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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!
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
Duncan Street Commons -first step in a revitalized downtown Courtenay:
what would make it a really exciting place to be?
Community Involvement
Farmers’ Market
Attractive Entrances
Street Theatre
Connection to waterfront
walkway
Duncan Street Commons -first step in a revitalized downtown Courtenay:
what would make it a really exciting place to be?
Vendors
Artists in residence
Play space for kids
Outdoor dining
A place to relax and
enjoy
Duncan Street Commons -first step in a revitalized downtown Courtenay:
what would make it a really exciting place to be?
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:
what would make it a really exciting place to be?
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
Duncan Street Commons -first step in a revitalized downtown Courtenay:
what would make it a really exciting place to be?
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 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
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
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!
Duncan Street Commons
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