DOWNTOWN SIDNEY LOCAL AREA PLAN. urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 04 july 2008

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1 DOWNTOWN SIDNEY LOCAL AREA PLAN urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 04 july 2008

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3 1.0 INTRODUCTION urban design is the art of making places. Successful downtown communities are places where people can live, work and play in a well-planned environment. To help realize this vision of complete community design, the Town of Sidney is engaged in the development of a Local Area Plan (LAP) for its downtown and downtown waterfront area. An interactive Urban Design Workshop was held on February 26th, 2008 to seek community and stakeholder input to the LAP process. The findings from the workshop have been summarized into a Workshop Summary document and helped inform the Urban Design Charrette. charrette is a term used to describe an intensive planning and design session, bringing together stakeholders to address a design challenge through interdisciplinary efforts and creative collaboration. The word charrette comes from the French for cart or chariot and became related to intensive design processes as student architects were often know to work on their designs up until the last minute while riding the charrette en route to submit their projects. In the urban planning context, a charrette is often used as a public consultation and community engagement strategy to involve citizens in the planning process through a handson design session. The purpose of a charrette is often to generate a range of ideas rather than a single correct solution. The Town of Sidney held an Urban Design Charrette on April 30th, A total of 35 people participated in the all-day event at the Mary Winspear Centre. Urban design consultants from Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden and Landeca facilitated the charrette. Sidney s Waterfront Walkway The purpose of this report is to present a summary of the preliminary design ideas generated through the charrette process. The results of the charrette are not intended to represent final design solutions for the downtown area, but rather should be used to inform the next steps in the overall Local Area Planning process. urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 1

4 urban design principles were drafted and presented to the participants prior to the charrette to help guide the process. These guiding statements were generated based on the ideas that arose from the Urban Design Workshop held in February The Workshop brought together over 85 community members who provided input on three key topics through focusgroup discussions and urban design exercises facilitated by members of the Local Area Plan Steering Committee, community representatives, and Town of Sidney staff. 1. A downtown with a mix of uses - place to live, work, shop and play. 2. A range of residential uses to ensure diversity and choice and to bring people and activity to the downtown. 3. Sufficient density to distinguish the downtown from adjacent neighbourhoods and to establish it as the social, economic and cultural heart of the community. 4. Identifiable transitions zones - often with a focus on higher density residential uses - located adjacent to the downtown. 5. Public spaces and open spaces that provide opportunities for community gathering, relaxation, play and civic celebration. 6. Mixed-use development and the implementation of best practices in social, economic and environmental sustainability. 7. Open space networks, trails and walkways that link the surrounding neighbourhoods to, and through, the downtown to encourage alternate forms of movement. 8. Vehicular circulation that complements the urban form and contributes to a safe and pedestrian-oriented environment. 9. Landscape design that accommodates people of all abilities and encourages walking. 10. Downtown high streets with continuous retail frontages. 11. Building heights that help define the streetscape and relate to the pedestrian scale. 12. A high level of quality, beauty and delight in the public realm through use of materials, landscape design and public art. 13. A bold physical strategy, or big idea, as the structure for the downtown character. 14. Integrated design for the waterfront with public spaces and active uses that serve to connect the waterfront back into the downtown. Sidney s Waterfront Walkway 2 urban design CHARRETTE REPORT

5 2.0 CHARRETTE STUDY AREA downtown Sidney is the study area for the charrette. The boundaries of the Local Area Plan include James White Boulevard/Sidney Avenue in the north (including the Town Hall block to Mt. Baker Avenue), the waterfront in the east, Bevan Avenue (including the south side of Bevan Avenue) in the south and Highway 17 in the west. Local Area Plan and Charrette Study Area urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 3

6 3.0 CHARRETTE PROCESS participants were divided into three teams for the completion of the charrette exercise and were tasked with the challenge of addressing three key topics: land use, built form and circulation. Each team was provided with base plans, aerial photos and scaled foam core blocks to model building massing and height and given seven hours to develop an urban design concept and supporting plans and graphics. 4 urban design CHARRETTE REPORT Charrette Teams at Work

7 4.0 TEAM RESULTS urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 5

8 4.1 team 1: black team The Black Team s overall concept was driven by the idea of supporting mixed-use development within the entire downtown area, with an emphasis on Beacon Avenue as the main street retail corridor, and the creation of three key nodes or anchors of activity within downtown: Mary Winspear lands; BS34 Town Square; and the Waterfront. Team 1 Concept Plan 6 urban design CHARRETTE REPORT

