'POCKETS OF CONCERN' DON'T MAKE FOR DISASTER

Crisis, what crisis?

There has been a lot of hand-wringing over the malaise of downtown
Victoria. Indeed, a slew of conferences and forums has focused on the
subject, along with task forces and study groups.

The core of the capital is plagued by a drop in retail activity, empty
store fronts, ugly parking lots and repeated complaints about
aggressive panhandlers, drug users and street people scaring visitors
away.

Now along comes a study that suggests the malady may be
over-hyped.

"Downtown Victoria is not in crisis," concludes a report called Taking
Stock of Downtown Victoria, released this month by Jay Wollenberg, of
Coriolis Consulting Corp.

"On the whole it is in good physical and economic condition, although
there are pockets of concern and there is room for
improvement."

Mayor Alan Lowe said the point needs to be underscored that despite
setbacks the city is doing well compared to others of a similar size
in North America.

The perennial challenge for the city, he said, is that with a
relatively small population of 75,000, it serves as the downtown for a
region with almost five times that number of residents.

So Victoria needs to find regional partners to shoulder the cost of
downtown facilities and services that serve residents from across the
metropolitan area, Lowe said.

The 52-page report, paid for by a $25,000 grant from the Community,
Aboriginal and Women's Services Ministry, lays out a series of
recommendations.

Many of them require help from provincial and federal governments,
though the report doesn't talk about partnering with other
municpalities in the region.

The report was commissioned more than a year ago with prompting from
the ministry itself, Wendy Zink, the city's community development
manager, said Sunday.

Ministry staff had contacted the city to complain about the problem of
used needles scattered around downtown government offices, she said.

While the city is "not floundering -- and that's a positive thing," it
still needs to address issues such as drug abuse, Zink said.

The report recommends seeking federal and provincial aid to deal with
social problems that make the city centre an unappealing place for
many people to shop or do business.

Immediate funding is needed for detox beds, a supervised
drug-injection site, temporary shelters for the homeless and support
programs for adddicts and people with mental-health problems, the
report says.

It suggests setting up drop-in facilities where street people can wash
and maintain personal hygiene. Such a centre in Vancouvver also offers
meals, laundry, recreation, e-mail and banking services.

One thing the city lacks is a ready-to-go list of civic capital
projects for downtown in case grants from senior governments become
available, the report says.

While there has been talk of such cultural facilities as a new art
gallery, a new library and a performing arts centre, there has been no
systematic approach to achieving these projects.

"The problem with these facilities is that they are regional
facilities," Lowe said. The various groups that support them need to
work with other regional municipalities besides Victoria to make them
happen, he said.

The report says the city should be taking the lead
on:

- - encouraging residential development downtown

- - downtown planning, including plans for the waterfront

- - re-use of the vacant former Bay department store building on Douglas
Street

- - persuading education institutions to make downtown a "place of
learning"

Action has already begun on several of the report's recommendations,
including an updated downtown plan and the development of a downtown
business improvement association.

Businessman Mohan Jawl, who chairs the Downtown Victoria Community
Alliance, said a BIA proposal will be going to council on Thursday for
approval.

The association, reviving a dormant organization that folded several
years ago, would levy a fee on businesses extending from the hotel
district along Belleville Street north to Chatham Street and west of
Blanshard Street.

The association is expected to raise $800,000 a year, most of which
will initially be "directed toward a safer and cleaner downtown," Jawl
said. The community alliance is a volunteer group that has organized a
series of conferences and workshops devoted to improving the downtown
business climate.

The consultant's report points out the need for better marketing of
downtown as a place to shop. But Jawl said the BIA needs to tackle
safety and cleanliness issues before embarking on a promotional
campaign to attract customers.