Sharing community feedback – part two

This week we bring you a continuation of last week’s post. Below you will find additional samples of feedback we received via comment cards at various community engagement events on Harbourside.  

“Proposal is too uniform and boring - provide more height variation….” 
The artistic renderings which have been released to date are intended to give an overall sense of building scale and placement. Considerably more time will be spent refining the look of individual buildings to ensure there is enough variation to be visually interesting and avoid monotony. With the help of several architectural firms, each building will undergo separate Design Panel reviews by the City before development permits are issued. Building heights have been prescribed in the Official Community Plan (OCP), and will range from a maximum of eight or nine stories, to a low of just two stories. 

“I like the idea. As presented, this would be an attractive, usable addition to the City waterfront.”
Our sentiments exactly! The whole Concert team is excited for the opportunity to create something truly special and unique for North Vancouver.  

“A good mix of all is fine, providing everyone has access to the waterfront.”
We can assure you that the waterfront will remain fully accessible to everyone. Through a separate, City-led “parks process”, the exact look and feel of the waterfront and adjacent park space will be defined. 

“Would need better pedestrian and vehicle access. The traffic has increased greatly on the North Shore over the years with no increase in public transportation and our main street, i.e. Marine Drive, cannot handle the increasing numbers. The existing bridges are unsafe for pedestrians.”
In conjunction with transportation consultants Bunt & Associates, the issue of traffic flow has been considered holistically within a broader examination of transportation planning. For more information on plans to address the issue from all angles, see the post entitled “Traffic concerns at Harbourside”. To read about plans to expand the Spirit Trail, an important element for pedestrian connectivity at Harbourside, see “The Spirit Trail - Connecting the North Shore Communities”. Regarding bridge safety, there have actually been recent upgrades to the Bewicke Bridge. The bridge now includes a separated pedestrian walkway, and in future safety upgrades are planned for Bewicke Avenue to make this route a viable and safe option for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Watch for future blog posts where we will share and address further feedback we have received from the community.