Gathering input duncan commons

Duncan Street Commons

Downtown Courtenay

Creating a people, planet and profit friendly Downtown core for a more resilient and

sustainable Comox Valley

Working together Works!

What appeals to you?

Duncan Street Commons: Some ideas for stage 1

•Close off Duncan Ave between 5th and 6th for pedestrian-friendly plaza,

•Duncan Commons Branding throughout plaza design,

•intriguing featured kiosks (business, community groups, arts)

•street theatre/concert space,

•Community Way or Downtown dollars as part of all sales,

• “green/fair trade” goods and services promoted,

• community notice boards

Duncan Street Commons -first step in a revitalized downtown Courtenay:

what would make it a really exciting place to be?

Street Dancing

Ambiance

Intriguing ideas

Events

Public Art



Community Involvement

Farmers’ Market

Attractive Entrances

Street Theatre

Connection to waterfront

walkway



Vendors

Artists in residence

Play space for kids

Outdoor dining

A place to relax and

enjoy



Transit access; free transit to and

from Commons

Parking area

outside downtown core with climate friendly shuttle

Pedestrian friendly

Connecting Bike paths, bike

parking, pedal power info &

demonstrations

Duncan Street Commons-first step in a revitalized downtown Courtenay:


A place to be with friends, meet new people, to savour quality of life in

Comox Valley, to be delighted

Marketed with community assets

Learn about happenings in Comox Valley



Weather resistant community space

Community Way or Downtown dollars joining Commons to rest of downtown

Anchor revitalization of

Downtown Courtenay

Buskers

Duncan Street Commons-first step in a revitalized downtown Courtenay:

what would make it a really exciting place to be?Duncan Street Commons would—AUTOMATICALLY-- feature the Comox Valley Art Gallery, and become a boom for artists, the arts and the Comox Valley’s potential as a cultural tourism draw

Duncan Street Commons as proving ground for revitalizing Downtown

Courtenay: The Second Stage

•Reconfigure 5th Street (or 6th) to one way traffic and diagonal parking to create new space for DS Commons- Kiosks, greenspace, walking/cycling path, BUT THIS TIME THERE IS SO MUCH MORE ROOM AND POSSIBILITIES—especially outdoor dining and new, quality of life-environment friendly business made possible by branding and promoting downtown as an Earth and people friendly place to be.

•Designated DS Commons interested surrounding business featuring sustainability orientated goods and services –and accepting $CW as Commons businesses with signage and included on Commons map and Commons promotions. Old Thrifty’s could become Granville Island styled anchor to downtown revitalization.

Revitalized Downtown Courtenay: Third Stage

Downtown Courtenay as Centre of community life and Comox Valley

promotion!

Duncan Street Commons: Why does it matter?

•Synergy and effectiveness of collaborative efforts

•A unique opportunity to bring a broad spectrum of our community together in common goals and actions— building active alliances

•Downtown Courtenay NEEDS a reason to be seen as an alternative to Big Box Stores

• Our community needs an identity and purpose that is not about Big Box consumerism and cars

•We need a place to be a community of people caring for each other and our planet

Revitalized Downtown Courtenay: Quality of life now and a sustaining future for our children!

Duncan Street Commons and a revitalized downtown Courtenay would anchor a healthy, diverse and sustainable valley as well as downtown economy; and would draw the kind of people who care about the arts, about a beautiful, sustainable valley and quality goods and experiences to want to settle here thus providing a larger base for exactly those values.

Duncan Street Commons: Why now?

Downtown Courtenay is hurting

Downtown Courtenay is hurting & it could get worse

Duncan Street Commons will vitalize our downtown and will help us build a community that we will all be proud and

delighted to be a part of.

Kelowna Granville Island Whistler

Some Examples

Whistler

Kelowna

Granville Island

Placemaking Downtown Courtenay: Why?

A People, Planet and Pedestrian centred Courtenay would:•be a win - win for everyone in the Comox Valley. •be very good for the valley’s economy and especially downtown businesses.•be great for artists of all sorts.•be tremendous for residents of the valley want to continue to have a community with a sense of locality, heritage, culture and belonging. •be a real boost for those who want to preserve the environmental quality of our valley.•generate jobs, and business opportunity--real-additional jobs and profitable business as no other option available•an opportunity to bring the residents of the valley together in a way that has not happened in the past •It would be FUN!

Placemaking Downtown Courtenay: Why?

“IN A SOCIETY BECOMING STEADILY MORE PRIVATIZED WITH PRIVATE HOMES, CARS, COMPUTERS, OFFICES AND SHOPPING CENTERS, THE PUBLIC COMPONENT OF OUR LIVES IS DISAPPEARING. IT IS MORE AND MORE IMPORTANTTO MAKE THE CITIES INVITING, SO WE CAN MEET OUR FELLOW CITIZENS FACE TO FACE AND EXPERIENCE DIRECTLY THROUGH OUR SENSES. PUBLIC LIFE IN GOOD QUALITY PUBLIC SPACES IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF A DEMOCRATIC AND FULL LIFE.” ~ JAN GEHL

Revitalized Downtown Courtenay: How?

Myth of municipal taxes as the problem

Lots of help

Strength of diversity of groups coming together

Funding

The time is right


Downtown Courtenay

Creating a people, planet and profit friendly Downtown core for a more resilient and

sustainable Comox Valley

Working together Works!


Downtown CourtenayThe places where we live will be as fulfilling and abundant as we decide. Though much appears

out of balance on our path to resilience, we actually have all that we need to transform the

conditions of our lives, to repair, rebalance, and restore the our neighborhoods, towns and cities

where we live --Mark Lakeman