Caution is in the wind over further shopping developments on the highway

The plans by Royop to develop a stretch of highway 16 for a shopping development are ok, but don’t start a land rush out on the highway seems to be the warning.

One of the consultants involved in the Quality of Life study issued a warning that a large scale amount of development in the Highway 16/ BC Hydro lands area would send the downtown core shopping district into a tailspin. He urged caution in development beyond the planned shopping mall that Royop hopes to build in the city one day.

Tom Becker of UMA Engineering, also addressed a perception that many in the city have over a lack of imagination when it comes to making best the visual landscape that is Prince Rupert, pointing to the downtown Mall as a structure that has done nothing to capitalize on its view of the harbour or highlight that view, Becker urged city council to make the visual attractiveness of the city part of the development picture in the future.

The full details of the recommendations including the always controversial commercial concerns can be found in Friday’s Daily News.

‘MORE OUT-OF-TOWN STORES WOULD KILL DOWNTOWN’
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, May 11, 2007
Page one

The city should not develop any further commercial retail areas along Highway 16 beyond its current plans, said a consultant who assembled the city's Quality of Life Community Plan.
Addressing council Monday night, Tom Becker of UMA Engineering, said the planned Royop shopping development is fine but further retail development along the highway could "be the kiss of death" for the downtown.

"I've worked in far too many communities in B.C. that have seen incredible damage that can occur with too much development on arterial roads coming into the city -not just at the expense of the downtown, but at the expense to your tax base and your community pride," said Becker.
The Royop Corporation is looking to develop a 25-acre site featuring two or three big box stores on the B.C. Hydro property off Highway 16.

Becker said the location is a good one for this type of development and said that if it had gone downtown, the need for large amounts of parking could have destroyed the advantages of the downtown area.

"I would not like to see it develop down the highway too much further but I also acknowledge that kind of development can't be downtown if they are large-foot-print buildings. They would actually be a detriment to downtown because you lose that kind of retail environment with the store fronts which is so nice on Third Avenue right now. "

Becker said he doesn't foresee developers really wanting to develop more retail on Highway 16 because Prince Rupert's population will always be somewhat limited by its geography.

However, he encouraged the city to work with its merchants and chamber of commerce to strengthen the downtown by bringing in foot traffic, greening the area and promoting a vibrant city scape with culture and arts. And encouraging residential development above commercial development will also make the area more vibrant.

"You need to be cautious about your downtown, invest in your downtown, not just your council but the merchants, make it an attractive place to be and shop," he said.

He also encouraged council to change zoning bylaws and take more control to ensure buildings downtown take advantage of the waterfront views.

"In developing this plan we really noticed, and it's kind of sad, the lack of exposure to your harbour. So many of your major buildings, including the shopping centre, really do nothing to show the wonderful qualities of the city," he said. And he said they really need to work with CN Rail and the Port of Prince Rupert to develop a waterfront plan.

"Our sense is the port values the waterfront and the community values it because it is the front door to our city," said Becker.

"What we would like to see is a plan that provides for significantly more public space, perhaps some retail and residential."

However, there are some challenges with the area, including soil contamination but these could be dealt with.