THE TALK OF THE TOWN
/The homeless shelter set up at Coal Harbour Community Centre is now closed.
(Click on all images to enlarge)
SHELTERS, CENTRES & HOTELS
Children’s Summer Camp Programs First To Return
Over the past three months, several West End and nearby facilities were coopted by the authorities for use as temporary shelters for homeless individuals during the pandemic. These included the Coal Harbour Community Centre, the Roundhouse Community Centre, and the Buchan Hotel in the West End.
According to Linda Johnston, president of the West End Community Centre Association which operates the Denman Street and Coal Harbour Centres as well as Barclay Manor, the last of the homelless residents at Coal Harbour left in the past two weeks and no more are being placed there. The Buchan Hotel, which nearby residents (including your editor) reported showed little signs of activity, has been sold to the province and will be operated as transition housing for women leaving abusive situations by Atira Women’s Society, under the authority of BC Housing.
A pressing issue for West Enders is when the two community centres will be reopened for some semblence of regular programming.
According to Johnston, the summer camps program for children ages six to 12 will run July 20 to September 4, with all activities taking place on the adjacent playing fields behind the centre and King George Secondary School. Program participants will have access to the lobby and washrooms via the ice rink entrance. All program activity will take place outside and stringent health and safety measures will be observed.
Other programs for seniors may be brought online later in the summer, probably taking place at various outdoor venues.
There has been no word so far as to the reopening of at Coal Harbour.
“We are hoping to see all our facilities open in September for a gradual return to all regular programming” Johnston concluded.
The new community garden at Robson and Broughton.
A COMMUNITY GARDEN ON ROBSON
A new community garden has sprouted at the corner of Robson and Broughton. The Robson Street Community Garden is a temporary garden installation by Community Garden Builders, a Vancouver-based social enterprise with a mission to transform vacant property into temporary community gardens and growing spaces.Their projects represent a unique partnership between landowners and community members. Using mobile garden beds set atop shipping pallets, urban spaces are created for local residents to grown their own flood and flowers. To learn more about the garden visit their website here and for questions about the garden, and getting involved, email garden@robsongafden.com.And then enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of your labors!
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JOE FORTES LIBRARY UPDATE
In case you missed the memo, or rather the posters going up all over the 'hood -- Joe Fortes Library is aiming to reopen in late July or early August, with the caveat that it will, temporarily, be for take-out only (just like many of our restaurants). Take note of the website URL noted on the poster and check-in for updates and to request your books for pick-up when things get underway. And yes, we missed them too!
PS: We have no further details on the butter sale!
CUPE library workers need your help. Under BC’s Restart Plan, libraries could have already reopened, yet many are still closed with no plans to reopen until September or months into the fall. With library spaces and services closed, thousands of workers remain on lay-off when most, if not all, could be back at work.
Our public libraries are vital to the health of our communities. They provide programs and services that can’t be found anywhere else and will play a key role in our province’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reopening public libraries will give our communities a place to safely reconnect; where those who have lost jobs will again have resources to help with their job hunt; and families can access low-cost entertainment and learning opportunities.
I’m encouraging everyone that values our public libraries to visit betterlibraries.ca, and to please take a moment to send a message to your mayor and council. Let them know you want more public library services and programs reopened with proper protective measures.
Our public libraries are more important than ever. We need them opened safely and quickly so they can get back to providing the unique services and programs our communities depend on.
WEST END WASTED WATER FOUNTAINS
by Milan Streit
There are many water fountains around the West End. Not to be confused with drinking fountains, they can make parks, building fronts and streets better places, bringing life to them. While a lot of privately owned water fountains are continuously running, in the last three years, the City of Vancouver, along with the Park Board, has turned off some of the neighbourhood’s most popular water features.
As soon as you turn off a water fountain, it appears bland, boring and a shell of its former self. Unfortunately, that’s been the case at the Haro–Bute mini-park for three years now. The water fountain itself was built in the 1980s as part of the city's plan to stop drivers from cheating through the West End to skip Georgia Street traffic to Lions Gate Bridge.
I spoke to Jim McKnight, a resident at the historic Beaconsfield apartment complex next to the fountain, who said that the mini-park has lost a lot of its charm. “The water fountain was an attraction. Kids would play on it, especially after coming back from school.”
Jim decided to contact the City of Vancouver a couple of years ago and he described the city's VanConnect service as an embarrassment. He contacted staff five times and did not get a single response for two years until finally, someone got back to him and simply said “the fountain will never turn on.” As a citizen, Jim felt that was a slap in the face.
Many residents of Haro Park Senior Centre have also been disappointed that the water feature has been shut down. With Covid-19 hitting the long term care home hard, residents would like to see the city turn on the water feature again. Residents often sit down with friends and read books next to the fountain and with it being turned off, residents have said that it takes away from the experience of the mini-park.
Another thing to take note of is that other water fountains around the West End have also been shut off. That includes notable ones such as the tower structure surrounded by palm trees on the median at Beach and the lovely Pacific and Barclay heritage fountain. That’s despite the fact that privately maintained fountains continue to work.
So, why was the water fountain shut off in the first place?
