Cleaner sidewalks, washrooms will help
I live on Government Street and I am quite concerned with the state of Government Street and the whole downtown area. I agree that something must be done with respect to the vandalism.
The streets reek of urine and I have seen human excrement. The bird droppings are also a concern. I see street sweepers on a regular basis but I have not seen sidewalk versions. The sidewalks are much dirtier than the streets.
I believe the sidewalks need to be washed down regularly. I feel over time we begin to accept this as normal. This is not normal, it is disgusting.
I thought Government Street was a source of pride for our city, but we do not take care of it. My daughter visited in December and we were walking on Yates and she commented on the stench of urine. This was in the rainy season. Imagine a hot day in July.
When we lose businesses we will also lose tourists. It will be hard to bring our downtown back once we lose it. The city needs to take responsibility for the homeless situation and the vandalism that entails.
I have visited Montreal and stayed in Old Montreal. The city hoses down the popular streets in Old Montreal very early in the morning. They also have pedestrian-only streets and they have the delivery trucks arrive early in the morning as well. Preparing for tourists.
Many cities have street cameras and maybe it is time for us to do the same, then we could find those responsible for vandalism.
It has been in the news recently that Calgary and Edmonton are participating in a pilot project to address crime and social disorder in their cities, perhaps we need to try something new. We need more boots on the ground, so to speak.
We need to address the homelessness. If we don’t give them washrooms, where do we think they are going to go?
Lorraine Mastromatteo
Victoria
Bring back beat cops to help downtown
The ongoing vandalism in downtown Victoria compels me to ask myself when was the last time I saw a cop walking the streets of Victoria.
I am downtown every weekday and some weekends and I never see police walking the streets.
Don’t get me wrong. I think the Victoria police do a good enough job given the resources and restrictions they have to work within, but I can’t help but wonder if more street presence would help deal with the goofs destroying our fine city for reasons I will never understand.
C. Scott Stofer
Victoria
Basic philosophies driving Putin
Re: “If not negotiations, what is the solution,” letter, Feb. 15.
The world is approaching a dire position.
Let’s make this simple. No thinking oneself into a dark hole or head in the clouds.
The Russian president has a fixed negotiating position: “I win, you lose.”
Also, “If my lips are moving, I’m lying.”
Also, “Ukraine is not a real country and must be destroyed.”
Also, “I always double down and never change course.”
Finally, “I only understand brute force.”
Consequence? No meaningful negotiated solution is possible.
The solution to the problem of no meaningful negotiations is that Vladimir Putin must be decisively beaten on the conventional battlefield within Ukraine, and accept this defeat for a lasting solution.
What happens next? This depends on whether Putin is suicidal or whether the plotters attempting to remove him from power are suicidal.
Karl Benn
Victoria
Reopen the third floor at the museum
We visited the Royal B.C. Museum for the first time in a few years. We thought it would be a nice way to spend a couple of hours while we were downtown.
We knew the third floor was closed, but didn’t realize the impact of the loss. To say the least, it was a rather lacklustre experience which was over in about 30 minutes.
We were so disappointed and can’t imagine what it would be like for any visitors from out of town hoping to experience a world-class museum.
Can’t the powers-that-be move quickly to reopen the third floor as a temporary measure until decisions are made as to the next steps forward? Please.
Susan Edwards
Metchosin
Rail line a ‘gift’ for new, efficient ideas
This is something we should keep open for this rail line between Victoria and Courtenay.
My friend from the Czech Republic was puzzled why we would not keep this “gift” for new, efficient opportunities that exist for transportation for people and freight.
Get on on it, E&N and B.C. and the federal government.
It is a resource that we can’t replace.
Call your part-time MLAs and MPs as well.
T. Patrick Doyle
Victoria
Workforce capacity crucial in housing
Re: “We need to build more homes to meet demand,” letter, Feb. 16.
I want to respond to two things:
First, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s June report on restoring affordability by 2030 was the most official goalpost and timeline for outpacing demand with supply. B.C. needed 570,000 more homes than the current rate.
