Kelowna's New Useless tourist center

[StraitTalk]

Boy gee whiz there sure are a lot of experts in this thread. Maybe if some of you cranky folks went downtown more often you'd realize just how many hundreds of people offload off buses in that area every single day.

Classic me-me-me attitude - what does this tourist center do for ME? Obviously nothing, what a stupid question.

But hey I can't expect everyone to embrace the 21st century Kelowna, certainly not the old folks, which is why I saw 20 youth for every adult last night celebrating Canada day.

[WalterWhite]

A hotel lobby is private property (I don’t know why you’re yelling, am I wrong?) and a kiosk, by definition, would never be able to provide the services that this building has the potential to offer.

What services can a stand alone building supply that a kiosk can't.

Seriously? If you don’t know the difference between a kiosk and a stand alone building (just look at size for starters) then there will be no reasoning with you. Perhaps City Council saw the same.

Maybe what you’re getting at is that TK doesn’t need any more than a kiosk. That is for the Board and Stakeholders to decide. The building has been built which shows TK was successful in promoting their plan, including getting Provincial funding.

If the new building was still situated on the current TK offices land then yes, it's a simple matter for the board and stakeholders. However, it's the fact (as has been pointed out numerous times in this thread) that TK was permitted to ram-rod this lakefront edifice situated on public property through city approvals (in near record time) despite strong public opposition. Of course there's a physical difference between a brick and mortar building and a kiosk. The fact is, kiosks could have achieved the exact same if not more far-reaching effect as a stand-alone building, and at a fraction of the cost - and have proven as much in their current locations. Despite that simple and obvious difference, TK staff and their newly created wish list just had to have shiny new lakefront offices for their administration - all the while trying to pass it off as a more effective means of serving the tourist population - which is utter hogwash.

[WalterWhite]

Boy gee whiz there sure are a lot of experts in this thread. Maybe if some of you cranky folks went downtown more often you'd realize just how many hundreds of people offload off buses in that area every single day.

Classic me-me-me attitude - what does this tourist center do for ME? Obviously nothing, what a stupid question.

But hey I can't expect everyone to embrace the 21st century Kelowna, certainly not the old folks, which is why I saw 20 youth for every adult last night celebrating Canada day.

It's a me-me-me attitude when it's MY public lakefront property that's used to house this bunch of self-entitled so-called do-gooders. Why do they need a lakefront office building to service those tourists - which are mostly only there part of the year - when as has been presented numerous times and proven by their current existence in other locations that portable kiosks would have been just as if not more effective in performing what TK staff claim the shiny new digs offer? That's the question.

[alanjh595]

If the new building was still situated on the current TK offices land then yes, it's a simple matter for the board and stakeholders. However, it's the fact (as has been pointed out numerous times in this thread) that TK was permitted to ram-rod this lakefront edifice situated on public property through city approvals (in near record time) despite strong public opposition. Of course there's a physical difference between a brick and mortar building and a kiosk. The fact is, kiosks could have achieved the exact same if not more far-reaching effect as a stand-alone building, and at a fraction of the cost - and have proven as much in their current locations. Despite that simple and obvious difference, TK staff and their newly created wish list just had to have shiny new lakefront offices for their administration - all the while trying to pass it off as a more effective means of serving the tourist population - which is utter hogwash.

Thank you Walter, you have put my thoughts into a much better semblance of order. I agree with everything that you have paraphrased. You have done it much better than I could have.

[UncleChubs]

Love it! An attractive building (unlike the yacht club building which was such a disappointment for such a timeless location).

Hopefully, this represents 'open arms' to visiting tourists who will be better encouraged to ignore the homeless crowd.

Congrats, Tourism Kelowna!

[WalterWhite]

Love it! An attractive building (unlike the yacht club building which was such a disappointment for such a timeless location).

Hopefully, this represents 'open arms' to visiting tourists who will be better encouraged to ignore the homeless crowd.

Congrats, Tourism Kelowna!

Lol - yea sure - easy to encourage visitors to ignore a problem - except they just have to step over/around them shooting up on the stairs in order to get there. Perfect and typical outlook - sweep it/cover it with a pretty rug. Outta sight - outta mind. Tell that to the unfortunate sole murdered right across the street. smh

[alanjh595]

It's really too bad that the tourists have to step over and through the most unattractive and dangerous part of Kelowna to get to a building that is in the center of a scum-hole. Just look at the 2 latest Castanet news reports that substantiate this opinion.

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#230316

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#230306

AND that is in the last 24 hours.

How many would travel to the downtown Eastside in Vancouver, with every news article that are available on the internet these days? How about Surrey? Maybe downtown Detroit?

[alanjh595]

Love it! An attractive building (unlike the yacht club building which was such a disappointment for such a timeless location).

Hopefully, this represents 'open arms' to visiting tourists who will be better encouraged to ignore the homeless crowd.

Congrats, Tourism Kelowna!

