it so!

@phje

“P Val,

You keep saying downtown is dead, but I work DT everyday and I can tell you, it most definitely isn’t dead.”

I too work downtown and also visit on the weekends. I could not agree more that downtown is busy. Monday through Friday it is busy, Saturdays are steady and Sundays are generally slow.

I do not undertsand why, but there is a large group of people in Prince George who seem to think it is dead and unsafe downtown. I suspect these are also the same people who say they never go downtown or avoid going downtown if at all possible.

I also suspect these are people who view themselves as better than others and are easily made uncomfortable by those who appear different.

@ PGLadybug

I like your suggestion for readers to come downtown as they will be pleasantly surprised… unfortunately I think many of the regular posters on Opinion250 do not want to be pleasantly surprised, and would struggle to see the positives in our city.

Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2015 @ 12:44 PM by just my opinion

@ PGLadybug

I like your suggestion for readers to come downtown as they will be pleasantly surprised… unfortunately I think many of the regular posters on Opinion250 do not want to be pleasantly surprised, and would struggle to see the positives in our city.

———–

My issue with downtown is the lack of night life. During the day it’s a great area to shop (and support local business) but it pretty much dies come 6 o’clock.

I’m Downtown 7 days a week year in and year out. And when I say its grungy, I mean its grungy,

You can be like NyteHawk and try and put lipstick on a pig, however you still have a pig.

I don’t have any problem with Prince George and its place in the big scheme of things,. In fact I like the town and most of the people.

The problem I have is the Rah, Rah, people who try and pretend Prince George is something that it isn’t. If we face the reality we can then try and make some changes,. If we keep pretending that we are top of the line, then we will do nothing.

We pay plenty of money in taxes, have high paid politicians, civic workers, Government workers, etc; and its time they put their collective heads together and solved some of the problems in Prince George.

Building new buildings to front on old pot hole streets, with dead and decaying trees, and cheap lighting fixtures is not a solution, if fact it makes a bad problem worse.

Watch how they look after the City for the next few weeks, and then ask yourself the question. Why cant they do this all year long. Are we more concerned about visitors than we are about people who live here and pay taxes.???

I have no need or desire to go downtown, the only reason I go there is to go to northern hardware. I am not into being pestered by panhandlers or shopping in the pawn shops. All my shopping happens away from downtown, like a majority of the population of PG. Saturday is very slow downtown and Sunday is dead.

There are only two pawn shops downtown.

I suppose everyone’s definition of “pester” varies. I personally have no issue when someone politely askes if I can spare any change. I also find that a polite declining often leads to a polite response back.

@ axman

you are correct, the DT definately could use some more traffic after 6pm. I suppose it would have been beneficial to have located the CN Centre and University dowtown, but those are old arguments that do not nee to resurface.

The commercial office vacancy rate downtown is 13%, quite high compare with other cities. One simply has to walk around downtown to see the number of empty stores and buildings. How long has the Tony Roma’s building been vacant, or the store front across from it? There are buildings downtown on 2nd avenue that have been empty for more than a decade.

A big reason why our downtown is stagnant is successive Mayor and Councils that constantly approve rezoning, and the development of commercial / retail space outside the downtown area. Look at how much the highway 16 West corridor has grown over the years. Yet the downtown core is left to stagnate. As long as greedy real estate developers and investors run the show, not much will change. Speaking of which; whatever happened to that whole PG Hotel / Wood Innovative Design Building scandal?

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/15/brian-hutchinson-b-c-plan-to-build-iconic-wooden-office-building-turns-into-ten-storey-scandal/

The commercial office vacancy rate downtown is 13%, quite high compare with other cities. One simply has to walk around downtown to see the number of empty stores and buildings. How long has the Tony Roma’s building been vacant, or the store front across from it? There are buildings downtown on 2nd avenue that have been empty for more than a decade.

A big reason why our downtown is stagnant is successive Mayor and Councils that constantly approve rezoning, and the development of commercial / retail space outside the downtown area. Look at how much the highway 16 West corridor has grown over the years. Yet the downtown core is left to stagnate. As long as greedy real estate developers and investors run the show, not much will change. Speaking of which; whatever happened to that whole PG Hotel / Wood Innovative Design Building scandal?

Cluestick hit the nail on the head.

The Wood Innovation Design Building is a prime example of money wasted,

$25 Million for a building that may or may not be successful over a period of years. The old PG Hotel paid taxes, will this building pay taxes??? We paid approx. $2 Million for the PG Hotel, tore is down and took it to the landfill, and then gifted the property to the Provincial Government for the WIDC.

What did the average taxpayer gain from this whole experience.?? If anything their taxes were raised to offset the loss of taxes from the old hotel,.

@ NyteHawk Agree! PG is where my family CHOOSES to live and we think it is a nice place full of nice people which isn’t evident by the cranky posters on this site. I have worked downtown for 16 years and have never had an issue with anyone nor did I feel unsafe. I have “street” people smile at me, say hello and are after all just people. The Canada Winter Games will put PG on the map and I’m excited be a part of it :)

anniemartin. Will the Winter Games put PG on the map the same way they put Whitehorse Yukon, and Grande Prairie AB on the Map.???? Just askin.