Burnaby Updates

[SpongeG]

there are a number of smaller office buildings in the Brentwood area. Such as the two next to the Gilmore project. The one where Grosvenor will be building at Beta and Lougheed.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Is there still just the one office building here at Brentwood, either already built / proposed?

The WeWork space in Amazing Brentwood? Seems like with the popularity of condos in the area that office might be squeezed to some of the other Skytrain stations nearby that might not be as viable for residential.

[ecbin]

Originally Posted by gaviscon

Do you guys think the Metrotown and Brentwood skylines will eventually become connected into one giant downtown?

Nope (at least not in the next 100 years). The zoning of Burnaby is a grand bargain in that the city chose to cluster all the density around a few town centres with an unwritten promise to not touch SFH (rich people). There's a pretty minimal concept of missing middle in Burnaby.

I'm new to living in Burnaby (lived in Vancouver and Richmond all my life) and am surprised how much less liveable Burnaby is compared to Vancouver. In Vancouver there's wide sidewalks (and curb ramps everywhere), bike lanes, plentiful street lighting, lots of trees, even a reasonable mix of commercial near residential etc but in Burnaby the city is designed for passing through.

Considering the massive surpluses that Burnaby runs I'm disappointed in the lack of vision of our leaders especially considering the opportunity - this could/should be a GREAT city.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by ecbin

I'm new to living in Burnaby (lived in Vancouver and Richmond all my life) and am surprised how much less liveable Burnaby is compared to Vancouver. In Vancouver there's wide sidewalks (and curb ramps everywhere), bike lanes, plentiful street lighting, lots of trees, even a reasonable mix of commercial near residential etc but in Burnaby the city is designed for passing through.

Considering the massive surpluses that Burnaby runs I'm disappointed in the lack of vision of our leaders especially considering the opportunity - this could/should be a GREAT city.

Vancouver focuses on "nice to haves" rather than necessities.
Are Vancouver property taxes much higher than Burnaby's?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Vancouver focuses on "nice to haves" rather than necessities.
Are Vancouver property taxes much higher than Burnaby's?

This article says on appraised value it's higher in Burnaby

He noted the percentage of property values that is taxed by Metro Vancouver cities, including Burnaby, is among the lowest in Canada. In Vancouver, it was about 0.25% of the assessed property value in 2021, and in Burnaby it was about 0.32%

https://burnabybeacon.com/article/pr...bc-assessment/

[ecbin]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Vancouver focuses on "nice to haves" rather than necessities.
Are Vancouver property taxes much higher than Burnaby's?

Vancouver seems to do a much better job of providing most necessities than Burnaby - 95% coverage of streets with lighting (Burnaby's streetlight situation is abysmal), a substantial bike lane network, crosswalks, curb ramps for accessibility, sidewalks that are setback from the street for safety...Burnaby seems to do community centres better but I haven't seen much else so far that Burnaby does better.

Originally Posted by jollyburger

This article says on appraised value it's higher in Burnaby
https://burnabybeacon.com/article/pr...bc-assessment/

Vancouver also spends more on things that are technically the responsibility of the Federal and Provincial gov't (https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/city...-federal-costs). They've made the call that addressing homelessness and affordability are things that the Feds aren't doing enough of so they've taken it upon themselves to deal with it.

I ran the math at some point on taxes on a per citizen basis and Burnaby came out with higher taxes (but Vancouver gets more tax revenue from businesses so it's not apples to apples). So there's way to make one look worse than the other - generally speaking most cities of similar types spend about the same amount.

In Burnaby's case it's packing away nearly 20% of their budget into a billion dollar emergency fund of which I have a lot of questions about (like why does a city like Burnaby need that size of fund?)

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by ecbin

Nope (at least not in the next 100 years). The zoning of Burnaby is a grand bargain in that the city chose to cluster all the density around a few town centres with an unwritten promise to not touch SFH (rich people). There's a pretty minimal concept of missing middle in Burnaby.

