Citistates Group

CURT JOHNSON: VICTORIA, BC — Arriving early for a speech on downtown revitalization, I found myself wandering through the streets of Victoria’s city center and the Inner Harbor. My immediate impression: What’s the problem? Downtown holds most of the jobs for Vancouver Islanders. The stately BC Parliament building stands with great museums, gardens, and walks to die for. Tourists still fill the streets of Canada’s warmest city, where flowers bloom all year round. Spring’s daffodils and tulips are already up. A huge collection of heritage buildings — three to five stories — lines the streets of dozens of short downtown blocks. Sidewalks and crossings say pedestrians have priority.

As a Vancouver architect, developer, and former city planner would put it the next day, “This is very much like what happens when a slender lady joins weight-watchers. People look at her funny.”

But the locals know nothing stays the same, and they see the “lady” taking on a few pounds. And despite the now hot market in new condos snaking around the shores of the urban harbor, the locals know the number of people living downtown has dropped 25 percent over the last 30 years. They’re eager to figure out how to handle modern seismic standards so they can allow people to occupy the upper floors in all those older but great buildings seen in nearly every block.

As cruise ships now make the harbor a regular stop, the real worry is that Victoria’s secret will get out — and the growth rate will take off. They know they are not ready. Already they have choking traffic at key junctions where commuters crowd on to the few highways headed toward downtown. You’d think there would be clamor for U.S.- style freeways, but they’re proud that “the one mistake we did not make was building those things.” They’ve convinced that the next moves they make with transportation will determine downtown’s fate.

The crowd at this conference clamors for more transit, to strengthen the downtown destination. They know they’ve got a good bus system, even if the province occasionally pinches its revenue. But they want light rail to anchor a permanent commitment to riding rather than driving.

The problem: getting their governmental act together. The only arena in which the 13 municipalities come together is something called the Capital Regional District. I asked, rhetorically, whether the CRD could get the job done, and got an audible response of “no” from several in the audience. Apparently the CRD is much like too many Councils of Governments here in the U.S., whose principal talent is convening to continue admire conditions that won’t act to change. When I told them that even in politically-tribal South Florida, three counties had recently formed a regional transportation authority, the audience broke into thunderous applause. Hmmm. Buttoned-down Canadians applauding actions of South Florida. Think about it.