9 land use Mary Winspear lands: civic and cultural uses Youth area to complement the skateboard park Additional cultural/community uses to contribute to the activity at Mary Winspear Additional uses to anchor this end of Beacon Avenue, including potential multi-family housing to create more affordable living opportunities Town Square at BS34: public gathering plaza with civic/mixed uses Civic use at north end: new Town Hall and/or Library, archives or museum Community and cultural uses such as a movie theatre, community college Performance area (pavilion seating) around or beside water feature Water feature (fountain, pond) that connects by small canal/swale to Marine Village by traveling directly east via Landmark Lane and then northeast upon reaching Seaport Place Higher building heights mid-block (not at corners) Downtown: mixed-use with active ground-level/residential above Food service and retail emphasis on Beacon; with office commercial on Bevan and Sidney/JW Mix of residential over food & retail and office over food & retail Major commercial parking lots as key infill development opportunities - Safeway and Thrifty s parking lot: mix of surface & U/G parking and new infill buildings to create more pedestrian-friendly streetscape with buildings at the street edge. More variety of housing units to accommodate a range of household types Encourage rental housing units Market residential in DT, below-market residential out of high real-estate areas Live/work residential surrounding BS34: higher densities Potential to relocate firehall and ambulance to west Sidney? Pedestrian plaza between Pier Hotel and Cannery building Waterfront: public access, marine services and dynamic retail uses Transition of character from passive recreational uses in the south to more active community and commercial uses in the north. Creation of Marine Village on the Township-owned lands, with breakwater (rock or floating) to create marina. U/G parking Marine activity centre: kayak launch Public market Team 1 Land Use Plan Public Waterfront Uses urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 7

10 movement Vehicular Traffic Beacon 2-way vehicle traffic with priority for pedestrians, including traffic calming measures Introduce 1-way loop using Bevan and JW 4-way stops at 5th & 3rd on both Bevan & Sidney/JW; traffic lights at Beacon & 5th & 3rd Parking: Possible parkades at lots A & B Create day-parking for employees across HWY Develop shuttle bus link within downtown, including connection between employee parking, Mary Winspear and waterfront (employees ride free) Retain free parking to service the retail uses along Beacon, possibly supported by business community Introduce shared parking program: residents lease to others in the day Consider the development of a parkade at Safeway Recognize that U/G parking requirements will impact willingness to develop in downtown Circulation Concepts Land Use Concepts 8 urban design CHARRETTE REPORT

11 Pedestrian Connections: Create new greenway connections alongside canal to Marine Village and across Beacon from BS34 Town Square through porte cochere into a park in the centre of block BB34 Enhance mid-block pedestrian linkages: Safeway block, BB45 & BB23 Open Space Framework Plan Circulation Plan urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 9

12 built form Building heights: higher buildings = greater step-backs and/or smaller footprints Consideration for higher building forms within the nodes Heights up to 6-storeys within the Mary Winspear and BS34 Town Square areas and 2-storeys within the Marine Village (to preserve water views) North Side of Beacon: 4-5 storeys and South side of Beacon: 3-4 storeys to enable more sunlight into the street. Waterfront development south of Beacon should address the waterfront directly People places: eg. a number of courtyards along Beacon on the north side (for sunlight) Design some spaces for use in foul weather with wind and rain protection Simplify the streetscape by de-cluttering the sidewalks: underground hydro boxes Consider design guidelines to the creation of more significant public spaces at key intersections by encouraging corner cuts (remove right angles from buildings at significant corners) Massing Model Building Height Plan 10 urban design CHARRETTE REPORT

13 Illustrative Concept Plan urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 11

14 4.2 team 2: red team The Red Team s concept focused on mixed-use development and creating a vibrant downtown while still maintaining our sense of community (not Small Town Character!!) Team 2 Concept Plan 12 urban design CHARRETTE REPORT

15 Waterfront Walkway urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 13

16 land use Allow increased densities Create a People Place A residential downtown A complete community Encourage a variety of residential forms/types Encourage mixed use commercial/residential throughout downtown Transient moorage More public open space small pocket parks, linear parks and greenways as nodes within mid-block alleyways Uses that embrace the waterfront Commercial activities/uses on the waterfront, in particular on Beacon Wharf Special Places Concept Plan Waterfront Plan 14 urban design CHARRETTE REPORT

17 movement Pedestrians and Bikes first (cars secondary) Beacon east of Fifth as a Plaza! No Team consensus regarding Beacon Ave. traffic circulation (i.e. one-way versus two-way) Strengthen linkages to surrounding neighbourhoods Establish mid-block alleyways, in particular in an east / west orientation direct pedestrian access to the water Develop a micro-transportation system Establish a more diverse, walkable public realm Beacon Avenue should meander slightly Connect Seventh Street south of Beacon in doing so reconnect MWC to downtown Establish Fifth and Beacon as the Town Centre Re-visit downtown parking requirements Surface parking prohibited in new development, or number of car spaces dramatically reduced Parking Plan urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 15

