Burnaby Updates

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

I see that even a possible new City Hall proposal is not spared the wrath of the notorious Nimby McNimberson Esq.

Do you think any of those respondents have recently tried to park in Metrotown? There is almost always space underneath the Library, Crystal Mall, and Metrotown.

I also had to laugh at the number of people who want construction to cease in Metrotown (and I imagine Brentwood, too). Do they think Burnaby's "downtown" is anywhere close to being built-out?

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

I mean... there is no 100% reason to locate a City Hall and admin buildings in the middle of downtown. Vancouver doesn't even do that.

I think City Halls are typically located downtown, or at least downtown-adjacent. Vancouver City Hall is a 10-minute bike ride from DT and two stops on the Canada Line. Meanwhile the feel of Burnaby's City Hall is more suburban office park than central city.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by madog222

Combie REIT owns it, there hasn't been any proposal yet.

I know - the city doesn't own the site. It's just a better suggestion than any of the other people on Burnaby Now came up with.

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

Do you think any of those respondents have recently tried to park in Metrotown? There is almost always space underneath the Library, Crystal Mall, and Metrotown.

I also had to laugh at the number of people who want construction to cease in Metrotown (and I imagine Brentwood, too). Do they think Burnaby's "downtown" is anywhere close to being built-out?

Of course not. They either live in the area and don't want anyone to drive there, or they drive there and don't want to risk not being able to get their ideal parking spot.

Originally Posted by madog222

BC Hydro. The bus loop is actually part of that parcel.
It's seems there has been some work on remediating the site in recent years. https://csapsociety.bc.ca/wp-content...-cover-ltr.pdf

Don't tell me they're finally going to do something with the land?!? The most Hydro has done is leave some of the area around the main building open so people can use it as a park.

[mcj]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

I mean... there is no 100% reason to locate a City Hall and admin buildings in the middle of downtown. Vancouver doesn't even do that.

Surrey spent nearly $100M moving theirs "downtown" a decade ago though.

And almost every suburb besides Burnaby (and Surrey prior to their move) has their City Hall either in their "downtown" or very close to it.

[Lexus]

Originally Posted by Lexus

Great find! thanks! It would be great to have that gas station to be gone. Also those SFH along Kathleen should go too...development at 5980 Kathleen already removed 4 of those SFH.
So this is next to this development:

Untitled by Lexus LX600, on Flickr

2023, May 13

Untitled by Lexus LX600, on Flickr

Riviera Bennet 4900

Untitled by Lexus LX600, on Flickr

[fredinno]

Originally Posted by mcj

Surrey spent nearly $100M moving theirs "downtown" a decade ago though.

And almost every suburb besides Burnaby (and Surrey prior to their move) has their City Hall either in their "downtown" or very close to it.

IMO they're just going to dovetail this to the Metropolis at Metrotown redevelopment so they can further 'justify' the mall's demolition...

The bus loop area was envisioned to become a 'convention center' in the future- and technically, a bus loop around BC Parkway would actually be faster for Metrotown bus riders at this point (the buses take a while to be allowed to get out of the loop, and you need to wait to cross Central Blvd.)
They could add a tower on top of the 'convention center' space for the City Hall.

This is already close to existing Civic Facilities, and is in a good location.

[Lexus]

There are 3 locations for future hall being considered at this time. Patterson, Metrotown Library and Bonsor. There is a concept at the mayor’s office that illustrates city hall at Bonsor with a span over and across SkyTrain tracks.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Lexus

There are 3 locations for future hall being considered at this time. Patterson, Metrotown Library and Bonsor. There is a concept at the mayor’s office that illustrates city hall at Bonsor with a span over and across SkyTrain tracks.

I wish it was online so I could see it. All of these are plausible logical spots for a new City Hall - hell I even mentioned them a couple pages ago (without having seen the concept).

[fredinno]

Originally Posted by Lexus

There are 3 locations for future hall being considered at this time. Patterson, Metrotown Library and Bonsor. There is a concept at the mayor’s office that illustrates city hall at Bonsor with a span over and across SkyTrain tracks.

So over and across the on the intersection of Imperial and Bonsor?
That seems interesting.

Metrotown Library seems the most logical though- building on top of the library.

What does the Patterson one look like?
Is it at Kinnee Park, or is there some other city-owned plot they're considering?

[madog222]

Originally Posted by fredinno

So over and across the on the intersection of Imperial and Bonsor?

I pictured across Central just south of Bonsor Ave.

[Lexus]

Originally Posted by madog222

I pictured across Central just south of Bonsor Ave.

Yes it’s Central just south of Bonsor Ave.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by fredinno

So over and across the on the intersection of Imperial and Bonsor?
That seems interesting.

Metrotown Library seems the most logical though- building on top of the library.

What does the Patterson one look like?
Is it at Kinnee Park, or is there some other city-owned plot they're considering?

I would have thought Metrotown Library would be the least likely of the three.

Kinnee Park isn't all that large. The corner of Central Park just behind Jubilee Grove Arch would give them plenty of space - and it has the only view cone in Burnaby.

One of these days we'll find out where they decide to move to and then we can debate the building design.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by Lexus

... There is a concept at the mayor’s office that illustrates city hall at Bonsor with a span over and across SkyTrain tracks.

I dunno, that kind of thing always gets suggested, but then the actual planning and budget comes out and they always go with something much more vanilla.

[fredinno]

Originally Posted by Sheba

I would have thought Metrotown Library would be the least likely of the three.