I'm new to living in Burnaby (lived in Vancouver and Richmond all my life) and am surprised how much less liveable Burnaby is compared to Vancouver. In Vancouver there's wide sidewalks (and curb ramps everywhere), bike lanes, plentiful street lighting, lots of trees, even a reasonable mix of commercial near residential etc but in Burnaby the city is designed for passing through.

Considering the massive surpluses that Burnaby runs I'm disappointed in the lack of vision of our leaders especially considering the opportunity - this could/should be a GREAT city.

I grew up in N Delta and have spent time in Surrey before moving to Burnaby just over 20 years ago. I'll agree that the City sitting on a stupidly large fund is frustrating - there are soo many things they could be spending it on. Otherwise I don't think things are so bad here.

I don't know that I'd call people living in SFH 'rich people' as probably a lot of them have been living in that house for longer than I've been living here. You know, back when people could actually afford to buy something larger than a shoebox to live in. Chances are at least some of them would like to downsize but real estate prices cut both ways. Sure they could make a lot of money selling their current place but their smaller place would cost a lot too. In the end it might not be worth it.

I've noticed since the last full election (aka not the byelection we had during the heat dome) that things have started to change - once the entire council wasn't the same party. For example our previous mayor wouldn't do a thing about affordable housing / homelessness and now there are a number of affordable buildings being fast tracked through development.

I don't know if you've seen the Burnaby Transportation Plan. They've also started adding lighting along the BC Parkway (Expo Line) shared bike path (I haven't been out in the evening to see how far along that is).

For any decently formed ideas of things you want to see done / changed you should e-mail the mayor (with first and last name and street address) and it'll be forwarded towards whichever dept is most appropriate.

[rofina]

Originally Posted by ecbin

Nope (at least not in the next 100 years). The zoning of Burnaby is a grand bargain in that the city chose to cluster all the density around a few town centres with an unwritten promise to not touch SFH (rich people). There's a pretty minimal concept of missing middle in Burnaby.

I'm new to living in Burnaby (lived in Vancouver and Richmond all my life) and am surprised how much less liveable Burnaby is compared to Vancouver. In Vancouver there's wide sidewalks (and curb ramps everywhere), bike lanes, plentiful street lighting, lots of trees, even a reasonable mix of commercial near residential etc but in Burnaby the city is designed for passing through.

Considering the massive surpluses that Burnaby runs I'm disappointed in the lack of vision of our leaders especially considering the opportunity - this could/should be a GREAT city.

That's funny, I think the exact opposite. I was elated when I moved away from Vancouver to North Burnaby. I think North Burnaby/Brentwood are one of the best areas in the Lower Mainland.

To each his own, clearly.

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by rofina

That's funny, I think the exact opposite. I was elated when I moved away from Vancouver to North Burnaby. I think North Burnaby/Brentwood are one of the best areas in the Lower Mainland.

To each his own, clearly.

It really depends on the area of Burnaby. South Burnaby (across the border from New West) is really hit or miss, some of the streets have sidewalks and traffic calming, some of the streets have gravel shoulders and potholes. It's really inconsistent, as evidenced here.

You only really have to cycle or walk along the BC Parkway in Burnaby to see this inconsistency. Parts of it are great, other parts of it are terrible. For a city that has massive amounts of money there's no good reason why there should be terrible parts. I'm not saying it all has to be great, but at least make average your goal.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by CanSpice

It really depends on the area of Burnaby. South Burnaby (across the border from New West) is really hit or miss, some of the streets have sidewalks and traffic calming, some of the streets have gravel shoulders and potholes. It's really inconsistent, as evidenced here.

You only really have to cycle or walk along the BC Parkway in Burnaby to see this inconsistency. Parts of it are great, other parts of it are terrible. For a city that has massive amounts of money there's no good reason why there should be terrible parts. I'm not saying it all has to be great, but at least make average your goal.