18 built form Encourage sustainable design Establish key focal points/places Townhall Plaza (3rd and 4th); Safeway site (mixed use, residential and parking redevelopment); Fifth and Beacon (Centre of Sidney); Waterfront; MWC (civic precinct) Establish gateways from land and sea one at the east foot of Beacon, the other at the highway. Secondary gateway at Bevan and Fifth Variety of building forms Improved streetfront design and uses / weather protection Beacon Wharf Improvements transient moorage, touch the water Potential for Marina Expansion floating breakwater off of north side of Seaport site (remove existing rock breakwater) Establish better waterfront linkages thru Landmark Lane and north side of Marina Court Waterfront plaza at the east foot of Beacon Avenue Green the streets more trees and small internal plazas Re-consider 4-storey maximum height consider 6-8 stories near the center of downtown, in particular the north side of street (Variety of building heights to create overall Town form). Building height should terrace on south side of Beacon and reduce as they approach the water Massing Model 16 urban design CHARRETTE REPORT

19 Civic Plaza Concept Plan Section Plan Through Beacon Avenue urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 17

20 4.3 team 3: blue team The Blue Team s concept supported mixed-uses in downtown while contemplating urban design and public realm improvements to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment. The greening of downtown with additional open space in the form of small pocket parks, linear parks and greenways/woonerfs was a key idea. Team 3 Concept Plan 18 urban design CHARRETTE REPORT

21 land use Conceptual Infill Development in front of Safeway Extend mixed use commercial/residential pedestrian-oriented development west of Fifth Street to highway Promote mixed use in downtown More public open space in the form of small pocket parks, linear parks and greenways/woonerfs through blocks to form linkages Public plaza at corner of Third and Beacon: buildings pushed back from intersection and set at angle to intersection, streets still open to vehicles but pedestrians given priority, different surface treatments and landscaping Town hall to be moved into new mixed use building onto northwest corner of new public plaza at corner of Third and Beacon. Limit surface vehicle parking to behind, within, and beneath buildings Concept of lane houses used in centres of blocks. Houses would be multifamily 2-3 storey townhouses, some narrow, with parking within and/or partly underground. Houses would be accessed by woonerf-style lanes through blocks Waterfront mixed discussion of more uses off Beacon Wharf. Uses to include more interaction with the water itself, and activities that appeal to all ages, especially youth Move emergency services out of downtown to skateboard park area Safeway parking lot: infill with small retail on the street face, lane houses (narrow townhouses) behind, and mixed use buildings that face into Safeway in order to make area active and have no blank facades or buildings turning their backs on others (i.e. keep parking lot safe by having building faces address each part of it Conceptual Infill Development in front of Safeway urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 19

22 movement Beacon Avenue traffic: All but two team members were in favour of one lane, one way system east of Fifth Street. Two team members were in favour of two way, with one lane each way. Bevan to be enhanced with landscaping, street trees, roundabout at intersection with Fifth, promoted as return route to Highway Beacon to be routed under Pat Bay highway (or stay at grade and highway goes over). New highway exit/interchange created at Ocean Avenue, with access to downtown on Eighth St and Fifth St. Pedestrian linkages forming perpendicular and parallel routes through all blocks of downtown, to provide interesting alternate pedestrian routes through town. Some would be accessible to vehicles, to give access to parking areas. Pedestrian linkages would widen out into small pocket parks in areas. Three structured parking buildings: third or fourth and Beacon, Mary Winspear, somewhere close to waterfront. Buildings to have parking in centre, about 4 storeys, surrounded with retail/office/residential uses on street sides. Residential uses on rooftop, similar to two-storey townhouses, with greenspace/ rooftop patios and gardens. Beacon Avenue 20 urban design CHARRETTE REPORT

23 built form Height scattered around town as occasional tall buildings. Height was introduced to concept in order to raise it as a discussion point Height on Beacon mostly between 2-4 storeys, with lower buildings on south side and higher buildings on north side Pedestrian-oriented facades Upper storeys of buildings set back to allow sunlight (*some debate on setting upper floors back vs. keeping them straight up to define the street and allow for interaction with street from balconies) Greatly increased amount of landscaping and street trees in downtown, particularly along pedestrian linkages Low level lighting along pedestrian walkways and downtown streets in general, with more hi-tech designs to prevent light overspill into residential windows Not discussed: signage Massing Model urban design CHARRETTE REPORT 21

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