Central Green

[Piecemaker]

My sense is that Central Green is well on its way to become a ghetto. Sad.
Those who work downtown could live in that area and do quite well with minimal vehicle use.
Queenie, the elementary school that serves that area is Raymer Elementary, which is several blocks down Richter. A.S.Matheson Elementary is also not too far away at the corner of Gordon and Springfield.

[GordonH]

My sense is that Central Green is well on its way to become a ghetto. Sad.
Those who work downtown could live in that area and do quite well with minimal vehicle use.
Queenie, the elementary school that serves that area is Raymer Elementary, which is several blocks down Richter. A.S.Matheson Elementary is also not too far away at the corner of Gordon and Springfield.

A.S Matheson is a 20 minute walk
Raymer is a 25 minute walk

[spooker]

Or they might have somewhere to be and have a limited amount of time to get there, without getting rained on, snowed on, without exposing themselves to the blazing heat of a summer day, or maybe they're picking up something too big to carry on a bike or the bus, or maybe they don't own a bike, or have a physical limitation. Or maybe they've found, as so many of us have, that driving is the most efficient way to get around a city the size of ours. Dismissing motorists as lazy is just as obnoxious as dismissing cyclists as entitled, rule-breaking dickwads.

As humans we will always find ways to rationalize doing what we want ... and we've been trained to err on the side of convenience ... cycling and walking will never be the solution for everyone ... but I think the number of people that would fit into that classification is a lot smaller than we want to admit ...

20 years ago you would only get my car keys if you pried them from my cold dead fingers ... now I can't get enough cycling and become a pain-in-the-butt to my friends when I question their need to drive everywhere ...

The logic seems to be:

If you work downtown, you'll want to walk there from Central Green.

Not necessarily. Also, did everyone know that Bankhead Elementary School is the LAST central school in the city? So sure, if you want to bring up kids in a condo and be "close" to Bankhead school, and walk to work downtown every day, go ahead and move there.

I work downtown, my daughter goes to Bankhead ... I bike to work and my daughter bikes to school ... and we happen to live in a house with a really beautiful garden (thanks to my wife) ... we made the choice to be where we are ... I'd like to think that other people get the opportunity to make choices that fit them ...

[spooker]

A.S Matheson is a 20 minute walk
Raymer is a 25 minute walk

Or a 7 minute / 11 minute bike ride respectively (using lower traffic volume streets as much as possible)

[Urban Cowboy]

My sense is that Central Green is well on its way to become a ghetto. Sad.
Those who work downtown could live in that area and do quite well with minimal vehicle use.
Queenie, the elementary school that serves that area is Raymer Elementary, which is several blocks down Richter. A.S.Matheson Elementary is also not too far away at the corner of Gordon and Springfield.

A.S Matheson is a 20 minute walk
Raymer is a 25 minute walk

Considering the number of obese adolescents these days, that should be viewed as a good thing.

[Piecemaker]

Raymer Elementary was the "catchment" school for Central Green area a few years ago. Regardless that it is a slightly longer walk than it is to A.S. Matheson. Now I believe there is more freedom for parents to select whatever school they wish, provided that there is room in the school. Selection is often made depending upon where the parent works and whether or not there are siblings in school, French Immersion and daycare needs. Bankhead Elementary has after-school care on site, I believe.
A walk of 15 to 30 minutes is a terrific way for a child to be prepared mentally for school. Some parents of children with attention problems have found a walk before school to be a significant way to help their child do well in school. Recess and lunch hour and physical education class continue the benefit established by the walk to school.
As areas like Central Green develop, schools and other services also develop along with it.

[GordonH]

^^^ plus very close to a private school in St. Joseph on Sutherland, if they prefer.

[JayByrd]

What will make Central Green "cramped, ghetto-like conditions"? The lack of a yard and a carport? Not everyone lives a lifestyle that places value on space, amenities, or even comfort. Affordability and functionality is the way to go for many, particularly young professionals.

Kelowna is a city. It's not a small town, and we can't all live in comfy suburban bungalows.

[GordonH]

What will make Central Green "cramped, ghetto-like conditions"? The lack of a yard and a carport? Not everyone lives a lifestyle that places value on space, amenities, or even comfort. Affordability and functionality is the way to go for many, particularly young professionals.

Kelowna is a city. It's not a small town, and we can't all live in comfy suburban bungalows.

It will be interesting to see how those who enjoyed off leash dog park, now go to a park were leashes will be needed.

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

Re my post on previous page that c a t r I replied to.

Or they might have somewhere to be and have a limited amount of time to get there, without getting rained on, snowed on, without exposing themselves to the blazing heat of a summer day, or maybe they're picking up something too big to carry on a bike or the bus, or maybe they don't own a bike, or have a physical limitation. Or maybe they've found, as so many of us have, that driving is the most efficient way to get around a city the size of ours. Dismissing motorists as lazy is just as obnoxious as dismissing cyclists as entitled, rule-breaking dickwads.[/quote][/quote]
Yes they have that going on Some of the time..but I am betting that there are some days they could ride.
But many neither have a bike ready to ride..... or you know it's just easier to take the car..

And I and probably Spookedr would challenge that the bike is the effeccient way to teavel 5km or under across town.

[WalterWhite]

Frankly, transportation and schooling are but minor issues with regard to the overall plan and development of this property. Once again, the success/failure rests on the shoulders of council and the staff in planning and development departments of city hall. The comments from the latest project on this site to be tabled are laughable and a clear indication that the process needs a serious overhaul:

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#202601

Donn's issue, height, or rather the lack of it.

The original site plan called for smaller buildings on the interior and more height from two buildings fronting Harvey Avenue.

However, the site plan which council ultimately approved, reversed that concept, calling for height inside the development site and smaller scale buildings at the highway.

That plan has again been reversed.

"What's stopping them from coming back with five-storeys in the next phase?," wondered Donn.

"I don't think this is the highest and best use for the community. I am going to go with the master plan that we approved and the public bought into.

"This is one of the best spots in town to build high, and if we can't push that...I don;t know where else we can be pushing it."

Site plans that were approved by council and presented to the public have been reversed - more than once?? Why bother with the whole process if it can simply be reversed at the developer's whim? I hate to say it, but Jaybird's called it. This will end up becoming the crown jewel of ghetto living in Kelowna. What a waste of one of the largest parcels of property in the downtown core. Shameful.

[Even Steven]

Lol old people don't like new things what else is new

[Queen K]

My main point is, "just because you work downtown, do you automatically want to live in the ghetto?"

[WalterWhite]

Lol old people don't like new things what else is new

Care to elaborate as to just who and what that comment's directed towards?

[Even Steven]

Why does it have to be ghetto? Just because it's not bungolow houses that you're used to, doesn't mean it's ghetto. Look at downtown Vancouver - does it look like ghetto to you? No, it's a normal living space where people live and work, and they don't feel the need for extra space for their workshop, chicken coops, project car storage, garden, and whatever else you feel people MUST have otherwise they live in ghetto.

I'm sick of tired of old people who refer to condos as shoeboxes just because it's smaller than their houses. Well, of course it's smaller. Not everybody needs space for giant TVs from 80's, doll collections, and lint from the last 30 years. You can be perfectly happy living in smaller places, in fact the less stuff you have the happier people are.