Don't forget that compared to Vancouver and New West, Burnaby is a relatively new suburb bedroom/industrial/agricultural community that emerged to rival its much older municipalities on both sides of its borders in recent years. It only became a City in the year 1992, compared to Vancouver's establishment more than a century ago in 1886, and New West even older in 1860. The creation of Metrotown Mall brought in massive developments and many areas are even more advanced than Vancouver's own suburbs (neighbourhoods outside downtown) these days. With that in mind, one should be amazed at the rapid development of this City.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Vin

Don't forget that compared to Vancouver and New West, Burnaby is a relatively new suburb bedroom/industrial/agricultural community that emerged to rival its much older municipalities on both sides of its borders in recent years. It only became a City in the year 1992, compared to Vancouver's establishment more than a century ago in 1886, and New West even older in 1860. The creation of Metrotown Mall brought in massive developments and many areas are even more advanced than Vancouver's own suburbs (neighbourhoods outside downtown) these days. With that in mind, one should be amazed at the rapid development of this City.

What total rubbish. Burnaby was incorporated in 1892. The fact that it was a district municipality for one hundred years before being granted civic status in 1992 doesn't make any difference.

One hundred years ago (in the 1921 census) there were 12,883 residents living in Burnaby, and 14,495 in New Westminster (which was the second largest municipality after Vancouver). In the next decade New Westminster added 3,000 people, and Burnaby doubled to give it 25,564 residents, making it the second largest population after Vancouver.

It passed 100,000 residents in 1961, and was finally overtaken by Surrey in 1981. With a 2021 population of over 249,000, it's still the third largest municipality in Metro Vancouver.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Changing City

What total rubbish. Burnaby was incorporated in 1892. The fact that it was a district municipality for one hundred years before being granted civic status in 1992 doesn't make any difference.

One hundred years ago (in the 1921 census) there were 12,883 residents living in Burnaby, and 14,495 in New Westminster (which was the second largest municipality after Vancouver). In the next decade New Westminster added 3,000 people, and Burnaby doubled to give it 25,564 residents, making it the second largest population after Vancouver.

It passed 100,000 residents in 1961, and was finally overtaken by Surrey in 1981. With a 2021 population of over 249,000, it's still the third largest municipality in Metro Vancouver.

A settlement can be incorporated, but it can be a sleepy and unimportant residential backwater and remain a village or town if it does not have the right facilities and infrastructure to move forward. Burnaby became a City in 1992, a full hundred years after its incorporation. It used to play second fiddle to two major cities by its borders, but no longer once it reached city status, as is evident by how far the City has grown since.

You conveniently left out the fact that in 1921, Vancouver's population was 163,220 versus Burnaby's mere 12,883. By 2016, Vancouver's population is 631,490 versus Burnaby's 232,755. Your rubbish analysis does not point to the fact that even though Vancouver's population increased by almost 4 times, Burnaby's increased by an amazing 18 times!

[SpongeG]

I remember seeing some letters to the editors over the years, some Burnaby residents were mad that their street was putting in sidewalks, they didn't want strangers being able to walk in their area seemed to be the basis for the complaint. They preferred no sidewalks as it had been for decades. Others also didn't like that sidewalks would make it harder for people to park on the street and they liked all the extra room they had to park their car.

North Burnaby imo is much better than south of Highway 1.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

I remember seeing some letters to the editors over the years, some Burnaby residents were mad that their street was putting in sidewalks, they didn't want strangers being able to walk in their area seemed to be the basis for the complaint. They preferred no sidewalks as it had been for decades.

i get that. a few things i have noticed in Vancouver over the years is that with a sidewalk, more people walk on your street. i have also noticed that with sidewalks also comes more garbage, dog poop, etc. in Vancouver, the side of the street with sidewalks has more issues with people walking on grass, leaving dog poop behind, and more garbage vs the people on the other side with no sidewalk.

personally, i would rather have no sidewalk for those reasons.

