This past week (April 3,4,5,6 2018) in Cowichan Bay the Cowichan Valley Regional District (henceforth, simply CVRD) hosted a Design Charrette with the purpose of bringing various stakeholders together to determine challenges in our community and begin to arrive at some solutions.
Most people that I’ve talked to did not know the meaning of the word “charrette” and had to look up its meaning in a dictionary or on the internet. It seems like it is a common word in the industry of Urban Planning. The use of this word and the surprise given to its unfamiliarity to most attendees is indicative of the bubble that both the CVRD and their hired consultant are living and working in.
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I want to play “Devil’s Advocate” today. I want to suggest an alternate view.
Last week when we attended the “Charrette”, we were told that Cowichan bay Village was a problem that had to be solved. We were reminded of the parking issues, the safety issues with the highway that runs through our Village, the congestion, the fact that it’s hurting small businesses along the strip, and the idea that somehow a new way of thinking had to be embraced in order to fix things.
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Cittaslow Logo
Originally published January of 2011, edited and updated for republication today.
Before we can have discussion, we must define our terms. If you are already familiar with the Cittaslow Movement and it’s governing principles, please skip down. If Cittaslow is new to you, please take time to read and understand before going on.
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The Village at Cowichan Bay is unique in that it is one of the last remaining places on Canada’s West Coast where a diverse group of people have come together to form a traditional waterborne community.
What is special about our community, for there are indeed other places where one can live out on the water, is that it has so far resisted the gentrification so often seen at other locations.
It is a waterborne community in the old sense and style. They used to be common up and down the coast, but alas no longer. It is a welcoming place where neighbors look out for one another, a place where nearly everyone is on a first name basis and where the community comes together in times of both celebration and crisis. We look after our own here, out on the water.
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It’s raining nicely for the first time all summer, my favorite weather. There was a car show this morning in Ladysmith which Pete and I attended. Here is our report:
One Old Fart and a Fat Guy
Those of you who have been following the adventures of “Two Old Farts and a Fat Guy” might be a bit surprised to see from the headline on this story, that it’s now “One Old Fart and a Fat Guy”. It is with some consternation that I’m compelled to announce the disappearance of one of the Old Farts. Before you begin offering condolences and asking where to send flowers, be advised that Brian isn’t peering at us from the other side of the veil just yet. He is more or less lost to us however in that now in his golden years, he has found a lady friend with whom he prefers to spend most of his time. Read more…
Cowichan Bay Seafoods
Crabs!
Goodness me the prices have sky rocketed in the last few weeks haven’t they? Superstore in Duncan is asking 19.98 a pound for live dungeness crab right now. In Vancouver, recent price spikes have seen figures well over the 22 dollar mark. Some speculate that it will go past 25.
It’s not that dungeness crab is scarce, fishers are reporting good results again this season.
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This past week (April 3,4,5,6 2018) in Cowichan Bay the Cowichan Valley Regional District (henceforth, simply CVRD) hosted a Design Charrette with the purpose of bringing various stakeholders together to determine challenges in our community and begin to arrive at some solutions.