What tourist travels to a lace to see "a building"? Especially since to get to it they would have to fear for their lives, and clench their wallets close to their chest to look at it? There will be many photos of this building available over the internet, and it won't cost one dime to see them.
Placing this building where it is and hoping that some will visit, is like putting a Bing cherry tree in the middle of an alligator infested swamp.

[OffRoad]

If the new building was still situated on the current TK offices land then yes, it's a simple matter for the board and stakeholders. However, it's the fact (as has been pointed out numerous times in this thread) that TK was permitted to ram-rod this lakefront edifice situated on public property through city approvals (in near record time) despite strong public opposition. Of course there's a physical difference between a brick and mortar building and a kiosk. The fact is, kiosks could have achieved the exact same if not more far-reaching effect as a stand-alone building, and at a fraction of the cost - and have proven as much in their current locations. Despite that simple and obvious difference, TK staff and their newly created wish list just had to have shiny new lakefront offices for their administration - all the while trying to pass it off as a more effective means of serving the tourist population - which is utter hogwash.

The Board and Stakeholders make the decisions regarding the organization, regardless of where they are located. The fact is that a TK put together a plan that was good enough to get the city approvals and support, despite ‘strong public opposition’. There was simply more support than there was opposition.

I would like to see something to back up your ‘fact’ that “kiosks could have achieved the exact same if not more far-reaching effect as a stand-alone building, and at a fraction of the cost“. In my mind, that can’t be correct, based on the tourist kiosks that I’ve seen. You mention administration offices, how would they fit in a kiosk?

[MAPearce]

Love it! An attractive building (unlike the yacht club building which was such a disappointment for such a timeless location).

Hopefully, this represents 'open arms' to visiting tourists who will be better encouraged to ignore the homeless crowd.

Congrats, Tourism Kelowna!

Hahaha !! Every time I go to a different city , the VERY LAST PLACE on my list to find "open arms" is a tourist info centre .....

I hit up the locals at the front desk of the hotel or the local pub .

[OffRoad]

It's really too bad that the tourists have to step over and through the most unattractive and dangerous part of Kelowna to get to a building that is in the center of a scum-hole. Just look at the 2 latest Castanet news reports that substantiate this opinion.

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#230316

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#230306

AND that is in the last 24 hours.

How many would travel to the downtown Eastside in Vancouver, with every news article that are available on the internet these days? How about Surrey? Maybe downtown Detroit?

What does TK have to do with drug abuse or homicides in Kelowna? If your opinion is that the area is the “the most unattractive and dangerous” and “the center of a scum-hole” then isn’t this building an improvement? Perhaps all the businesses downtown should pull out due to the issues. Do you think that would help?

[alanjh595]

The Board and Stakeholders make the decisions regarding the organization, regardless of where they are located. The fact is that a TK put together a plan that was good enough to get the city approvals and support, despite ‘strong public opposition’. There was simply more support than there was opposition.

I would like to see something to back up your ‘fact’ that “kiosks could have achieved the exact same if not more far-reaching effect as a stand-alone building, and at a fraction of the cost“. In my mind, that can’t be correct, based on the tourist kiosks that I’ve seen. You mention administration offices, how would they fit in a kiosk?

I would like to see something from you other than/ contradictory to a kiosk not being a viable and cost effective alternative to a huge building, in the middle of a drug/homeless infested park for tourists visit, when there are so many other alternatives that are safe and clean via their Smartphones.

[alanjh595]

What does TK have to do with drug abuse or homicides in Kelowna? If your opinion is that the area is the “the most unattractive and dangerous” and “the center of a scum-hole” then isn’t this building an improvement? Perhaps all the businesses downtown should pull out due to the issues. Do you think that would help?

TK has nothing to do with the downtown problems of drug abuse, they however could have chosen a better location that would be more inviting and safe for the tourists. What a great impression TK is giving to the single most important attraction to the tourists?
How is placing a pretty building in the middle of a swamp, an improvement? It was a park for all to enjoy, it has been that way for many years. Now it's a "use at your own risk" greenspace.
Just like visiting a hotel website and looking at all the nice pictures, just to find out it is located 200 yards from the airport.
Just like any building site, the overburden must be removed before the improvement can begin. That has not been done yet.
As for the businesses.....they are retracting from the area, even professional businesses like lawyers and places like Castanet are sketchy places to visit any more. Retail shops are moving away or just closing up.

[OffRoad]

I would like to see something from you other than/ contradictory to a kiosk not being a viable and cost effective alternative to a huge building, in the middle of a drug/homeless infested park for tourists visit, when there are so many other alternatives that are safe and clean via their Smartphones.

You’d like to see me contradict the position I’ve taken? If the ‘opposition’ would provide a compelling argument I might do that. All I’m seeing is ‘I don’t like where the building is, why don’t you put it somewhere else’.

Maybe it’s time to ask the question again: Where else in Kelowna has a higher concentration of tourist traffic, particularly pedestrian?

[cv23]

Maybe it’s time to ask the question again: Where else in Kelowna has a higher concentration of tourist traffic, particularly pedestrian?

YLW and Orchard Park Mall for starters