Vancouver and the triumph of lameness

by mtippett | November 19, 2008 at 12:10 pm

381 views | 8 Recommendations | 17 comments

Vancouverites have succeeded in keeping Vancouver as mediocre as ever. Well done everyone. This is condohype's take.

Way to go, condo yuppies. You’ve made your point: Yaletown is no place for a rooftop patio. Last night, city council swallowed your hype and rejected the Opus Hotel proposal to bring more fun to our no-fun city. You know, because a district with 21 restaurants “isn’t ready” for the “dangerous precedent” of a rooftop bar.
Vancouver, you embarrass me. I love you but you embarrass me.

Ditto to that.

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Rachel Nixon

at 12:40 on November 19th, 2008

Agreed - this is extremely lame. Hmm. Is it yuppies or nimbies?

Jarrett Martineau

at 12:57 on November 19th, 2008

And guess who lead the charge at city hall? That's right, folks, newly re-elected COPE city councillor David Cadman.

No Funcouver continues to be just as boring as ever.

mtippett

at 13:14 on November 19th, 2008

If you feel like letting him know how you feel, here is his contact info:

Councillor David Cadman
Vancouver City Hall
453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1V4

Phone
604-873-7244 Fax
604-873-7750

Send an e-mail to Councillor Cadman: clrcadman@vancouver.ca

Jordan Yerman

at 12:59 on November 19th, 2008

It's really quite funny. (At least dancing is legal in your bars, though, should anyone feel like doing so)

Jordan Yerman

at 13:00 on November 19th, 2008

Yaledown was designed to look like a neighborhood in a major city, rather than to actually be a neighborhood in a major city.

Nicole Billard

at 14:54 on November 19th, 2008

Even Horseshoe Bay and Victoria have rooftop patio restaurants and bars... LOTS of 'em! It's insane to think that a rooftop seating or gathering area would be detrimental to the atmosphere of a neighbourhood... that's just dumb.

eSteichen (not verified)

at 20:18 on November 19th, 2008

Did anyone here actually see the proposal ? With 21 restaurants and bars ( as stated above) already in the small area ( 3 or 4 block area ) of historic Yaletown it seems rather simplistic to chalk up the local residents as being NIMBY. Seems a contradiction. My understanding is that this was a very large patio with a very large capacity. And it was more of a bar than a restaurant.

mtippett

at 09:43 on November 20th, 2008

That is not actually that high. Real world class cities like London or New York have a far greater number of bars and restaurants per block than this. In London they let people pour out onto the streets with drinks and the atmosphere is fun and totally safe. Vancouver's history of anal retentiveness when it comes to civilized fun is long standing but it needs to change if we want to become a real city.

eastvanray

at 12:18 on November 22nd, 2008

Mike,

Do you live in Yaletown or are you one of those that would be an import? I am not against rooftop patios - actually Joe Fortes is one of my favorite places in the summer. I also respect that these decisions should be heavily weighted in favour of the people who actually live there. I spent 5 years living in Yaletown and I can tell you that the noise issues and not as bad as those on Granville. The reason is because they do not have the density of bars that Granville has. I have also been to many cities where they have dense entertainment districts (London, New York, Miami, Tokyo.......) and those areas seem to function. The problem we have is (and yes flame me if you want) the bridge and tunnel crowd. They are the losers who start fights, piss in doorways and screem at the tops of their lungs just to annoy the neighbourhood. Yaletown already gets its share of these neanderthals and I doubt they will be able to resist the temptation of being able to act obnoxiously at closing time from the stage of a rooftop bar. Until our suburban neighbours learn to bahave like humans Vancouver will have to make policy that reflects their negative influences. And yes, my observations are based on my own personal experiences. You would be surprised how many times I have won bets with my friends simply by asking some degenerate "what part of Vancouver do you live in?" and hear back....Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford or PoCo. Sorry, yes there are perfectly behaved people from these areas but a vocal minority that seems to like to party in my city are giving you all a very bad rep.

This ruling is a sad situation but it is a reflection of a problem and not because the residents of Yaletown do not want fun.

mtippett

at 11:00 on November 24th, 2008

The same issue is true for cities like New York. In fact the bridge and tunnel label is actually from NYC and refers to people who come in from Jersey, Brooklyn and Queens. I don't see how Vancouver is unable to solve these problems while larger cities have no problem with it.

eastvanray

at 13:03 on November 25th, 2008

I am with ya, Mike. I don't understand why we can't control the idiots either but it is a fact. Until that problem is solved I would expect these kind of proposals will be rejected.

mtippett

at 15:30 on November 25th, 2008

As an aside Ray, I recently spoke with someone who followed this closely and the hotel was generally unreceptive to suggestions to modify the design. The general view held by the city is that this will get re-submitted and approved with changes.

eastvanray

at 09:22 on November 26th, 2008

Maybe the new council who promised so much change will approve the patio idea. I still think we need to respect the views of the local property owners. May I assume by your absence of a response to my question that you do not live in Yaletown?

mtippett

at 09:35 on November 26th, 2008

No I don't live in Yaletown. I had my fill of big city living in New York. I guess I've become a bridge and tunnel person (but not the publicly urinating kind).

But I don't think this discredits my argument. People who chose to live in the city (like I did) should do so because they want an urban experience (like I did). If you want the peace and quiet of the countryside then you should move there (like I did).