Concepts of a downtown plan
Make coffee, not war. And where to watch the Prince George Christmas movies
The last council meeting of the year is happening Monday with a few items on the agenda but the main one, for me, is that council is going to receive the results of the civic core review — the big, master plan for what to do with city-owned properties around city hall and the civic plaza. The basics of this are that with the Four Seasons Pool and old firehall demolished and sitting as empty lots and the city have acquired some nearby property, there’s an opportunity to figure out how to reconfigure all that space to optimize for a downtown civic core.
This is why you’re seeing things like Tourism PG move downtown, too, though it’s not explicitly part of the same plan, it is adjacent — the notion that this space can be activated as an actual, central destination for a variety of reasons. It is, arguably, one of the more significant decisions for the city in this century and there have been several layers of consultatoin on how to proceed.
From public feedback, presented last December, there were three main facilities the public wanted to see:
Mixed use residential housing
A performing arts centre
An updated ice arena [the existing one is nearing end of life]
Now staff has prepared two key concept plans to meet these needs.
Here is option one:
Here is option two:
Civic Core District Plan – Option 1
The performing arts centre is located on the site of the previous Fire Hall #1
The ice arena is located on the site of the previous Four Seasons Pool
Mixed-use residential is on a portion of the site currently occupied by Kopar Memorial Arena
Mixed-use hotel is on the site currently occupied by Knights Inn
Flex-space connects the Conference and Civic Centre and ice arena (pedestrian connection still available).
Parks and open space is located between the performing arts centre and mixed-use residential
Civic Core District Plan – Option 2
The performing arts centre and mixed-use residential is located on the site of the previous Four Seasons Pool
The ice arena is located on the site currently occupied by Kopar Memorial Arena
Mixed-use hotel is on the site currently occupied by Knights Inn
Flex-space (not shown) could connect the Conference and Civic Centre in similar fashion as shown on Civic Core District Plan – Option 1
Flex space, by the way:
Is additional space that could accommodate a variety of users for different types of events that may be in conjunction with, or separate from, the uses occurring in the larger buildings. The indicators of pedestrian connectivity could be ground level and/or above ground level (i.e. sky walk infrastructure).
After being presented with these options, council is told:
Option 1: Council identifies the preferred option and directs Administration to procure consultant services to prepare detailed site design, servicing feasibility studies (i.e. sanitary sewer, water and storm), parking and pedestrian analysis and renderings.
Option 2: Council directs Administration to prepare another conceptual plan as determined by Council with direction on use, location and preferred size of buildings for the Civic Core District Plan.
Option 3: Defer the decision of the Civic Core District Plan to another meeting date that is determined by Council.
Option 4: Council receives the staff report to Council, and does not direct any further action on the Civic Core District Plan.
If these move forward, more work would have to be done figuring out technical steps like parking, etc. Parking does feel like an unfortunately large missing piece to me, having seen just how full the old Four Seasons space has been, lately, whenever there’s a big event at the civic centre (ie Festival of Trees, Winterfest).
Also on the agenda is a presentation from Mayor Simon Yu that he calls a “conceptual vision” which he says is based on years of consultation and conversations including other past visioning sesions. It is somewhat more ambitious:
Yu writes:
The overarching goal of this conceptual vision is to encourage a logical, practical, and phased approach to downtown core development. By fostering public dialogue and prioritizing fiscal responsibility, the plan aims to enhance Prince George’s position as a regional centre while minimizing disruption and financial impact on local residents.
…
Council’s and public’s review and constructive critique of this downtown core development vision is respectfully encouraged.
Regardless of which way council winds up going, there will still be a lot more to be done including figuring out the finances of all of this. But it does get us closer to actually moving toward some things that have been a vision for a long, long time and putting them on the board as something that we will actually do in the near-term future.
Unless, y’know, we don’t.
The crane name
Earlier in the week I asked what name we should give the crane building the hospital parkade. Heather Sapergia suggested “George or Georgette” while Jeremy Solloway writes:
According to the girls at BC Cancer his name is T-Crane
And attached this photo, courtesy Charity Kingsley
Other letters
On the closing of the Nechako Medical Clinic, Heather Livingstone writes:
The framing of the new walk-in clinic system in the Citizen is ridiculous. Reduced hours - except for the fact that there will also be scheduled appointments during the day. You won’t see a doctor immediately - but you also won’t have to get there an hour before opening and stand in the cold. Instead you will actually receive care, perhaps later in the week, without having to stand in a line again.
Like maybe it will all go heck and be terrible, but we are not seriously gonna sit here and pretend that the current model is working, right? Absolutely nothing against the doctors, but let’s be real.
On the new wind power projects, 4streegrrl says:
This takes me back to the early 2010s (?) when companies were putting up little weather and wind towers all over between Vanderhoof and PG, trying to find the sweet windy spot and get in on that call for power. And none got there, although Nulki Hills was the most promising (albeit had a lot of pushback because it is an important moose calving ground, I believe? Big wetlands, some rare plants/ecosystems, popular guiding and hunting area, non-motorized access, etc).
