Island Corridor Foundation Announces Tentative Agreement that Promises the Return of Passenger Rail to Vancouver Island

Island Corridor Foundation announced this morning at a press conference at the Train Station on Selby Street in Nanaimo that there is a tentative agreement between the ICF, Southern Rail and Via that promises the return of passenger rail to Vancouver Island. Needs ratification, if approved it will free up $20 million in fed, provincial and regional district funds to begin rail and bridge repair. That work is expected to take 9 months. There is the possibility of passenger service into the city-owned Wellcox property on the waterfront.

Nanaimo's South Downtown Waterfront Initiative

From: frankmurphy@thesidewalkballet.com
Subject: S Downtown Waterfront Initiative Survey
Date: 9 October, 2013 1:20:50 PM PDT
To: sdwaterfront@cityspaces.ca

Comment submitted earlier to your online survey —

Some preliminary thoughts — Early effort to build a public identity for the initiative — the new website, the boots on the ground fair that invited people to discuss the site while touring it, encouraging citizens to attend the (brutally early) committee meetings — is positive and welcome. I'd like to see this phase followed by one where the committee itself and its consultant move to a proactive role in educating people that to be truly successful in realizing the potential of this extraordinary site, there will need to be some discomfort inducing change in the way we have imagined and designed our city. More on this later but for now: I'm referring to dynamics such as Nanaimo's low population density and accompanying car dependency. A number of external factors impact the potential of the site and it's important (though generally in Nanaimo considered impolite) to air them in the earliest days of this process. For instance I'll draw attention to First Capital's Port Place blank wall and expanse of surface parking which has done probably irreparable harm to the Front Street streetscape and made a key piece of the site's interconnectedness puzzle a huge challenge. Also more later on connectivity. 

I'm still trying to get my mind around some of the complexities here. The combination of primary property ownership and rights of access in covenants and existing leaseholders are confusing me. Fascinating and full of potential but confusing. (See map).

While the City-mandated study area is quite rightly the entire waterfront area between the Snuneymuxw lands and the Gabriola Ferry (some say a at-least-broad-brush-stroke study should have been done as part of the 2008 Downtown Urban Design Plan and Guidelines), it's the City, Port and Provincial Crown lands north of the trestle bridge that hold short and medium term potential for redevelopment. Do I have that about right? And the redevelopment of this portion will require a shared vision with the Island Corridor Foundation and the Port Authority and will impact the existing leaseholders. Seaspan's right of access through the site holds the key to moving to the next step if I'm not mistaken. And in case this was all starting to look pretty simple, there is a memorandum of agreement between the City and the Regional District to locate a "transit hub" here. What exactly is meant by a "transit hub" in a sprawling City with a commercial highway running through its downtown scares the bejesus out of me. I see examples elsewhere of transit interconnections by design creating prosperous successful human scale urban "place". Time for an indication that we have some idea of how to do that here.

My initial focus will be the Esplanade and north waterfront connections. Key I think is identifying the characteristics and purpose of "precinct" here. Central is public space. Waterfront access is a primary opportunity of course but there's the chance to do something so much better than just a sea wall. Connected public squares and plazas connecting both at and to the waterfront and through the site. Connected and integrated. This is in general not something Nanaimo has done well. In terms of primary use, Nanaimo has long needed a downtown satellite campus of Vancouver Island University. As Gordon Price has pointed out one of the our biggest urban planning mistakes has been the remote isolated locations of university campuses.

http://www.thesidewalkballet.com/2013/02/from-price-tags-biggest-public-sector.html

A public sector education and training cluster here (ideally including the SFN) integrated with a convenient modern transit system (passenger ferry, light rail, inter city bus all included) holds much promise seems to me.

Meanwhile I'm re-reading Ken Greenberg's Walking Home about his experiences over his career working on many sites not unlike this one and close with this thought —

Who will break it to Nanaimoites that for any potential to be realized here there will be virtually no surface parking?

Frank Murphy
Selby St Nanaimo
www.thesidewalkballet.com

Nanaimo South Downtown Waterfront Initiative

The South Downtown Waterfront Initiative is a long term planning project in Nanaimo, led by the South Downtown Waterfront Committee. This process involves developing visions and opportunities for this complex and challenging property that extend 20 to 30 years into the future. 

Read more: Nanaimo South Downtown Waterfront Initiative: HOME

See also: Wellcox Railyards 

Snuneymuxw Withdraws from 30 Day #Nanaimo Colliery Dam Process | @dougswhite @SaveCollieryDam http://t.co/FWxxrc2n72
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) July 18, 2013

Snuneymuxw First Nation Calls for Collaborative Process, Intends to Exercise Treaty Rights in Nanaimo Colliery Dam Park Resolution

NANAIMO (British Columbia) – Snuneymuxw Proposes New Public Process on Colliery Dams

The Snuneymuxw First Nation has informed the City of Nanaimo about growing concern it has about the approach being taken to the matter of the Colliery Dams, and is suggesting a new public process be put in place that will transparently review alternatives and engage multiple stakeholders.

"I recognize this matter has gotten extremely complicated for everybody. I know the Mayor, his Council, and staff have been making strong efforts to deal with this complexity, and that many citizens are dedicating their time, intelligence and energy to this matter. Snuneymuxw's goal remains to try to play a positive and constructive role, while also ensuring that our Treaty protected fisheries on the Chase River are respected," said Chief Douglas White III, of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. Read more: PRESS RELEASE - Colliery Dams | Snuneymuxw

UBC Graduate School of Journalism letter in response to racist, ignorant letter @nanaimodaily fb.me/1ExpVXq1u
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) March 30, 2013

AIDS Victoria has joined @thriftyfoods in pulling their ads from @nanaimodaily in response to racist letters. #CdnPoli
— Settler Colonial (@SettlerColonial) March 28, 2013

Bravo! @viuniversity suspends all activities with @nanaimodaily and parent Glacier Media until further notice. investors@glaciermedia.ca.
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) March 29, 2013

@jakking49 @viuniversity @nanaimodaily Censorship abhorrent. Criminal code quite rightly protects us all from hate speech. Different issues.
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) March 29, 2013

@jakking49 @viuniversity @nanaimodaily Understood. It's the Supreme Court and I'm ok with that.

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) March 29, 2013

Nanaimo Council to be Asked To Approve Concept Planning Process For the South Downtown Waterfront

Details of the Planning Department report to Council on the Monday March 25 agenda: pdf here.


BACKGROUND: 
The Official Community Plan Implementation Strategy identified the need to undertake an Urban Nod13 Plan for Downtown Plan Study Area #2, which is the area commonly known as the Wellcox Yard and Assembly Wharf area south of Downtown, as a priority in the short term.