Boomin in Victoria

This post is a deep dive into the moments leading up to the driver of a semi-truck hitting a person on a bicycle back in July of 2022. Unusually, the crash was caught on a webcam. The events leading to the crash suggest a pressing need for red light and speed cameras in Victoria.

Built in 1978 Setting the Stage This evening, the Victoria BC Council will be holding the third, and hopefully the last, day of their public hearing for their 10-year OCP Update. In British Columbia, where I live, municipalities are required to adopt an  Official Community Plan,  or OCP.  According to the province: Official community plans describe the long-term vision of communities. They are a statement of objectives and policies that guide decisions on municipal and regional district planning and land use management. These decisions impact communities' sustainability and resilience. The province changed some of the rules around OCPs as part of their recent housing reforms. Among other things: They have to be updated every five years (down from every ten). They must be aligned with the municipality's Housing Needs Report (HNRs), which identify housing requirements over a 20-year period. They must designate enough land for development to meet the anticipated housing nee...

There's a building proposal for  205 Quebec Street, 507 Montreal Street, and 210-224 Kingston Street in Victoria's James Bay neighbourhood coming to the Committee of the Whole on Thursday, November 21. This proposal first came to council in July 2023 as a 17 storey tower. Council sent it back with "a modified proposal that is more contextual to the surroundings, while retaining the approximate proposed number of homes and floor space ratio." The applicant did that, and the proposal came back again in July 2024 as a 14 storey tower that staff concluded "generally fulfilled Council's direction." Council narrowly moved it…forward… sideways… "directing consultation on the proposed OCP amendment". I have always thought this proposal was fine and deserved support. I still do. As I said in another  letter to council on this project: At the same time, Council's previous decision has delayed this project by an entire year. Even worse, as we all kno...

This is the letter I recently sent to Saanich Council regarding the Draft Quadra McKenzie Plan . It's been lightly edited, but the points haven't changed. Also, I have no idea why I can never see typos until after I hit the send button! The illustrations are all taken from the plan. Dear Mayor and Council, I just finished reading the entire Quadra McKenzie Plan and filling out the feedback survey. I very much appreciate the thoroughness and quality of the Draft Quadra McKenzie Plan document ; please pass on my appreciation to the staff who worked on it! Given that "pushback" has been in the news, I wanted to write to you directly as well. I live in Vic West, not Saanich, so I tend to reserve my land-use comments for City of Victoria issues. In this case, the Quadra Mckenzie plan is so central to the entire region, and I live so close to Saanich, that I wanted to respond. First, I am strongly in favour of the plan, including the shift of road space to transit and activ...

My wife, Irene, also shared her comments on the Victoria's 2025 Draft budget with the city. Some links: The engagement site The 2025-2029 Draft Financial Plan The 2025 Draft Budget Summary The October 24, 2025 Committee of the Whole Meeting Greetings, I’m a taxpaying homeowner and senior in Victoria and, having extensively reviewed the materials attached to the October 24 COTW, I want to congratulate Council and Staff on the fact-based Financial Plan & Budget that you’ve drafted. I am in general support of the Plan and Budget, and I have some specific points I want to share with you. Public Engagement Methodology I really appreciate that you are not just relying on letters and meeting attendance (which allows certain voices to dominate), but have included scientifically valid surveys and in-person engagements with historically under-represented groups in the engagements. I was particularly struck by the IPSOS survey finding that 50% put Housing as their top priority, while only...

The City of Victoria is soliciting input on the 2025 Draft Budget until Sunday, November 17. For what it's worth, here's the input I sent in. Dear Mayor and Council, Here are my comments on the 2025 Draft Budget. They are based on reading the Draft Budget Summary , the Draft Budget , and the Council Orientation presentation from the October 24 COTW meeting . My comments are structured as a set of observations, followed by a list of what I would recommend as city priorities, and some comments on specific projects. I would like to start, however, by expressing my appreciation for the way in which the budget is set out. I’ve lived in a number of cities over the years, and Victoria’s engagement materials are consistently among the clearest and most accessible that I have seen. That said, there are two areas that I think could be clearer: The Council Orientation presentation did a good job of explaining why capital budget costs are increasing (including the built-in 3% annual incr...