ben your alll washed up .. blah blah blah
no one listens to you any more .....

Oh fernk, such harsh words, go to your corner and think about what you said.
Ben, don't listen to him. You're the ginchiest.
Urban sprawl is one of the banes of our existence, but, imho, unavoidable.
It's called progress, boys and girls.
metalman.

Businesses, whether shopping, hotels, offices, restaurants etc. along major vehicular arterials is a fact of North American and even in Cities in other parts of the world.

There are, however differences in how successful some cities are in handling both the details of the infrastructure and the balancing of the locations.

Thus in Kelowna, Nanaimo and Kamloops, the downtowns have survived to live another day, while PG still struggles. It has not been easy for them, and Nanaimo is still having some problems with their convention centre.

On the other front, the configuration of the “strips”.

I would have to say that Kelowna’s is the most successful from the point of view of handling of traffic and from the point of view of appearance. It no longer looks like a rag tag development. Kamloops, other than the old motels sitting on the western approach to the city is very much nodal with limited access to the main arterial. The eastern approach is more like PG, rag tag, not well planned; a hold over from previous decades since most of the development has occurred to the west.

PG’s Central avenue looks like a strip waiting to happen. Predominately housing on the east side, with the exception of some motels and the two mini-shopping centres towards 5th.. On the west side there is nothing worth looking at either. The McD’s restaurant is still of sale. The service station next to it still needs a paint job, the car dealerships look like they have seen better days. The “jewel” is the new development where the Yellowhead used to be. Spruceland is Spruceland … old and tired looking even after a make-over which is now getting close to 2 decades old.

The major problem is access. Discontinuous service roads, a western invention not to be seen in Ontario and eastward is the culprit from my point of view. Until a more rational approach, such as Harvey street in Kelowna, is implemented, this will continue to be a challenge. The new strip along 16 west is more “Kelowna-like” when it comes to access. Landscaping-wise, we have a long way to go.

I don’t even want to start talking about the decrepit looking Hart Highway “strip”. It looks like they took a book out of the Siberian model of strip mining, strip development …. Strip anything …. I am glad I do not have to drive home that way. I would get depressed each time.

The fly in the ointment for this whole urban sprawl thing is very simply population.

People seem to think we have an unlimited supply of people who will go to these malls and stores and buy their product, however this is just not true. Projections for population increase in North Central BC over the next 20 years is something like 1 or 2%. In addition to the small increase in population and in some areas a decrease in population, we have stores like Canadian Tire, Walmart, and Save-On locating and building new stores in other Cities like Quesnel, Willams Lake, and points West. Over time this will mean people will have less reasons to come to Prince George. These Citys also have Casinos and Gaming Facilities, which also helps to keep them at home.

So the question is. Who is going to utilize all the projected building in the Greater Prince George area in the next 10/20 years. Where are all the consumers going to come from.

The short term indications are that there will be significant downsizing in North Central BC, which means that more people will leave to find work elsewhere.

I suspect that the problem of Urban Sprawl in this area will take care of itself by coming to a griding halt. Most of what has taken place to-day is nothing more than local Companys re-locating, and is not anything new at all.

A few examples;
Canadian Tire Re-Located
Inland Diesel Re-located
Peterbilt Re-located
Parker Pacific soon to be re-located.
The Brick, soon to be Re-Located
Wood Wheaton Re-Located
Canadian Superstore (New) Extra Foods Closed.
Safeway (Closed)
Kresges (Closed)
Woolco (Closed)
Savco (Closed)
Woodwards (Closed)
Thunderbird Electric (Closed)

There are many more but you get my drift. At the end of the day you dont have much more shopping, facilities, than you did in the beginning. All you have is different Companies (or the same companies) doing the same business in new locations.

Once we reach the saturation point (which we are very close to) then the urban sprawl expansion will die down. Especially if Cities West of Prince George continue to expand.

I have no problem with the layout of Kelowna and how Harvey Avenue is the main artery!

From Harvey Avenue it is easy to access any side streets, especially the downtown with all the main attractions.

Once the new bridge is finished some of the present traffic jams will be less of an issue.

If we could only make Prince George's Central Street as clean looking and affluent looking as Harvey Avenue - we would have something to be proud of.

Bingo Diplomat!!!!

In the discussion of all the development there is not a mention of how we are losing the jewel of Prince George, our rivers.

I look forward to the time when they are valued as parkland and a tourist attraction and an attraction for a vibrant downtown.

It is as though all the"prettiness" suggested ignores the big canker sore of industry that we have despoiling our city by its' location on the rivers.

I agree Foo738. Anything in the River South of Prince George is polluted by the three pulp mills that pour affluent into the river. Once you hit Quesnel you have two more pulp mills putting affluent into the River.

If people want to ensure that these Rivers are available for years to come then they have to try to ensure that no more Industry is built on the Nechako, or the Fraser River upstream from Prince George.

The Fraser is for all intents and purposes unpolluted until it hits Prince George. The same thing applies to the Nechako with the exception of some sewer disposal from Vanderhoof. These Rivers should be kept in their present state for future generations, and hopefully they will be.

We must ensure that Companies like Alcan are not allowed to take anymore water from the Nechako as it will completely destroy this River.

I am so glad you post, Palopu. It sometimes feels lonely out here.