They knew this area was unstable long before they built the road.

Seems to me they shut down the old 1000 steps ski hill for that reason.

Remind me, please. $14 million or $18 million fer this road? Simon Fraser U. is on a hill. Why not put ours on a hill? Never mind the area around Foothills and the Nechako River. A road anywhere there wouldn't have cost anywhere that much. Boy! Do we have class or what, eh? At any price.

Harbinger come on give them a break. Universities are special, its not about the education, which can be suspect. Its all about location, location, location. One can't expect it to be built on common flat ground. Its all about being a show piece, and damm the cost.

The city sued the engineering company over that hill long ago and now it's all ours.
They should just let it slide and grade the mud all over our streets to fill the potholes. Anyone notice the berm road on river road is smoother than most of our city streets.

"They should just let it slide and grade the mud all over our streets to fill the potholes"

LOL, good one :)

I have long wondered about the choice of having the University 3 km's up a hill so that walking to it is difficult and the road conditions in the winter are a big issue. Should have been located on flat ground somewhere else.

Imagine if they had used that money to create a proper dike so the flood plain wouldn't be an issue for downtown development.

Then imagine if they had built the University on the other side of Queensway, downtown, with access to the river, trails, cottonwood island, etc.

Imagine all the downtown student residence buildings and easy access for students to grocery shop.

Imagine the night life downtown with a large student population in the city centre.

Imagine the other commercial and residential development that would have taken place downtown and vicinity.

Now, please - imagine electing a city council with some vision this November.

Great post bohemian.

Sorry I am against anything major like that going downtown, until the air improves.

When I was a young fellow here, we used to ride our bikes up a bush trail (now 15th Ave.) At the end, there were two log ladders going up the hillside, each having 50 steps. Consequently, called 100 steps!!

Their was also a creek!! Through developement, the creek disappeared!! What do you suppose happened to the creek??? I think it has finally turned up!! They should have asked a local kid, could have saved millions of dollars!!

In November, I hope we give City Hall, a really good shake up!!

So THAT'S where the name 100 steps came from!
Often wondered about that.
Ya see...ya learn somthing new everyday!

Gotta love the Harbingers and seamutts of the world. Sour at there blue collar existence they criticize the university and all the social and economic problems they create.

If the university was built_______

If the city would have just_________

If they built that road__________

Like my grandpa used to say, if, if, if. If your aunt had testicles, she'd be your uncle.

Wont be the last time this bank slides unless they get in there and geo-tech it.

Oh hush, at least its above the flood plains. The university that is.

Oh hush, at least its above the flood plains. The university that is.

Lots of hillsides have that problem. It's not unique at all. Underground water flows are very difficult to predict or deal with.
At least this one is minor, really nothing at all. A non-issue as far as I am concerned.

Remember the Hope Slide ? Who's fault was that ?

I ain't criticizing the university. Just where they put it. I will have you know I am a high school graduate!! Dunno about seamutt. No wonder they call them universities "Ivory Towers". Can't attack the issue attack the speaker. That's how it works in politics. Good fer you.

Good post bohemian. That would have been a great idea putting the university downtown. Just think of the possibilities and what the downtown might have looked like if that happened. Also, thanks for the chuckle lostfaith. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Just what I needed tonight.

UNBC should have been on the old Experimental Farm, all 640 acres of it.

Couple of things that should be said.

The road up the hill and the UNBC location are actually separate issues.

For those of you who both know and understand the way the city has been planned for many decades, you would know that irrespective of UNBC, that part of Cranbrook Hill has been in the planning stage since at least the early 1970's if not earlier.

Each successive planner that has looked at that has continued with the same approach and it is clearly identifyable in our OCP.

The hill is accessed through hwy16 west at Peden Hill. It was accessed with Cranbrook Hill road, and is accessed off Otway road from the north.

Subsequently came Ospika. I believe Massey was going to be next, and is still on the books and is clearly visible on the plans that were just approved for residential development to the north of Tyner.

The extension of 15th up the hill was also planned to support residential growth.

The choice of where to build the University was done with the knowledge that the next phase of residential growth was going that way in any case.

There were at least two other contenders for the site - Carey Jane Grey Park and the north side of the Nechako River east of Foothills. I think that would have made a wonderful site adjacent to the river and a southern exposure to the water. It would have been wonderful to start the process of reconnecting a public site with our rivers. But, that was not to be.

So, remember, the road is really an investment in future access to Cranbrook Hills subdivisions. UNBC instigated its early construction.

In my opinion, Carey Jane Grey Park would have been far too small for future growth. In fact, given the current campus buildings, that site would have been maxed out unless the buildings were built higher.

Future research parks would have been virtually impossible. Combine it with the high school property, and it might have been worth a more serious look.