[jollyburger]

FYI

The City plans to build more than 20 kilometers of new sidewalks each year. In 2021, we’re building more than 30 new sidewalks throughout the city and are planning a similar number for 2022.

The interactive map below features the new sidewalks planned in the 2021 and 2022 programs.

https://www.burnaby.ca/our-city/projects/new-sidewalks

[ecbin]

Originally Posted by rofina

That's funny, I think the exact opposite. I was elated when I moved away from Vancouver to North Burnaby. I think North Burnaby/Brentwood are one of the best areas in the Lower Mainland.

To each his own, clearly.

North Burnaby is probably the best neighbourhood in Burnaby but that's almost entirely because it's a copy of Vancouver. If you look at satellite images you'll see that it's the one part of Burnaby which is largely indistinguishable from Vancouver - it features similar lot sizes, similar lighting (find night photos of the two sides), and similar attention to liveability/accessibility (good access to stores, nice sidewalks, useful traffic calming). It might as well be part of Vancouver (and the housing prices there show it).

Brentwood less so though - that is clearly a Burnaby neighbourhood. I live over in Garden Village (North of Central Park) and that whole area is clearly a couple levels lower in quality than Vancouver.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by ecbin

Vancouver seems to do a much better job of providing most necessities than Burnaby - 95% coverage of streets with lighting (Burnaby's streetlight situation is abysmal),

Here's a helpful aerial image from NASA to illustrate your point about the levels of street lighting in Vancouver and Burnaby. (Taken in 2013)


[Rennie] [bigger version here]

[Lisaismyfav]

Originally Posted by ecbin

North Burnaby is probably the best neighbourhood in Burnaby but that's almost entirely because it's a copy of Vancouver. If you look at satellite images you'll see that it's the one part of Burnaby which is largely indistinguishable from Vancouver - it features similar lot sizes, similar lighting (find night photos of the two sides), and similar attention to liveability/accessibility (good access to stores, nice sidewalks, useful traffic calming). It might as well be part of Vancouver (and the housing prices there show it).

Brentwood less so though - that is clearly a Burnaby neighbourhood. I live over in Garden Village (North of Central Park) and that whole area is clearly a couple levels lower in quality than Vancouver.

Literally had to create an account just to reply to this. Have you lived in /been to Brentwood recently? My sibling lives in Kerrisdale in Vancouver and the streets there are pitch dark at night and the roads look like they haven't been repaved in a hundred years. Also if property prices are anything to go by, Brentwood is actually rising faster than anything else in the area (plus Brentwood is considered North Burnaby too).

[jollyburger]

Seems like from this article they have around 44,000 street lights in Vancouver

https://www.straight.com/news/vancou...s-on-four-year

Around 11,600 in Burnaby

https://www.burnabynow.com/local-new...to-led-3097977

Burnaby's BYOB street light and sidewalk program

https://www.burnaby.ca/services-and-...ervice-program

And this gem on Reddit:

My area was developed about 35 years ago. At that time they actually asked the residents of each block about lighting and sidewalks. The result: my block has streetlights, the next doesn't, and there're no sidewalks. The main roads, of course, have both.

https://www.reddit.com/r/burnaby/com...ts_in_burnaby/

Street lighting in Burnaby (GIS)

https://data.burnaby.ca/datasets/08d...977804%2C12.94

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Street lighting in Burnaby (GIS)

https://data.burnaby.ca/datasets/08d...977804%2C12.94

While I have no doubt there are areas lacking street lights (and honestly the city should mandate a minimum number of lights per block) that map isn't entirely accurate. I looked at a few areas I know and it was showing no street lights - on driveways, alleys and in parks. It also shows none on Kyle St (BCIT) and a look on google street view shows regularly spaced street lights. I'm sure I could find more areas if I looked but this should be enough to get my point across.