And now that I can think in a straight line again, I want to come right back to where I left off - in Lower Gibsons, thinking about the future of our village. Last Monday's entry came from the perspective of a hypothetical tourist. Now I'm back to being me - a Gibsons resident, very fond of this town, and well aware that time will change it. No doubt we all agree on that after Thursday's fire.
(An aside: I was having a feverish nap in an armchair when the sirens started screaming. I was still half-dreaming when the power went off, which gave the situation a kind of apocalyptic feel. I staggered out to the window, where the rising pillar of smoke and ash seemed to confirm my worst suspicions, and at the same moment, I got a text message from Sheena that read "you ok?" I later found out that she was just asking whether my flu symptoms were abating, and that she didn't know about the fire, but in the moment, it all seemed to point to some disastrous event that had happened while I was napping. And I guess that's exactly what the fire was. My best wishes to all who were affected by it.)
Gibsons is going to change. Many times I've found myself talking about what I don't want to see here - now I'm going to do the opposite. What are the best things about the village - the things without which Lower Gibsons wouldn't be Lower Gibsons? I came up with a shortlist of four essential elements.
1. Colour.
We have a maritime west coast climate. Cloudy skies are part of living here. Bright colours in the built environment - the yellow paint on Molly's Reach and this wharf, the brilliant landscaping that the Town of Gibsons' parks people do - keep the village from looking dreary, and they keep us (well, at least they keep me) from feeling gloomy. So do the deep colours of the forest surrounding Lower Gibsons. It's the drab mid-tones that look most depressing, like fleshy stucco and miscellaneous shades of grey. Those colours are why I don't like spending time in Vancouver on rainy days.
If you want to paint your business bright yellow or royal blue, go for it. I'm with you all the way.
2. Heterogeneity.
This is a big one. Lower Gibsons is refreshingly free of big, monolithic commercial or residential developments. Maybe it won't be free of simply big developments for long, but I sure hope they don't get monolithic. Or otherwise homogeneous.
Lower Gibsons draws people in with its variety. The buildings are small, and they're all obviously distinct from each other. They reward curiosity - you go around corners, look down alleys, climb stairs. And, as I suggested in my last post, sensible infill development would only add to this pleasant variety. It would reward pedestrians, and keep people in Lower Gibsons longer.
3. Access.
This is the biggest difference between Upper and Lower Gibsons: Upper is cut in half by a road, and Lower isn't. There's a road that runs through it, but neither traffic volume or speed keep people from crossing it easily. The on-street parking along Marine Drive and Gower Point Road effectively calms the traffic, and nobody in their right mind exceeds 30 km/h between the Black Bean and the tanning salon. This makes the main drag very pedestrian-friendly.
Plus, there's plenty of access to the seawall path, which connects the village's warmest swimming beach (Armour's) to the village's most scenic watering hole (Gramma's). Result: car-free summertime brilliance.
4. Meeting space.
Yes, this picture isn't from today. Which is unfortunate, because I want to use it as an example of good public meeting space. Imagine this scene without the excess water.
OK. So this is obviously isn't technically public space - it's the patio at Smitty's. But this patio, and the other ones in town - the fish 'n' chips window in front of Gramma's, the fantastic burrito place on the wharf, the patio at Molly's Reach - insert energy into places where there would otherwise just be a place to walk. They encourage passersby to slow down and gawk a little, whether or not they actually want to stop for a bite to eat.
Green space such as the very nicely landscaped Winegarden Park is also very important. Have you ever noticed, though, that Winegarden Park only ever seems to attract large numbers of people when there's an event there? I think parks and other urban green spaces work best when there's some kind of draw, be it outdoor music or a taco truck.
Your turn! What works in Lower Gibsons? What wouldn't you want to see changed? What would you like to see more of?
what i wouldn't want changed is all the character that we see in the cute old buildings..and yet that fire on friday night took out a few important pieces in the fabric of our quaint quilt.I hope they/we(i would help!)rebuild those heritage buildings in a good old barn raising small town fashion.
ReplyDeleteTwo cool things I heard at a planning conference last week that I thought of when reading this post:
ReplyDelete1. People like spaces that have both prospect and refuge, which together equal comfort. For example, a home that is cosy inside (refuge) but with an interesting view outside (prospect). This can also apply to public spaces.
2. Good public spaces need "production" ie some grit, chaos and creation. Think of Granville Island and it's combination of retail and actual people making actual things at the same time. I also think the Nanaimo Harbour has this combination pretty well. If all the fishing boats were gone, it wouldn't be nearly as interesting there.
I love that idea - a community rebuilding its heritage buildings. We'd all just have to agree on what we wanted them to look like. Having been to public meetings around here, I'd say this might get a bit contentious!
ReplyDeleteAs for "production," dead on - you can't just provide empty space, even if it's pretty, and have it be well-used. It needs to draw people in, make them curious, etc. Granville Island is a great example.