Going Pedestrian Priority Downtown (and Uptown!)
It is truly hard to believe that this is happening, but there it was two weeks ago, a declaration that Government Street would transition to be primarily a pedestrian street at least between Humboldt and Yates. Four of the five blocks would be moving down to one lane of traffic and one block would be closed of to traffic completely. Even crazier was that just a couple of days after the announcement it went to council and was approved and it was put into place on the following Monday. That said, even after I went and did my second walk along Government, there were still some additional touches being put into place and it is going to need a lot more. To really understand this transformation, it is important to understand just how long this has been discussed in this city. I have seen a copy of the plan that was provided to the city so I can describe that and then we can think about what it will take to make this actually succeed.
A Little History
It seems like one of the perennial discussions that we have in Victoria, up there with the fabled bridge to the mainland or bringing back the streetcar, is making Government Street a pedestrian mall. It has certainly been discussed for as long as I have lived in Victoria. A search of the Times-Colonist archives brings up quite a few results. One article that was particularly interesting to read was from February 14, 1974. In there, an article talks about bringing in a consultant from Seattle to work on a plan to turn Government Street and View Street into a Pedestrian Mall. While the plan at that point was to have no cars, I would bet that the outcome was the current makeup of Government Street and Bastion Square. It makes you wonder what would have happened if the original vision had been pushed through. The same article talks about finalising the plans for the lower causeway around the inner harbour. Tat is definitely quite the contrast, one an iconic piece of our infrastructure and the other just an early missed opportunity, at least until now, maybe… So we can assume we have been thinking about this for about fifty years, but what did we get?
The Plan
I am very hopeful about the prospect of Government Street having a larger amount of space devoted to pedestrians, my main concern is that it still feels temporary. Hopefully, as the plan is further implemented it will have a more entrenched feeling to it. So what is the plan that the city has brought together? I have a photo set and a video for you to look at, but to describe it, Government has three lanes devoted to cars. Generally, two of the lanes have been travel lanes and one has been for a small amount of car parking or loading zones. The new layout between Humboldt and Fort Street removes two of these lanes and maintains a single travel lane that moves back and forth like a ziggurat. In the new spaces that have been created for pedestrians, there are a few picnic tables so far. I didn’t see any tables that had been set-up by any of the nearby businesses yet actually in the new dedicated spaces.
As you cross Fort Street, Government is completely closed to vehicles. Again there was a single picnic table and nothing else in the former vehicle lanes, but it felt like an area of opportunity for sure. Once you pass the entrance to Bastion Square, the road returns to a single northbound car lane with pedestrian space on either side. While mixed pedestrian and vehicle space can work, it still feels a little like this was a compromise, but we will see how it plays out. Even with the compromise, there were businesses quick to say they want the road turned back over to vehicles once the pandemic ends. I am not really sure why this is, as most of those that are going to the shops here will have walked there and there are certainly not a huge number of people jumping out of cars to buy some maple syrup.
What Success Looks Like
For this new Government Street to succeed (which I see as being kept permanently and even expanded) there will need to be a full taking of the space by Victorians. This means that businesses need to expand their patios, buskers need to take up spots, temporary stages should be brought in, a few sidewalk businesses permitted, and Victorians need to go down there and spend their time and money along the stretch, especially on those businesses that actively support the closures. I am particularly interested in what could be done along there for the October and November time frames when the rains start and it gets colder. I could see an opportunity for a Christmas craft fair perhaps with some rain tarps stretched across the street to keep out of the rain. Perhaps we could even install a couple of permanent rain shelters in a couple of spots.
Another thing that has to be a focus is entertainment. I hope that the city is courting buskers and increasing the amount of licenses they are providing for entertainers if they are willing to set-up along here. Longer term, when we can have concerts again, the completely closed off section by the mall would be a great venue for Jazz Fest or really any other music festival. With such tight quarters the music would amplify to the surrounding area creating a really lively atmosphere.
Another thing that I think would be great, though is generally frowned upon in Victoria, is some street vendors. If there were some flower stalls or pretzel sales going on that were not just for the tourists but for locals, it would add another layer to the complexity and attraction of the street.
No matter what though, for this to work, Victorians are going to have to go down there and spend some time along Government. You will often hear us complain that we don’t like to go down to Government because of all the tourists, well now is our chance to make this street feel like ours again.
As a side note or perhaps bookend to the lane closures downtown, Uptown actually was out ahead of the City with a closure of the surface parking area in front of H&M and the little plaza. I got a chance to walk around up there as well the other day and it feels great to have all that space and not have to worry about getting run over. The mall owners have moved extra seating out and some planters as well. I was walking up there as it rained so there was not a ton of traffic but it will be interesting to compare the success of a private space turned over to pedestrians with the public one along Government Street.
Let me know what you think, does the new space along Government go far enough? And what do we need to have there that would make a visit worthwhile for you and other Victorians?
