City councillors got a look Thursday at preliminary designs for public amenities proposed for the Clover Point Pump Station area, and along Dallas Road, as part of the Capital Regional District’s wastewater treatment project.
The plans call for enhancements to public spaces and the creation of an extended bike network along Dallas Road as well as an upgrade and expansion of the existing pump station. The bike path would be built on top of the sewage line along Dallas Road from Clover Point to Ogden Point, a move that would see a projected net loss of 50 parking spaces as the bike path, while 13 spaces would be lost on Paddon Avenue.
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Coun. Pamela Madoff called the loss of parking significant.
“All too often we think of removing cars and we don’t think of the people who are in vehicles,” she said. “There will be people who these areas will become inaccessible to if they remove vehicles.”
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The public space improvements call for public washrooms, landscaping and pedestrian pathways at Clover Point, but not all councillors were completely sold on the preliminary designs.
Coun. Ben Isitt said the waterfront walkway could be made more appealing to pedestrians.
“It sort of feels like you’re walking behind a supermarket or shopping mall, rather than walking along the waterfront,” he said, adding that he would like to see the route look more like a pedestrian route that trucks could use, rather than the opposite.
Designs for the cycling network and public spaces are in preliminary stages. In January, CRD representatives will present the design to the James Bay and Fairfield Gonzales neighbourhood associations. They will return to Victoria city council in February with an updated presentation.
bike lanesCRDCRD sewageDallas Road bike lanesWastewater treatment
Preliminary designs for the Capital Regional District’s Clover Point Pump Station area include new washrooms and upgraded public gathering spaces. (Image courtesy CRD)
