Quote:
Originally Posted by red-paladin
The empty lots near Nanaimo station sure are depressing. However, if the zoning isn't there and the community rejects higher density, they could stay that way forever  |
Not exactly... It just takes a city government brave enough to open up the "can of worms" and who is willing to make a strong case about how the redevelopment will help the local area and the city as a whole.
Looking at the older plans for Commercial-Broadway, Nanaimo and 29th Avenue, one can tell that the people were concerned about communities within a kilometre of the station being evicted and their homes (some of heritage value) being torn down for apartments for new residents... and in that view, perhaps there's a justification (a weak one perhaps) to stall development for a few years...
If this is the case (again not proven) it may be possible still to develop a new series of Expo Line plans that takes advantage of what is already accepted on the Cambie Corridor and that proposes slightly higher densities within 500 m or less from the stations. If this can be realized, perhaps these Expo Line stations can (finally) become mini transit nodes similar to the ones already planned for King Edward and Langara stations.
Also, I don't think community and town centre plans have a predefined time that they're required to be "in-force" or expire... so yes, they can go on infinite, but you can also throw them out after a few months (and in the process drive people nuts).