Council voted Monday — with Coun. Laurie Charlton opposed — to push forward with the engineering firm ISL into the second, detailed design phase for the downtown infrastructure and streetscape.
This phase will make hard answers to questions of dollars and alternatives available.
Councillors asked about contingencies, engineering fees, and the schedule for public engagement. With the exception of one councillor, the feeling was unanimous: "We need to move forward with this," Coun. Kathy Wallace said.
Charlton objected, "we need to nail down the scope considerably tighter."
"We can't proceed with anything without detailed engineering," Mayor Greg Granstrom said, noting that the window to fix underground pipes before the Ministry of Transportation paves the highway is closing. "We either proceed with detailed engineering, or we say, ‘ministry, pave it,’" and be forced to tear up the pavement to fix pipes later.
Coun. Andy Stradling asked for assurance that council would get a report from ISL showing the economic benefits of "pedestrianization," to address concerns raised by businesses.
"[The design] hasn't been universally praised by our business owners," Stradling said, although he himself likes the idea of a pedestrian-friendly streetscape.
"I feel that way because I'm European," he suggested, and didn't want his bias to overpower the "big trucks" culture of North America.
Building inspector Jason Ward said the ISL team is already on this question, and others. "They're just that great to work with," he said.
Streetscape options will certainly become important, in conjunction with public consultation and supporting research, but " we can kick that around later," Ward said. "Nothing's written in stone for this stage of the design."
At the moment, the infrastructure needs are the most critical component. "Infrastructure is infrastructure," Ward said. "Can we make our existing system work: It's a resounding no."
On the other hand, "we don't want to dig a hole 25-feet deep down Columbia," which is why ISL has been charged with presenting council with the details on plausible alternatives that give, as Ward said, "the best bang for our buck."
Coun. Hanne Smith wondered if there was some influence of the underground infrastructure on the streetscape, for example underground wiring for streetlights, but was assured she would be presented with logical decisions as plans proceed.
Stradling also questioned what he saw as a lack of options, particularly options to deal with the potential need to abort certain aspects of the project to stay on budget.
"If we're coming in higher than the financial plan, and we're less successful getting grants, we're going to have to retain options", he said. "The only options I see remaining are we do Columbia and Washington, or just Columbia," or scale back the $1.9 million slated for streetscaping.
Options will soon be explored and costed, Kumar replied. "You'll get that answer, in this phase."