Langford is a municipality in Victoria's western suburbs that gets a lot of heat for its big boxes, suburban sprawl, etc. However, on one particular street they seem to be making a legitimate effort to create something resembling an urban downtown. Here are some excerpts from the city of Langford's website:
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City Council has recognized that Langford lacks a vibrant and strong downtown core.
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Downtown Langford will display a more intimate relationship with street fronts, particularly Goldstream Avenue where buildings will be located close to the right-of-way edge. Streets will be landscaped, most will have a tree canopy and some may have boulevards. Overhead wiring will be a thing of the past. The pedestrian realm will have street furniture, wide sidewalks and outdoor cafes. Pedestrians will be encouraged to use the downtown and Goldstream Avenue and side streets will be pedestrian-friendly.
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Parking will be placed behind buildings, in underground parking lots and on Goldstream Avenue instead of between buildings and the street (i.e., strip malls).
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All primary buildings should be oriented to the street and should have a clear and positive pedestrian orientation such as direct entrances to the street;
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I haven't been to Langford in ages but I understand there are some new buildings that jive with these guidelines. One of them is "Reflections":
Picture from
www.realtor.ca
This next one is more traditionally suburban in its esthetics, but the shops on the ground floor and their proximity to the sidewalk are both in keeping with the city's vision for this suburban avenue:
Picture from
www.victoriahousesforsale.com
Not all is good: there are some rather hokey new buildings (faux Victorian heritage that has no relevance in Langford, for example). Overall, the architectural esthetics are still predominately suburban. And there are no highrises at present, nor will there be in the foreseeable future.
But I still think Langford deserves a lot of credit for making a go of this. It's not a real downtown yet by any means and it probably never will be, but give it fifteen or twenty years to evolve and mature and develop some architectural variety and it might just turn out to be pretty nice.
No matter what happens, the streetscape itself will be very cozy and pedestrian-friendly. That alone is an accomplishment in a suburb such as this.