Government St. 'Closure' Proposed

Lower Government Street is a prime destination for tourists and locals alike in downtown Victoria

Recently, this letter to the editor of the Times Colonist caught my attention.

"I know -- close Government to through traffic for the summer, so residents and visitors can truly enjoy a traffic-free experience. Local businesses will flourish as drivers cannot shop anyway -- there's no parking on Government Street."

I have been thinking about this same idea for a long time. Such closures have proven to be economically, environmentally, socially, and culturally beneficial for cities all over the world.

A local group has been pushing for this idea, already. John Vickers and the Citizens for the Government Street Pedestrian Mall are organizing a 10-day international busking event for the summer of 2011. Their intention is to use the event to convince local business owners to give the pedestrianization of lower Government a chance.

To me, such a 'closure' would actually be an OPENING and could only be a good thing. In the words of (I think) street reclaimer David Engwicht, "No one goes to Paris for the traffic."

The idea of closing part of Gov't St. has been discussed since the 70s (so I read). No amount of discussion or study will tell us whether or not it's a good idea. The City should try it this summer and let it grow with success.

I recently read an article (can't find the link, sorry) about the difference in the speed-of-change in New York vs. LA when it comes to such 'innovations'. In LA, they conduct analyses, drawn-out case studies, and assessments that take weeks, months, years, or decades and nothing ever happens. In New York, a good idea is pushed through the red tape, given a try, and, if it works, they stick with it. For example, the closure of parts of Broadway in Manhattan went from proposal, to trial, to permanent in one short year!

It's about time Victoria tried this.