POLICY.

A small village on good land beside a river is a good idea; but when the village grows into a city and paves over the good land, it becomes a bad idea.

A Short History of Progress.
Ronald Wright.

The city is separated into several competing areas:

Downtown.
Crescent.
College Heights
Townsite to Lantzville.
Harewood
South Gate.

Policy.

Direct development towards a pedestrian urban environment in downtown and crescent.

1. Aim for a pedestrian environment conducive to ambulatory movement between nodes of interest, convenience and utility.
2. Describe urban spaces and streets as building envelopes so that building faces, in concert, describe urban space and unique neighbourhood identity. Set-up build-to lines.
3. Allow mixed use: residential, commercial, light manufacturing, crafts.
4. Proscribe emissions, noise and odor.
5. Boulevard Selby and Prideaux. Enhance existing parks. Develop medium density mixed use in the Selby / Prideaux residential spine.
6. Compile a comprehensive landscape plan for public spaces and streets.
7. For every unit of developed space there will be a contibution to public amenity (DCC's).
8. Recognize Terminal Ravine bifurcation between the crescent and downtown.
9. Encourage development of a new retail commercial center in the Gateway Heritage area.
10. Set up an appropriate building typology: mix medium high- rise, low rise, medium density mixed use in the Gateway Heritage precinct.
11. Preserve rock outcrops behind Terminal Avenue commercial.
12. Densify Terminal Avenue free standing commercial and auto storage.
13. Recognize the continuing transmogrification of downtown into an urban cultural park.
14. Preserve heritage residential west of Prideaux. Set minimum lots sizes to encourage infill.
15. Establish an equitable mix of social and special needs housing.
16. Enhance existing zoning that is compatible with this policy. Pare ordinances to a minimum.
17. Streamline the DPA process.
18. Retrofit serviceable and heritage buildings.
19. Trench and cover all services.
20. Set-up feed-back system.

PUDPN
is concerned only with:
Downtown and crescent as they subdivide into several distinctive areas:

Acknowledge the uniqueness of each area.

Crescent (Bowl).

Gateway Heritage Center.
Selby / Prideaux.
Heritage west of Prideaux.
Mixed use east of Selby.

Downtown Culture Park.

Terminal Ravine.
Commercial / Front Parade.
Harbour Park Mall.

Nanaimo's transportation system is not working for the people who need it most. Neither is it designed to attract new rider-ship. Buses move in convoys leaving long waiting periods between: if you miss on you miss them all. The problem, of course, is perennial: planners, managers and operators do not use the system!
PUDPN is an illustrated polemic to high light ways and means to enhance pedestrian amenity in the downtown and crescent. Nevertheless, public transit is an integral component of that plan with the inter-modal centrally located.
Although buses traverse the area they are bound for suburban destinations and convenience to downtown commuters is purely incidental.
Nanaimo is an automobile city: a hard habit to shake no matter the inconvenience and cost . . .

St. John's Newfoundland: similar to Nanaimo on the Atlantic side: with one distinction, it is the seat of the provincial government. Downtown slopes up steeply from the harbour Population 25% greater than Nanaimo. Resource base industries replaced by conference center and tourism.

The purpose of urban design is to research motivations and economics and, realistically, provide "commodity, firmness and delight."