Opinion Volume 79 Issue No. 41 TheReview Wednesday, October 9, 1991 — A6 ® Beacon beautification: Now is the time To start It was so easy for Central Saanich council to start something Sidney has struggled with for years. While considering plans for landscaping as part of a development permit application by Knight Signs for a piece of property on Mirah Road (part of the Keating Crossroad corridor) council on Monday decided to take it one step further. Aldermen noted that some tenants and landowners in the new portion of the industrial area spruce up the surrounding area but fail to maintain the plantings, resulting in “some ugly dead plants” decorating the boulevard. Council directed its advisory planning commission to develop a landscaping master plan for the Keating Crossroad corridor, including underground sprinkler systems forcing those “with no intent to maintain” to mend their ways. Council also asked the commission to write in provisions that would place an emphasis on native species of plantings, even allowing the commission to retain a consultant such as an arborist or landscape professional. The official community plan and a study on landscaping done by the municipality of Surrey. were also referred to the APC for ammunition. The Keating corridor is an important part of that community and efforts to make it beautiful, at the sole expense of those who do business there, is commendable. Meanwhile in Sidney, Beacon Avenue still bears the scars of its two-year-old underground wiring project and a downtown revitalization plan gathers dust. Cars bump along the main street of the picturesque town while council considers the incomplete results of an origin and destination study. A meeting of council’s transportation committee is scheduled for today, where some light should be shed on the missing information. Of vital importance is what happens next. Last year many business owners along Beacon became frustrated after the Downtown Revitalization Committee’s plan to widen sidewalks and install brick paver crosswalks failed to receive the required support from council, despite signatures from the majority of the business owners. There are several reasons why council couldn’t approve of the committee’s plan. Business owners who rent premises were not required to sign and some felt alienated because of an apparent lack of consultation. As well, because the revitalization project requires exten- sive funding over a 15 year period, council members recognized that it has to be the right one the first time. One perennial problem a Beacon beautification project has faced is timing. Another is its complexity. There’s more to it than just a master plan for landscaping. A comprehensive beautification and revitalization project must start in the fall so residents and merchants have time to must be involved regardless if they own property. The advisory planning commission must comment. And council must apply for and receive low-interest provincial funding. Complex issues include consideration of creating a three-lane Beacon Avenue with a center tuming lane. Or, alternatively, one-way Beacon and Bevan avenues with improvements for traffic flow along Sidney Avenue past the Town hall. An incredible amount of work remains for the project to come to fruition. But it can be done providing the process of gaining support from a majority of businesses and residents Starts now. For the project to be successful, it must be completed in time for the 1992 summer season. Construction must start in early spring. It could be the last chance Sidney has to keep Beacon thriving and beautiful. see the drawings and make comment. All business owners _ TheReview Serving The Saanich Peninsula Since 1912 9726 First Street Sidney, B.C V8L 3C9 or PO. Box 2070 Sidney, B.C V8L 385 Second Class Mail Registration #0128 656-1151 Publisher: Ken Chyz Editor: Glenn Werkman AN ISLAND PUBLISHERS NEWSPAPER Fos PRIZE WINNERS BS o1AN COMMUN ch