Queensway east is a non starter. Mega dollars to move everyone in a timely fashion for starters.

Air quality would be another why that area should have been a non starter, although at that time, air quality was really not on most people's radar screen.

There is another potentially touchy subject around air quality and community safety. Remember, the University is a research University. If you have not noticed when you have been up at the University have a look at the science building and look at the exhausts from the lab fume hoods on the roof.

Normally, the exhaust is likely quite benign. However, as I recall, part of the facility is designed as a level 4 Biosafety lab. In a worst case scenario one should ensure that air is discharged away from inhabited areas, especially air intakes within the building itself.

Given that the bowl suffers from occasional inversions which results from natural venting, I would think that as a failsafe one would not wish to locate such an exhaust too close to a population base.

It is not an every day situation. In fact, just as it is highly unlikely that there would be a major accident on a dangerous goods route, one would be prudent to locate such a route in a location which would not compound the effects of an accident through its location.

The University Hill consists of sand and mud that dates back to the Ice Age.Everytime it freezes and thaws the mud begins to move. When they built this road they hauled away hundreds of truckloads of mud.

This hill will continue to shift for years and years into the future, much the same as what is happening in West Quesnel.

Those who built the road for a cost of $18 Million knew there was a problem but went ahead anyway. The University was located where it is for development and real estate reasons, and had nothing to do with common sense.. Once you established the University you then got water and sewer and here come the developments. Without water and sewer all you had was habitat for moose and deer.

People had better hope that the road doesnt start slipping away East of the road towards the City. If that starts to happen you will have some real problems.

Great idea Yamadoopolcat. Maybe they would have started to do a bit of research into agriculture.

Now for the slide.

Something went wrong between the geotechnical report and the design to retain the slope.

I believe it was known that there were subsurface water problems. That is not a unique situation and has been adequately designed for in many cases.

This slope was designed steeper than a natural slope could have accommodated. In order to do that, the slope was "improved" with geotextiles. With the surface sloughing off, that is being exposed.

As far as dewatering channels are concerned, I do not recall what was done.

So, an engineering failure to be sure, likely to save dollars by avoiding considerable more cutting into the hill or retaining walls at the foot of the slope, a common solution found in such situations.

Just because this one is failing, does not mean that additional roads up the hill cannot be successfully built. However, they are not needed until there is a substantial population base there. 2025? 2040? Who knows?

Many ways to retain such a hill .... even with subsurface water and the soil types associated with the hill .... nothing new .....

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To me the University would of been
suited to the land on the left side of
the Hart Highway in Harper Valley. Nice
and close to the down town area. Over
looking the city.

Plant some trees.

As a student at the UNBC I have to say that I love the location. I grew up in Vancouver and would not have come to UNBC had it been built downtown. I love that it is away from the city, as much of an inconvenience it was when I was living in res. Our university is so unique with its architecture and location. Where else in BC can you see moose outside of your classroom? The University has made me fall in love with the north...the city of Prince George certainly did not.

Sunshine,

We too are from the Coast. the reason we stayed was because of the people and the environment. I prefer to look at the bright side, even when I am chatting with our street people in my parking lot every week day morning during the summer.

I truly believe that they are friendly than Vancouver s.p. (Never thought I would say that, but I did)

If memory serves, the road up to UNBC from 15th was to be a two lane road so as not to disturb the hillside too much. the council of the day, including our present mayor, wanted a wider road and won out. When it became obvious that a mistake had been made, the then city engineer, Ernie Obst was sacriced upon the alter and became the scape goat. The article states that for the second time in three years the hill has slipped. The hill started slipped the year they built the road and stabilization efforts have failed ever since.

If my aunt had testicles, I'd be scared!
metalman.

It is funny how you read the comments about this road. In all, the road has been great for the community as you see many people walking, jogging and biking it when the sidewalks are cleared of snow. This road has been great for that but on the other hand I have never seen positive efforts in trying to stabilize the banks. Personally, I think it is a lost cause to spend lots of city tax payers dollars on this due to the type of soil. This could and should be a university project for students (not Annie) to understand how the landscape works and what can be done to make the road exist for future years. Good luck UNBC and good luck to those who keep walking the hill.

"For the second time in three years" makes it sound like the hill slides every time the Canucks miss the playoffs. Maybe that's something to consider ;)

The completion of this road was **rushed** so that it would be presentable when the Queen came to town and visited the University.

$18 Million for a $3 Million dollar road is a prime example of how this City spends tax payers dollars.

This whole fiasco is a real estate development project, and has nothing to do with higher learning. 3500 full and part time students. (Mostly part time) hardly makes a University. More like an old folks home for young kids.

They need to get enrollments up. They have been static for the past 4 years. But where will the students come from?????