The five-year annual average of housing completions is around 38,000. If we take the high year of nearly 42,000 in 2021, it would take 13.5 years to build just the 570,000 with the current workforce deficit.
I sent this to CMHC in July and their deputy chief economist responded that they share my concerns and will work next on feasibility.
Second, housing starts is the industry standard, yet as a measure it is best for how fast we are approving new supply. All processes can get long in the tooth and should rightly be subject to continual improvement.
For measuring progress on the housing crisis, completions make more sense: actual homes actually able to be lived in. It’s also a reflection of workforce capacity, and if that’s in a crisis deficit with low prospect for improvement, that matters.
That’s why I said in the same sentence that CMHC admitted in October that their timeline and goalpost was not feasible.
If anything, this gives partners and stakeholders an opportunity to creatively think how we grow our cities. Sacrificing soil for shoeboxes in the name of supply may just cost us food security without solving anything.
Good problem-solving should abhor such opportunity costs in the interest of long-term stability.
Mark McInnes
Victoria
Only one way to make housing affordable
Re: “Before we look for housing solutions, check the math,” commentary, Feb. 11.
Governments at all levels have been promoting new construction as the solution to housing availability and affordability. They say “we need more supply” on the assumption that prices will drop if supply outstrips demand. Developers and real-estate agents are, no doubt, happy to support that policy.
Unfortunately, it is illogical to expect the housing market will not be affected by other factors. They forget the reality that Victoria is a nice place to live. Many people would like to live here.
If the cost of housing were to drop substantially, Victoria would not simply be more affordable for current residents. It would also become more attractive to people outside this city.
Imagine Canadians east of here declaring “we can afford to retire in Victoria now!” Furthermore, people outside Canada — people to whom the speculation tax is a minor inconvenience — would be more interested in Victoria.
Consequently, demand would grow and prices would inevitably rise until equilibrium is reached. Any first-year economics student could explain that.
The only way housing will become affordable for everyone is to subsidize it for those who couldn’t otherwise afford it. That means higher taxes for everyone else.
Alanne Gibson
Victoria
The wild goose chase at Esquimalt Lagoon
Finally a cull! As a prairie boy, my pioneer family and I were in awe of the majestic flights of thousands of migratory geese flying overhead (not evident in Victoria) signifying the coming summers and winters every year.
For more than 100 years, our family has conducted the annual goose hunt in Manitoba. As a longtime resident on the Esquimalt Lagoon, I have just chased 30 geese from my lawn for the third time today.
My three-year-old grandson who cannot use my excrement-ridden lawn has the opposite impression of the noble goose.
Just as most residents of Victoria, the geese go where life is easier. The lagoon is home to mostly the introduced invasive feral geese, as well as ducks, pigeons, seagulls and various carrion-type birds.
The lagoon’s status as a migratory bird sanctuary is inappropriate in a built-up area and facilitates strife amongst residents. The reality of its minimal migratory use and convenient bird feeding/photographic station for the masses escapes me.
Finally, the start of a solution.
Doug Foreman
Colwood
Lookalike rifles pose a great danger
Re: “Half of guns seized in Victoria are replicas — but who can tell?” Feb. 10.
Thanks for pointing out the issue with air rifles looking very much like lethal, restricted weapons.
At a time when our federal government is continuing to explore legislation that is not likely to reduce risk of firearms death and injury in any significant way, this seems to be low-hanging fruit.
Walk into a sporting goods store and observe the many air rifles and (air) handguns that can be bought by anyone without a licence starting at $25.
These air guns are indistinguishable from real firearms to most people. Not only can they be used for the same purposes as real firearms, thus terrorizing those individuals threatened by them, but it also puts innocent users of them at risk of the air rifles at risk.
It scares me to think of the situations that could occur either through malicious criminal intent or even by some naïve teenager who, steeped in games and movies that celebrate firearms, engages in some innocent but misinterpreted behaviour that ends up in his or her death.
Surely eliminating lookalike air rifles is something that can be done to meaningfully reduce gun-related harm.
Michael Hill
Esquimalt
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