Kinnee Park isn't all that large. The corner of Central Park just behind Jubilee Grove Arch would give them plenty of space - and it has the only view cone in Burnaby.

One of these days we'll find out where they decide to move to and then we can debate the building design.

Dunno, ask @Lexus.

It would, but I'm not sure people would be fine with them removing land from the main park in Metrotown without adding more space elsewhere.
It's different for a smaller park like Kinnee Park that's not as important.


Kinnee Park is roughly the same size as Surrey City Hall, so that small.

Maybe. Metrotown Library has a lot of space and would be the most central location, even though the option would be more expensive.
It fits in with their plans to make the area around Metrotown Station more of a public hub area.


Either way, I took note of that other guy's suggestion of developing the graveyards.
There's the possibility of doing this that would be worthwhile with each of Burnaby's Town Centers (+ Oakridge).


Turquoise is new development lands (29.5 ha.)
Green is new post-cemetery parklands (42.3 ha - overall doubling the park's size (though making much of it less accessable.)

The land the Stadium is on can be left as is, depending on the plans.



If you want to see more, I can show you the other 4.

Originally Posted by Lexus

Yes it’s Central just south of Bonsor Ave.

That doesn't make sense.
Why are they building over the tracks then?

Also, do you know where the Patterson location is?

[gaviscon]

The graveyard is just too big.

We need to remove it and develop it in time for the line extension connecting UBC and Metrotown. The line should stop near Boundary Rd. before turning northward to Metrotown stn.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by gaviscon

The graveyard is just too big.

We need to remove it and develop it in time for the line extension connecting UBC and Metrotown. The line should stop near Boundary Rd. before turning northward to Metrotown stn.

It's private land.
You can't just "remove it" and develop it without the owners' say-so, or them selling the land, anymore than you can "remove" or "move" any of the SFH land and lots that surround it.

(Which should clue you into why it's located where it is - in the SFH zoned area of that part of Metrotown.)

That part of the city (south of Imperial) isn't zoned for high density residential or commercal construction anyway per the OCP, so it's a moot point unless the city were to change the zoning designation of that area.

And any skytrain line extension to the area (whether from North shore and Brentwood or from UBC and/or the River district in the west) will almost certainly likely be sub-terrenean and far enough underground that none of any of this will be an issue.

[fredinno]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

It's private land.
You can't just "remove it" and develop it without the owners' say-so, or them selling the land, anymore than you can "remove" or "move" any of the SFH land and lots that surround it.

(Which should clue you into why it's located where it is - in the SFH zoned area of that part of Metrotown.)

That part of the city (south of Imperial) isn't zoned for high density residential or commercal construction anyway per the OCP, so it's a moot point unless the city were to change the zoning designation of that area.

And any skytrain line extension to the area (whether from North shore and Brentwood or from UBC and/or the River district in the west) will almost certainly likely be sub-terrenean and far enough underground that none of any of this will be an issue.

Not necessarily. At no point in the line does SkyTrain go over 6% grade (if they use double-height tracks over Champlain heights.) No tunnel is needed if they go across the cemetery.

But yeah, that zoning and private ownership is why I de-zoned parkland amounting to half the size of the added cemetery land to compensate for the losses.


Technically, there's actually a shortage of cemetery land right now, but I don't really view that as a major concern, considering there's little reason to place them near the city and not in less valuable areas up in the mountains or east of the region.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by fredinno

Not necessarily. At no point in the line does SkyTrain go over 6% grade (if they use double-height tracks over Champlain heights.) No tunnel is needed if they go across the cemetery.

But yeah, that zoning and private ownership is why I de-zoned parkland amounting to half the size of the added cemetery land to compensate for the losses.


Technically, there's actually a shortage of cemetery land right now, but I don't really view that as a major concern, considering there's little reason to place them near the city and not in less valuable areas up in the mountains or east of the region.

Well, yes, in the case of a possible UBC extension line they wouldn't need to go underground for slope issues, as they would be forced to for the North shore-Brentwood-Metrotown line.

But going underground in both cases would (I feel) give Translink and the cities fewer administrative and political issues related with the land required for both the guidway tracks for one thing, and on the other hand, and in addition there's been increased volume (if you forgive the pun) of complaints in recent days over how noisy the Skytrain cars are that are travelling close to residential areas*, and since that line will primarily be traversing SFH neighbourhoods, I would reckon that's one less NIMBY headache that both Translink and the cities would rather not have to deal with, and if given the option they'll just choose to go underground for both lines.

Or at least that's the way I see it.

(*for the record, I think it's a silly complaint.
If you choose to move to live next to a skytrain track or station, you can't turn around and start complaining about how noisy the trains are. I can understand from the perspective of the people who were already living there before the tracks were built, but even in those situations you know what the skytrain coming will mean in terms of how it will affect noise in the neighbourhood.

Part of the problem will be alleviated in a couple of years when they replace all the Mark I cars with the new replacements which are less noisy, but trains are trains, and there's no such thing as a silent or stealthy train)

[jollyburger]

Developing graveyards. Good luck with getting that through.

[gaviscon]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Developing graveyards. Good luck with getting that through.

Developing those 3 sites in Burnaby is our only hope.
If only we can get a hold of the one sitting beside BCIT especially..
I hope it happens soon

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by gaviscon

Developing those 3 sites in Burnaby is our only hope.
If only we can get a hold of the one sitting beside BCIT especially..
I hope it happens soon

there will not be development of grave yards. that wont happen. period.