The Down Town Of Prince George Is Like a Giant Pot Hole Says Offet
By Ben Meisner
Whatever you may think about Gerry Offet, who officially left the City of Prince George this week, he wore his feelings for
this city on his sleeve.
Had his wife not landed a very important job in Saskatchewan, he said he would have retired in this city. After all he said the weather here is better than on the prairies and the people are the greatest you’ll ever meet, he is right.
He also is bang on in what he said he failed to accomplish during his stay in the city and that was seeing anything done with the downtown. That is really not his cross to bear because the city fathers, planning department and all have long ago prevented Offet from ever seeing his dream of a vibrant down town coming togther.
He said in his closing remarks that the down town is like a big pot hole , the city just keeps patching it up here and there but the pot hole still is there. He talked about the city falling into the same trap as many others in allowing the commercial development to take place on the edges of the city at the expense of the down town center.
He knows full well that a few apartments here and there will not address the big picture and all you need to do is to look around to see what he was talking about.
Instead of encouraging some of the majors to build in the core, they now have set up business on the outskirts, meaning more services need to be put in place in order to accommodate them. Gerry Offet knew it was a bad move but he was powerless to do anything about it.
I didn’t have much to do with him during his first years here although I agree he was the guy who brought the calls centers here during a time when the city was on its knees. He says now we have to try and build a city that does not rely so heavily on forestry so we are not so up and down in our economy, again he is right.
He impressed me the other night as he stood there talking about PG, he is going to miss the place and he said that he now understands just how passionate I am about this town, just as he is.
I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion
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Posted by: Eagleone on March 13 2008 8:27 AM
Lets say hypothetically that I supported the downtown revitalization, then obviously the only solution is a grand solution because decades of piece meal has taught us that brick sidewalks won't do the trick.
What if we were to recognize the 6 main particulars of our downtown reality:
#1) The further away from the Husky plant the cleaner the air, and yes every block does make a difference.
#2) Yes the bulk of where downtown revitalization has been focused is below the 200-year flood plane and that is a defeatist approach for attracting private investment.
#3) As a result of flood plane and percolation issues the downtown can not go below ground for much of services much less mass transit or parking space, thus constraining any future growth due to congestion issues.
#4) Clearly long range planning was to have George Street as the government and judicial service centre for Prince George and Northern BC. Why is this not recognized or promoted?
#5) Clearly the banksters have taken over Victoria street and it is the unrecognized financial services and insurance centre for Prince George and region. Why is this not recognized and promoted?
#6) Clearly the city has gone to great efforts at tax payers expense to build up the area between Parkwood Mall and City Hall as the cultural hub that has potential, but again no recognition and promotion of this fact on the ground.
With some of these facts in mind you can then look at some of the potential solutions. A few things that could be done...
#1) Use senior government brown out dollars to clear all the property for paved parking lots on the entire blocks of 2nd to 4th avenue West of George Street and East of Quebec Street. Create a by-law requiring hugely expensive updates and inspections for any downtown building over 50-years old in that zone that take effect in five years time, with the offer for a buy-out at last years assessment with offer effective for five years. Total cost possibly as much as $40 million dollars (Piece of cake for not-for-profit slush fund of the Northern Development Initiative (lets clean up the downtown and shut the administrative bonanza at NDI down)). Effect is to open up a huge amount of space for a safe downtown full of parking for the businesses that remain, as well as the elimination of all the pawn shops, strip clubs, and run-the-town-down pubs and bars.
#2) The banks like parking spots, so that area is great for them because they can build underground parking along most of Victoria Street. With lots of parking now available for downtown planned growth, the rubbish removed, and a new safe clean look… the adjacent blocks to the financial district could then flourish and boom with new potential and opportunities. Ditto for the new designated legal and administrative district along George Street where a by-law should be in place limiting building heights to 5 stories at most reflecting the ground level parking reality (as well as views of the cut banks, keep the height down so they can’t see the hood either), and hopefully enticing new office buildings on George street with this kind of focus, service opportunities follow.
#3) For the entertainment district the city could do a lot of good zoning out the Cadillac Ranch, Generator, the Bus, and Joe's Place. Scum lords all of them IMO contributing greatly to the downtown reputation as a dangerous place to hang out. With them gone double the drinking establishment seats available for new renovated businesses located within walking distance of the Civic Centre, Art Gallery, Casino, and general vicinity reorienting the nightclub district to an area that is safer, closer to other night time services, and more complimentary with its neighbouring business orientation. Entertainment districts can live with limited underground parking but they can not survive and induce a residential mixture nearer the pollution.
Basically the idea should be to build cluster type districts within the downtown rather than talking about patch work to a downtown that is a complete and utter failure in its present model. Recognize we can not have a ten story building type of downtown because of the ground water issues relating to transportation, and also realize that the further the entertainment district is from the pollution the great the chance of its success at generating an urban settlement.
AIMHO
Time Will Tell