Transit Site Open House This Evening
Prince George, B.C. – The proposed changes to the Official Community Plan and an accompanying rezoning to allow the construction of a B.C. Transit facility has become one very hot topic in Prince George.Tonight, the matter will be front and centre at an open house on the proposed project.
The property in question is south of 18th Avenue and West of Foothills Boulevard.
( image at right shows proposed site outlined in red- courtesy City of Prince George)
As 250News reported on the weekend, there is growing opposition to the project which concerned residents say is the right project, but the wrong location. ( see previous story here)
In a previous report to Council, B.C. Transit says the site was selected because parcels of land that can accommodate transit requirements are limited. Although three potential sites were examined in the City, BC Transit says the Foothills option is the best one for a number of reasons:
- Lowest cost
- Meets minimum size requirements
- Sufficient size to allow for future transit growth
- Constructability – the site will enable BC Transit to have timely access for construction activities that will best ensure the project is completed within third-party funding availability constraints. ( Must be completed by March 2019)
- Reduces transit operating costs through a reduction in deadheading costs
This evening, there will be an information session in the second floor lounge at the Kin Centre. to examine the proposal. That meeting is set to start at 6:30 and run until 7:30
Comments
I move that each member of council submit for cognitive functioning assessments in the interest of public and fiduciary safety.
They should get rid of this option and make a decision on which of the three other options they should use.
All their reasons for using this particular site are self serving, and not taking all considerations to account, not the least of which is that we the residents, of this City do not want this facility built in this location.
So lets stop the madness.
Where are the other 3 sites ??
Come on City of PG – Get going on the Build already.
It is the Perfect Place.
Let’s Grow PG. Build Build Build.
This is the stupidest thing yet. So the city has all these regulations for business regarding signage, right of way, set back, zoning etc. but when it’s one of their pet projects, anything goes. Planning Department needs to pull his proverbial head out of his arse and find a suitable light industrial place for this thing to be built at. I am no greenie. I am a business guy and I support building anything. Just not anywhere. Stupid decision for the location in my humble opinion. Build it at the old Inland KW site. Proper zoning, close to city yards, neighboring like minded businesses etc. Again, City of PG is screwing this thing up.
NO! This is not at all the perfect place. You must be making some personal gains on this deal to have such an opinion. I cannot even begin to list the endless reasons why this facility should not be built in this location. How point blank stupid can our city planners be? Where is the vision for the future of the neighbouring civic facilities and potential services to serve all those using/attending said facilities? The gymnastic club is desperate for a new building, our “new” pool is aged, and instead of another ice surface like we really need, we only have a reno’d Kin centre as a Canada Games Legacy! When we build a new ice surface, where will it be located? Everyone using and visiting these facilities cannot walk to nearby services because there are none! Helloooo..do we not want to hold tournaments here? We have one of the largest soccer pitches in Western Canada, and no accomodations or services nearby! Regular fuel tanker traffic to this location is another brilliant part of said transit facility plan. There are no nearby support services for this transit facility; most of those businesses are south of the bridge across the Fraser. Like I said, the list of reasons why this facility needs to find another location is very, very long and I have not even touched the subject of beautifying, cleansing, necessary greenspace.
I haven’t been into this area but drive past often and it seems to be well used by people out walking . I thought it was designated as a green space / trail ? Something does seem to be starting too smell on this one .
Remember when the city had to spend $15 million in 1990 dollars to fix the stability of the sliding hill for University Way? It was a big hit for the city at the time costing nearly as much as CN Center.
Now university way hill is sliding again… Lots in the last year because the trees didn’t take for stability and it’s poorly maintained.
So the city solution is to cut more of the trees that hold the hillside up and undermine the base of the hill for their latest land arbitrage profits on zoning… and to go ahead full steam without a comprehensive hill stability engineering plan in place. PG planning at its finest…..
Okay, where EXACTLY are the other 3 sites mentioned? I have never seen anything about other sites. It seems the city is trying to shove this one down our throats. I suggest they be forced to take it to a referendum.
It came to light at the public meeting tonight that this was the ONLY site looked at. It was blatantly obvious that the City of PG has been grossly negligent and are underhanded and were competely unprepared for the angry group that attended. It’s high time we all stood up to protect our city from Hall and his ridiculous plans. The city planners also need to go. If I was as bad at my job as this group, I’d be fired. Thanks to all the brave souls who took the Mic and put the City and the BC Transit rep to task. They were at a loss for words many times, as sad and pathetic as that is. I hope half the city residents attend the public hearing in June. We need to protect one of the last green spaces left in the City bowl from destruction.
I can see how it was a bit confusing to understand the conversation at the open house, but to clarify BC Transit did look at more than one site.
Ian Wells from City of PG said a Multiple Accounts Evaluation was done in 2014 by BC Transit that looked at a number of sites for suitability as options, but they were not able to release this information because the City does not divulge details on potential sites for purchasing as it could compromise a sale.
The BC Transit Rep said they did not have a “Plan B” meaning that if this rezoning and OCP ammendment are not approved for the proposed site there is no other option they deemed suitable to move forward with based on their Multiple Accounts Evaluation.
I don’t agree with the lack of transparency regarding the 2014 Multiple Accounts Evaluation report, but I think it’s important to clarify that an evaluation exists.
laker have to agree with you. I would have to say the City manager of planning and development needs to go if this is what he thinks is good for the City of PG. I also was not impressed with his conduct while someone was speaking at the mic. It seemed it was more important for him to turn his back on the speaker and chit-chat with his buds when they were asking the tough questions. This is nothing but a full repair facility for buses and who knows what else in the future.
Comments for this article are closed.