Click on the video above to watch an overview of B Channel News coverage of Council debating Geoff Young’s motion.
Click on the Video above to hear Geoff Young speak on his motion to council regarding the Johnson Street Bridge Replacement.
Click on the Video above to hear Chris Coleman speak on a motion to council regarding the Johnson Street Bridge Replacement.
Click on the Video above to hear Dean Fortin speak on a motion to council regarding the Johnson Street Bridge Replacement.
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Special B Channel Coverage of Council Meeting
Article and Video Editing by Chris Johnson
Videography by Andrew Ainsley
December 13, 2009
One of our goals when we started B Channel News was to help the people of Victoria to be better informed of the decisions being made on their behalf by City Council. Not only that, we wanted to be able to help people understand how those decisions are made and who their elected representatives are, and thus be able to make informed decisions of their own when election time rolls around.
We applaud Mayor Dean Fortin’s idea to have webcam coverage of Council proceedings, as well as an online hansard of meetings. As we’ve come to learn, it is not always possible to attend every council and committee meeting, and the minutes of each meeting only tell a fraction of the story. We eagerly await the installation of webcams in the Council Chamber, but in the meantime, it falls upon citizens and media to witness and record these meetings.
With that in mind, B Channel brings you this special coverage of one particular section of the December 10, 2009 regular meeting of Victoria City Council. We chose to highlight the last order of business for the evening; a motion from Councillor Geoff Young in regards to the Johnson Street Bridge.
The replacement of the Johnson Street Bridge has been a hot topic for many months, and one that we have yet to cover on B Channel News. To the right of this article you should see a list of articles links that we found online in relation to this issue. We’ve also included links to the City of Victoria’s Johnson Street Bridge website, and the Johnsonstreetbridge.org website, which was created by community members opposed to the bridge replacement.
In this video series, we hear from all nine council members, and offer you the chance to hear each of these comments in their entirety. The last video includes some final comments from some of the councillors as well as the vote on the motion.
Pleas leave a comment and join in the conversation with your neighbours.
Here is the motion in question, as submitted by Councillor Geoff Young:
“Executive Summary
During the last few weeks a numberof citizens have expressed concerns abot the City’s intention to replace the Johnson Street Bridge. Some have signed petitions asking for a referendum. Given the difficulty of obtaining the needed signatures I doubt that Council’s decision to proceed with a new bridge will be reversed. However, recognizing that a significant number of Victorians continue to express the concern that they need more information before making up their mnds, I wold ask Council to pause the work on bridge replacement while we re-examine some of the issues that have been raised over the last few weeks.
Recommendation:
I would move that:
Council request staff to obtain further bridge refurbishment options, including but not limited to such issues as:
- seismic requirements of rehabilitation
- alternative re-painting options
- lightweight bicycle-friendly bridge surfaces that could be retrofitted
- traffic impacts of reducing to two lanes (including experimental verification)
- possibility of lightweight cantilevers to add sidewalk of bicycle trail width
- heritage qualities of existing bridge
After obtaining more information on these questions the City commits to carrying out a further process of public engagement before proceeding.”
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Related Links
City Council Agenda – December 10, 2009 (pdf)
JohnsonStreetBridge .org
Citizens opposed to bridge replacement
JohnsonStreetBridge.com
City Of Victoria Bridge Replacement Site
Johnson Street Bridge By The Numbers
Hand-out referred to by Geoff Young in Video (.pdf)
Related News Link
Referenda an ‘affront’ to elected officials: Victoria councilor
TheTyee.ca (blog) – December 15, 2009
Almost 3000 call for vote on Johnson Street Bridge issue
Canada.com – December 14, 2009
City rebuffs referendum on Blue Bridge borrowing
Victoria Times Colonist – December 11, 2009
Mum’s the word on bridge counter petition
Victoria News – December 8, 2009
Citizens get a say in bridge decision
Victoria Times Colonist – November 20, 2009
CRD puts bridge financing on hold
Victoria Times Colonist – November 19, 2009
City submits bridge bylaw
Times Colonist – October 31, 2009
Reconsider repairing bridge: councillor
Times Colonist – August 29, 2009
Tolls on Victoria’s new Johnson Street Bridge possible says councillor
Vancouver Sun – September 9, 2009
Reconsider repairing bridge: councillor
Times Colonist – August 29, 2009
Victoria’s historic harbour bridge to be replaced
CBC.ca – April24, 2009
Report says infrastructure in Victoria is near collapse
Canada.com – January 25, 2009
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