While no information has been released by the city, several factors may have contributed. Back in 2017, we had a long drought with water restrictions going up to stage four in some places. That meant every water fountain needed to be turned off to conserve water and perhaps the city just didn’t bother to turn them back on. Another possible reason is maintenance. When the fountain was running, only two taps were on. The rest seem to have rusted and haven't been replaced since the ’80s.
I will be contacting Mayor Kennedy Stewart to try and get a response about the water fountains, along with the poor VanConnect service Jim McKnight received from the City. I will report back in the August issue of The West End Journal.
𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗬
by Kevin Dale McKeown
Editor & Publishber / The West End Journal
Earlier this month on the West End Journal’s Facebook page (you do follow us, don’t you?) we canvassed you for questions you’d like to ask our Member of Parliament, Dr. Hedy Fry, regarding the federal government’s future plans and lessons learned regarding the pandemic. The interview was conducted on June 24, via Zoom.
Originally planned for 20 to 30 minutes, it ended up running for nearly one hour, so make sure you have some time on your hands before you click to watch.
This was an experimental first run and obviously Hedy and I both need to work on our Zoom presentation. But not a bad first effort, and we hope to do more "zoomerviews" like this with important members of the West End - Coal Harbour community in the future.
We asked you, our readers and followers, for questions you'd like Hedy to address, and we picked four. These were: 𝟭) Will our experience with the current pandemic prompt the government to take a serious look at a Universal Basic Income; 𝟮) Does the federal government have any tools it could use to leverage improvements to elder care in our communities? 𝟯) How are we going to pay for the considerable cost of CERB and other government expenses through the pandemic? and 𝟰) Were there considerations given prior to releasing CERB benefits to the potential impact on the drug use and overdose crisis that we are also seeing in our community?
WALK LIKE YOU’RE PLAYING HOCKEY
A Mediation On Social Distancing
by Gary Heatherington
I really miss playing hockey twice a week but I have recently observed that ‘social distance’ walking in this Covid-19 period is surprisingly like playing hockey. You have to keep your head up, assessing what the other ‘players’ are doing and where they have created a space for you to go. Also, you must determine the direction the players are taking and their relative speed. The fastest are of course the joggers and cyclists who emerge suddenly. Next are the healthy seniors, followed by young people absorbed with each other and parents with their small children. Then come the dog walkers (you can usually guess which way they will go) and lastly, people walking their cats as they are pretty much going nowhere! So, like any able forward, I dodge and weave through all the players. I finally reach my goal where coffee awaits but alas, no cheering fans. Perhaps my walk will be easier next time if I don’t wear my skates!
Constable Hana Du on patrol.
NEW OFFICER ON PATROL
Welcome Constable Hana Du
The clip-clop of hooves in West End alleys and streets announces the passing of members of the Vancouver City Police mounted unit, whose horses are stabled in Stanley Park.
The mounted unit was formed in 1908 with stables at Main Street and Cordova and was responsible for policing Stanley Park almost from the beginning. A second stable was added near the entrance of the park in 1911, where it remains to this day.
Last month saw the six-member team welcome Constable Hana Du to their ranks. Keep an eye out for her and say “hello” next time you hear that tell-tale clip-clop approaching.
NEW ROUTES AROUND STANLEY PARK
Stanley Park has reopened to vehicles with a new and controversial temporary traffic plan that has cyclists and vehicles sharing the roadway. Lanes are clearly delineated, with bike access on the right lane and motor vehicles on the left.
Not everyone is pleased with this development and many regular park visitors, especially seniors and disabled individuals who depend on car access to visit their favourite spots, have expressed their feeling shut out of the park.
As well, several businesses in the park, including the Stanley Park Teahouse and Brockton Point Cafe, are concerned that their customers, who largely depend on driving to and parking in the park, will be seriously impacted.
Avid cyclist and former Vancouver City Councillor Peter Ladner, posting in avid cyclist and former City Councillor (and longtime West Ender) Gordon Price's blog "Price Tags" had an interesting suggestion for Stanley Park businesses, a suggestion that many felt was dismissive of those concerns. Judge for yourself here.
We’ll all have a better idea, and more to report, by this time next month.
SHORELINE ON DENMAN NOW RENTING
by Stephen Whal
Administrator @ The WestEnders
The conversion of the former Coast Hotel on Denman to residential rentals is going to be transformative.
I hate to say $1,700 a month is decent, but some of these units at the tower now known as Shoreline are renting at $3 to $4 a square foot. With gorgeous views, ensuite washer, dryer, and dishwasher, that will really put downward pressure on all the other new rentals which won't be able to fetch $2,500 anymore.
The rents at Shoreline increase the higher you go in the 32-story tower, with two-bedroom units on the upper levels starting at $3,500 for 1,089 square feet.
And those 50s or 70s building wanting $1,700 for a basic suite will have to reconsider pricing as well. Definitely a perfect storm we haven't seen with respect to downward pressure on rental pricing for decades.
The Siddoo family of Vancouver have owned the property for years and therefore can offer more strategic pricing than recent developers who paid much more for their properties. The development is on a piece of land that could never be rezoned today for that kind of height or density. And the Siddoos have held it for so long that they can basically undercut anyone else.
See the original Georgia Straight story announcing the development here and visit Shorline’s website here
(Photos by Stephen Whal, artist’s rendering by the developer. Click images to enlarge)