Will be interesting to see how this process goes without the environmental assessment requirement...
And on renewable diesel, Mandi says:
I had to dig into 'renewable diesel' a bit because it's new to me - I know about conventional (of course) and remember when biodiesel started increasing in popularity. "Like biodiesel, renewable diesel is not a fossil fuel. Instead, it is made of nonpetroleum renewable resources such as natural fats, vegetable oils (ie soybean oil), and greases. ... Renewable diesel differs from biodiesel, however, in how it’s processed. Renewable diesel is processed similar to the way petroleum diesel is produced, which makes it chemically the same as petroleum diesel." This comes with none of the downsides of biodiesel (storage and cold weather issues, and the need to have at least a bit of conventional diesel mixed in), burns cleaner, and requires no engine or infrastructure modifications. (Source: https://www.government-fleet.com/156621/what-you-need-to-know-about-renewable-diesel). The Canada Energy Regulator released a market snapshot last May (https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/market-snapshots/2023/market-snapshot-new-renewable-diesel-facilities-will-help-reduce-carbon-intensity-fuels-canada.html) which includes a chart showing demand of the three diesel types - which ALSO shows the Jevons Paradox at play, with a slight increase of demand for conventional and sharp increases for bio and renewable from 2010 to 2021, more than doubling Canada's total demand from 10.75 thousand barrels per day (Mb/d) to 24.5Mb/d. WILD!
Tidewater in PG was expecting a renewables facility to come online is 2023 (their website hasn't been updated) that would generate 3Mb/d, alongside their conventional diesel and gas production (https://www.tidewatermidstream.com/our-operations/)
Make coffee, not war
Starbucks has opened its new location in the Hart — directly across from the independent Open Door Cafe. On Facebook, they shared their response:
Everyone keeps asking how we feel about Starbucks opening across the road. And it’s time for me to share…
Finding out a big corporate business is going to compete with you is scary. And I won’t like, I’ve been nervous. I’ve spent the last decade of my life working towards this dram, and as just one person, I don’t have the corporate pockets to withstand as much as a franchise business can. And between my 25 staff and the 40 local businesses we buy from, there are a lot more people than just me who would be affected.
And with the Starbucks opening, we’ve had two things happen.
There has been an outpouring of community towards us.
People have been downdright hateful towards Starbucks.
People have had to ‘choose a side.’
And while we appreciate the support, it’s very reasonable that we are not everyone’s ‘cup of tea.’ That is okay!
It breaks my heart to see the amount of division this has caused. Community has always been the goal.
But the reason I opened a coffee shop was beacuse coffee brings people together. And I think that’s beautiful. In many ways… Coffee fosters community.
So please…
Join us in fostering community through coffee.
Don’t attack people for being different than you.
If you would love us, we would LOVE your support. If not, that’s okay!
(Though if we did something wrong, please provide feedback, it helps us know what we need to fix!)
Let’s foster community.
My only addition to this is that back in 2007, research indicated a Starbucks opening up actually helped nearby coffee shops by creating new demand. That said, 2007 and 2024 are different times, coffee shops as a concept are pretty well established. And that’s my other addition — I’ve noticed a general vibes trend that Starbucks is no longer seen as the upscale space it was back in 2007 and is now viewed more as just another fast food place.
Where to watch the Prince George Christmas movies
There’s two of them: A Great North Christmas, filmed and set in Prince George, and Meeting Mr. Christmas, which was made by the lead actress in A Great North Christmas after she enjoyed the vibes of the city and decided to direct her own movie here. Both films are available for free on Tubi using the links I just put up there or by searching here.
As I wrote in a previous Christmas newsletter:
Your results may vary when it comes to Hallmark-style Christmas films but if you are going to watch one, it might as well be one where MP Todd Doherty tells the film’s hero she has work due on the 26th of December “is that going to be a problem” and the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club masquerades as a luxury resort (a good idea if you ask me) and former city councillor Cameron Stolz walks in the background and downtown Prince George is done up to look like Christmastown, U.S.A. (tbh, downtown Prince George at Christmas really is nice, especially 4th Ave.). It is cool to see well-known landmarks through the eyes of a director invested in making it look nice!
News roundup:
Caledonia Nordic Ski Club set to host Biathlon Canada Youth/Junior World Championship Trials.
Daytime shooting sends man to hospital with ‘severe’ but non-life-threatening injuries.
New fund aims to bring more vets to rural B.C. as farmers, ranchers struggle.
Renewable diesel refinery could close by March if foreign subsidy issues not resolved.
Heritage commission pitches increase in number of members, meetings.
McBride's Tanner Molendyk ready for second world junior tournament.
PG film producer documenting life of Battlestar Galactica star Michael Hogan.
Nelly's Pub takes fundraising trophy for the second year running.
Operation Red Nose expecting busy weekend with Christmas parties.
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One thing I'd love to see, especially with the lack of parking included in the plan, is some sort of secure bike lockers/storage. I emailed council about this some time ago but didn't get much of a response.
Mayor Yu's concept is...umm...ambitious.