Watch closely: We’re about to cram three crucially important city projects into one digestible blurb. And, we’ll make it engaging. Tabloidy, even. First up: COGSWELL INTERCHANGE TO BE DEMOLISHED!
…That is, if the downtown portion of HRM by Design has its way. Last night, staff presented their Preferred Downtown Scenario at the World Trade and Convention Centre.
One of the major points the Design staff will impress upon councillors: the Cogswell Interchange must go. Dale Godsoe, chair of the Urban Design Task Force, notes the perks of crushing Cogswell.
“When it comes to the future of the downtown, people seem to get hung up on height,” she says. “But by taking away the interchange and reserving that space for buildings of the highest recommended height, you remove…not all, but many of the view plane restrictions.”
Although verbal interchange-bashing is nothing new, Godsoe hopes the Design staff can push council to start the physical interchange-bashing. With wrecking balls. Soon.
“That’s really one of the big messages: get moving on the Cogswell Interchange. There wasn’t much disagreement on that…from the public.”
Design staff have also laid out form-based design codes for different sections of downtown, the hope being that new buildings and public space will be of a more consistent quality.
“We’re really drilling down and getting practical about how that needs to be done,” she says. “It’s as specific as each downtown block will have certain rules…. There’s not a lot of room for confusion.”
Staffers also focused on empty buildings and lots in the downtown area—”Vacant teeth,” as Godsoe calls them—and the need to put them to use.
And hey, speaking of vacant buildings…CITY TEARS DOWN QUEEN ELIZABETH HIGH TO PUT UP PARKING LOT!
Yes, it’s true—that’s exactly the sort of theoretical scenario that citizens say they don’t want for the former high school. On Monday, a group of roughly 50 people gathered at the St. Mary’s Boat Club to discuss what should happen to the QEH property. Cries of “No parking!” were lobbed from the crowd throughout the evening.
The debate was primarily focused on whether the lot, which sits on the publicly owned Common, will be rededicated as green space or become an extension for the QEII hospital. The city is still considering their options. And in our last sensational headline… CITY STEALS FROM CITIZENS, NEIGHBOURHOOD!
Sadly, this one is basically true. Residents on Chebucto Road are low on options since council voted to go ahead with the road-widening project last week.
HRM’s transportation manager Dave McCusker wrote a letter to the Herald on Saturday to defend the plan, calling it a “critical and integral part” of the city’s regional plan. He even referenced HRM by Design, saying Chebucto is the sort of project that is utterly necessary for such long-term projects.
We ask Godsoe about the letter, and if a project like Chebucto can really be considered good design.
“The Chebucto project is a process that started well before we even came in….I really don’t know enough about it to comment.”
That sure doesn’t sound like a critical component. For our part, we’re not convinced that any project with a 25-year outlook (á la the regional plan) should be propping up commuter traffic. Is that what the city considers long-term vision? It’s scandalous!
The tabloids should really pick up on this stuff.
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2007.
As any one thought to have a “green” parking lot, if the parking lot is multi-level then wouldn’t it be possible to use the roof as a green space? This way the hospital gets its extra parking, but no green space is lost. Many cities in Europe do this and it is a creat way of optimizing limited space