Turning Victoria into Los Angeles/Detroit
Aerial photos show Victoria was a much greener city in 1947. Look at the corridor now taken over by the Blanshard “Street” semi-freeway. This shot actually doesn’t show anything near the the expanse devoted to cars just for this one artery, since Blanshard “Street” extends far to the north and south. In fact, from the air Victoria looks very much like Detroit (below).
Much development in the capital region continues in this wasteful way, 99% focused on cars, pickups and SUVs. For example, look at one of the region’s new high schools, Belmont in Langford:
Below is another shot of 1947 Victoria. Note that much of the area north of downtown, once housing and greenspace, is now surface parking lots:
Below is City Hall. Note how little traffic there is on Douglas St., the former public market building, the tram and bus. At bottom you can see that Streetcar Alley seems to have been Government St., since there are three trams in just over one block. Of course, Victoria’s main drag of Douglas St. was well-served by streetcars as well:
